Ohhh That Tricky HRE

**This is a non-CEU course**

What do you do when a learner’s happy, relaxed, and engaged state looks unusual to others, is tied to problem behavior, or only lasts a few seconds? In this conversational Q&A, Melissa Santacroce talks with Steve Ward, whose work on Steam and assent-based teaching closely parallels HRE in PFA/SBT. Steve shares practical, often humorous strategies for joining learners in what they enjoy, turning mischief into “authorized” fun, setting boundaries without harming rapport, and making activities “better with you than without you.”

What is covered

• A brief overview of Steam and how it aligns with HRE
• Why HRE is dynamic, and how to expand it by building context around what a learner already enjoys
• Responding when a learner’s HRE looks unusual or draws attention in the community
• Using humor and playfulness to build connection, rapport, and tolerance
• Learners who enjoy mischief or big reactions: “authorized” negative attention games, sanctioned access to sought-after activities, and props to build stimulus control
• Talking with families about trying a new approach, and prioritizing which behaviors to target
• When HRE activities lead to escalation (missing pieces, falling blocks): contriving smaller challenges, building acceptance of help, and rotating activities out for a while
• Limited or fleeting HRE: expanding interests, the coach-apprentice approach, and multiple schedules for highly preferred items like the iPad
• When structured table work is a learner’s HRE, and how to build from there
• Setting reasonable boundaries in a way that strengthens the relationship
• Introducing new reinforcers within child-led time without turning play into compliance

Meet the Hosts

Steve Ward, BCBA, has been a BCBA since 2003. He has worked at the Fred S. Keller School at Columbia, attended the Morningside Summer Institute, worked with Sundberg and Partington, and studied with Dr. Vincent Carbone. He developed the Steam framework for evaluating learner engagement and has written about games and humor in teaching.

Melissa Santacroce, SLP, BCBA, is a speech-language pathologist and behavior analyst in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and owner of Balance Speech and Behavior.

Published December 2021