EFL with SBT 
Description
“Responding Compassionately to Unexpected Behavior in Schools and Clinical Settings: A Panel Discussion” offers 2 Ethics CEUs. Your instructors for this course are: Dr. Megan DeLeon (Miller), Bethany Creech, Hillary Laney and Nicola Schneider.
Applied Behavior Analysis has long relied on compliance-based practices to decrease behavioral challenges. Direct feedback from neurodivergent individuals about their experiences is more readily available to mainstream society through social media. This attention on past practices as well as recent research on assent-based procedures within the field of Applied Behavior Analysis is reshaping how we respond to distress behaviors in various environments. Staff in school-based and clinical settings continue to face an uphill battle when attempting to embed the values of trauma-assumed and compassionate care. Using skill-building, rather than escape extinction procedures early in the behavioral escalation cycle, we can not only prevent distress behaviors, but also increase coping and problem solving replacement behaviors. By understanding how and when to honor assent withdrawal we will be better equipped to respond to individuals who are in distress. In reframing our responses to distress behavior, we can leave behind outdated practices without compromising the effectiveness of interventions.
About Your Presenters…
Dr. Megan DeLeon (Miller), PhD, BCBA-D, IBA is the creator of the Do Better Movement and founder of the Do Better Collective. Megan earned her Ph.D. in Special Education and Behavior Analysis at The Ohio State University in 2015. Dr. DeLeon Miller’s early training in behavior analysis occurred at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism as a volunteer/intern in 2003. Dr. DeLeon Miller has taught courses in behavior analysis and special education as an adjunct professor for several universities. She has co-authored journal articles published in the Journal of Developmental Physical Disability, Behavior Analysis in Practice, and Teaching Exceptional Children. She also co-authored “The 7 Steps to Earning Instructional Control” with Robert Schramm, BCBA. Megan regularly presents to professional organizations around the globe as an invited speaker. In 2018, Dr. DeLeon Miller started the #dobetter professional development movement to improve access to training in best practices in the field of behavior analysis via an online community, webinars, and a podcast.
Hillary Laney, BCBA, is passionate about providing services to clients with significant behavioral needs which prioritizes dignity, safety, rapport, and assent. She received her M. Ed from the University of Washington and has extensive experience as a practitioner and in supporting practitioners, agencies, and schools to provide more comprehensive services to those who need them most. Hillary currently serves as the Vice President of Functional Assessment and Treatment at Centria Autism. She is responsible for staff development and training oversight across the agency in the implementation of assent-based interventions including; Universal Protocols, Practical Functional Assessment, and Skill-Based Treatment. In the past year, Hillary has overseen the training of over 300 supervising clinicians and her team has supported over 300 successful Practical Functional Assessments. In her free time, she volunteers moderating the PFA & SBT Community, an online group of over 20,000 members, which provides free content for members to learn and grow in assent-based practice.
Bethany Creech has been working in the field of ABA since 2005 and has been a BCBA since 2014. The focus of her work as a behavior analyst has been with students with disabilities in private day and public schools since 2016. She is passionate about building positive relationships between staff and students through assent-based assessments and interventions including Practical Functional Assessment & Skill Based Treatment and Collaborative Problem Solving.
Nicola (Nicky) Schneider is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with nearly 20 years of experience working with vulnerable individuals of all ages and skill levels. Nicky has a bachelor’s degree in special education and a master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis. Additionally, Nicky completed a post-master’s certificate program in Educational Administration. Nicky holds NJ Department of Education certifications as a special education teacher, supervisor and principal. Nicky has served as a special education teacher, behavior analyst and supervisor in private and public schools, as well as for insurance-based agencies. Nicky’s passion lies in empowering those she trains to encourage, support and learn from the individuals they serve. She believes that through genuine interaction, we can intrinsically create a foundation of mutual respect and cooperation. When Nicky is not supporting students, teachers or the PFA-SBT Community Facebook page, you can find her outdoors camping or kayaking.
Learning Objectives
- Attendees will be able to state the importance of moving away from forced-compliance to teach the skill of cooperation.
- Attendees will be able to understand when in the escalation cycle to intervene and why.
- Attendees will be able to tact 2 ways to address the common myth of “… but you are reinforcing the behavior” when removing a demand to ensure safety is not compromised.
- Attendees will be able to determine when to hold boundaries and why.
- Attendees will be able to tact how to hold a boundary compassionately.
- Attendees will be able to state at least 3 coping strategies for individuals with limited receptive and expressive language skills.
Hope –
Amazing course and presentation. The examples given throughout the panel discussion were relatable, tied to research, and a breath of fresh air for those of us in the field who see the necessity to prioritize relationship, emotional regulation, and safety with our clients.
I thoroughly enjoyed the content and the discussion provided by this group of presenters. I’m excited to begin implementing some of the tools shared with my own clients. I especially loved the discussion regarding rules vs. boundaries and how we can compassionately set and follow through with boundaries when they are necessary. I love the reassurance that the research is in support of “regulation before instruction” and loved the example about the child who didn’t want to do the “red words”. A light bulb flipped on for me with this example and I recall all the things that I sometimes engage in specific behavior to “avoid” and also that I rarely seek to avoid the task multiple days or times in a row.