ABA Inside Track: Bonus Episode 36 – The Year in ABA (2024) w/ Matt Cicoria

Podcast: ABA Inside Track
Episode: Bonus 36 – The Year in ABA (2024)
Guests: Matt Cicoria (Behavioral Observations), ABA Inside Track Team (Rob, Diana, Jackie)
Date: December 25, 2024
Episode Purpose:
A collaborative, end-of-year episode by two of the most prominent ABA podcasts, reviewing 2024’s biggest trends, most downloaded episodes, and topics that resonated most with listeners in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). The episode is a lighthearted (and sometimes humorous) reflection on the field’s evolving interests, including notable changes, challenges, and memorable content from the podcasts over the year.

Main Theme & Structure

The hosts from ABA Inside Track and Matt Cicoria from Behavioral Observations team up to count down and discuss their respective podcasts’ top ten episodes of 2024. They share personal insights, memorable moments, and notable trends in ABA practice and research reflected in their podcast episodes. The focus is on what practitioners find most useful, rather than simply content with academic gravitas, revealing evolving themes in the ABA community.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Methodology for Episode Ranking (02:12–03:18)

• Matt’s approach: Ranked episodes by downloads in the first 30 days post-release, ensuring newer episodes weren’t disadvantaged and “apples to apples” comparisons.
• Both podcasts excluded very recent releases that haven't had time to accrue downloads.

2. Counting Down the Top 10 – Behavioral Observations & ABA Inside Track

Each podcast alternates sharing their top ten episodes with discussion and jokes interspersed:

#10

• Behavioral Observations:
  Lessons from Implementing Practical Functional Assessment and Skills Based Treatment (with Dr. Tony Camilleri)
  Why it resonated: Recap of PFA/SBT evolution and practical recs. Tony is praised for his clear and gentle delivery. (03:31)
  • Memorable Quote:
    “Tony...he does have a really succinct and very gentle way of sharing some of the themes that come up in SBT.” – Rob (04:31)
• ABA Inside Track:
  Setting Up Supervision Systems at Work (with Kim Held)
  Why it resonated: Discussion of systems (incl. work-personality tests) for effective supervision. (05:17)
  • Memorable Quote:
    “It was terrifying in its ability to predict this is who you are at work.” – Rob (06:23)

#9

• Behavioral Observations:
  How to Assess Early Echoic Skills (with Dr. Barbara Esch)
  Why it resonated: Surprising popularity for a granular, technical topic; it shows a demand for practical skill-building. (06:50–08:31)
• ABA Inside Track:
  Schedule Thinning and FCT
  Why it resonated: Practical content on FCT that’s vital for exam prep and day-to-day practice, even if not originally expected to be a hit. (08:53–10:09)

#8

• Behavioral Observations:
  Restraint and Seclusion in Public Schools (with Dr. Matt Brodhead)
  Why it resonated: Enduring relevance, nuanced discussion highlighting regulatory confusion and the need for expertise informing policy. (11:51–14:50)
  • Memorable Quote:
    “It seems like the people who write those regulations haven’t been in the position to support individuals who are having severe problem behavior.” – Matt (14:22)
• ABA Inside Track:
  Neurodiversity Panel
  Why it resonated: Timely, important series with professionals identifying as neurodivergent; reflects a growing conversation framing ABA with neurodiversity in mind. (15:11–16:25)

#7

• Behavioral Observations:
  Mentoring Students, ABA’s Future, Problems with Ignoring (with Dr. Tim Vollmer)
  Why it resonated: Wide-ranging insights from a field leader, storytelling, and practical mentoring tips. (17:21–18:48)
• ABA Inside Track:
  Preventing Burnout (listener choice topic)
  Why it resonated: Major theme in 2024 as practitioners face mounting challenges. The team jokes about not being able to “recover” burnout, only “prevent” it. (18:53–19:19)
  • Memorable Quote:
    “We called it Preventing Burnout, which may have been a little presumptuous.” – Diana (19:18)

#6

• Behavioral Observations:
  Inside Java 18: Disseminating ABA to Law Enforcement & Medical Communities (with Dr. Dorothea Lerman)
  Why it resonated: Focus on outreach to law enforcement/healthcare, training, and innovative dissemination. (21:11–22:59)
• ABA Inside Track:
  Improving Parent Training Practices
  Why it resonated: Perennial demand for practical parent training tools and updates. (24:01–24:44)

#5

• Behavioral Observations:
  Practical Strategies for Passing the Exam (with Dana Miller & Dr. Steve Eversole)
  Why it resonated: Valuable advice from leading exam-prep experts, includes myth-busting around study strategies like mock exams (26:26).
• ABA Inside Track:
  Planning and Running Awesome Meetings
  Why it resonated: Everyday utility; hosts credit implementing changes to their own work after this episode (27:12–28:35)

#4

• Behavioral Observations:
  What Is Profound Autism and Why Is It Important? (with Dr. Alicia Halladay)
  Why it resonated: Timely discussion about recognizing diverse presentations and support needs in autism; tied to the Profound Autism Summit. (29:57–31:06)
• ABA Inside Track:
  Error Correction
  Why it resonated: Deep dive into a surprisingly under-researched, often-misapplied area of ABA practice. (31:42–33:26)
  • Memorable Quote:
    “I always love any chance to come back to error correction and sort of see what’s going on... I want someone to just write that ‘nope, this is the one way to do it and everyone loves it.” – Rob (32:15)

#3

• Behavioral Observations:
  AAC Use with Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (with Andy Bondy)
  Why it resonated: Highly practical, myth-busting, always popular guest. (35:06–36:44)
  • Memorable Quote:
    “Andy Bondy doesn’t hold back... he lets it fly.” – Matt (35:25)
• ABA Inside Track:
  Toilet Training Revisited (with Dr. Maeve Donnelly)
  Why it resonated: Universally challenging and persistently relevant; thorough, practical guidance from an expert. (37:08–38:46)
  • Memorable Quote:
    “I have a meeting about toilet training this Friday, and so... I might just email Maeve and be like, do you want to Skype into our meeting real fast?” – Rob (38:00)

#2

• Behavioral Observations:
  Panel from the Verbal Behavior Conference (VBC)
  Why it resonated: Listeners love hearing a spectrum of expert opinions and live event flavor—panels cover hot topics like AAC, clinical judgment. (40:48)
• ABA Inside Track:
  Strategies for Addressing Escape Maintained Behavior
  Why it resonated: Deep practical relevance, especially in schools; hosts praise the flowchart from Geiger et al. (2010) as a key resource. (41:36–42:49)
  • Memorable Quote:
    “Flowchart is sort of the anti-folklore. It’s like, no, we did it, we have all the work, it’s in this flowchart, just follow it and you and your client will be just so happy.” – Rob (41:50)

#1

• Behavioral Observations:
  Behavior Analytic Approaches to Counseling and Therapy (with Dr. Pat Friman)
  Why it resonated: Pat Friman’s episodes are always fan favorites—he’s an endlessly compelling speaker making behavior therapy accessible and relevant to issues like mental health. (43:13–45:43)
  • Memorable Quote:
    “Interviewing Pat is like the easiest thing in the world: you just give the… and he just takes it and goes.” – Matt (43:40)
• ABA Inside Track:
  The Ethics of Fad Treatments
  Why it resonated: Pressing, practical, and complex challenge for practitioners—how to respond ethically and tactfully to “fad” therapies in clinical practice. (45:46–48:01)

3. Trends & Notable Themes in 2024

• Practical Utility: Highly download episodes deliver day-to-day, immediately useful content (parent training, meetings, supervision, FCT, escape behavior, error correction, toilet training).
• Burnout and Mental Health: Both burnout prevention and behavioral mental health work are in high demand—topics reflecting both practitioner strain and field adaptation.
• Ethics & Clinical Decision-Making: Increasing complexity in ethical challenges—from procedural fidelity to confronting unproven treatments and embracing neurodiversity.
• Panel & Guest Driven Content: Live panels and prominent guests (esp. Friman, Bondy, Brodhead) remain big draws, but Inside Track’s “no guest” episodes performed surprisingly well.
• Pop Culture & Storytelling: Hosts emphasize the enduring value of good storytelling, even in dense technical subjects.
• Changing Field Dynamics: More focus on supervision systems, preventing burnout, and outreach/dissemination reflect OPERATIONAL and societal shifts in ABA.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It seems like the people who write those regulations haven’t been in the position to support individuals who are having severe problem behavior.” (Matt, 14:22)
• “We called it Preventing Burnout, which may have been a little presumptuous.” (Diana, 19:18)
• “Flowchart is sort of the anti-folklore.” (Rob, 41:50)
• “Interviewing Pat [Friman] is like the easiest thing in the world... he just takes it and goes.” (Matt, 43:40)
• “It’s easy and fun to kind of dunk on these [fad] things... but ultimately, we’re in the business of persuasion.” (Matt, 48:01)

Honorable Mentions & “Near Misses” (49:08–54:00)

Behavioral Observations:

• BOP en Español series—expanding ABA resources for Spanish speakers.
• Review of Autism Diagnostic Practices (Whitney Ence, Elizabeth Sheridan).
• How to Understand Sleep Problems (Emily Varin).
• The Ethics of Procedural Fidelity (Dr. Claire St. Peter): importance for both researchers and practitioners.

ABA Inside Track:

• Ethics Book Club episode (LeBlanc & Karsten’s “Ethics”)
• Practical Functional Assessment & Skills-Based Treatment with Corey Whelan (who brought cookies and a thank you note!)
• Promoting Client Rights (Aaron Leaf)
• Advice for New Behavior Analysts (with How to ABA)
• Behavioral Artistry: Capturing ephemeral skills/rapport (Amy Bock’s work)

Reflections on Podcasting (56:06–59:45)

• Hosts celebrate upcoming 300th episode and 10-year milestones.
• Observations on the persistence required:
  “It quickly goes from hobby to job.” (Matt, 58:30)
• Acknowledgment of loyal audience community:
  “If it wasn’t for our audience, we would not get any reinforcement for all that effort…” (Matt, 59:51)

Conclusion (59:58–End)

• Joint happy new year wishes and encouragement for listeners to dig into the back catalog (625 episodes combined!).
• Recognition that trends in episode popularity provide valuable feedback on what matters most to behavior analysts in the field.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Podcast Introductions & Format: 00:13–03:30
• Methodology for Episode Ranking: 02:12–03:18
• Countdown Top 10 Episodes: 03:30–48:55
• Trends & Reflections: 48:55–52:27
• Honorable Mentions: 52:27–54:49
• Podcasting Reflections & Upcoming Milestones: 56:06–59:58
• Closing & New Year Wishes: 59:58–end

Summary

This episode is an energetic, insightful, and often lighthearted celebration of ABA’s year-in-review through the eyes of its leading podcasters. It reveals a field increasingly focused on practical solutions for daily challenges, mental health and burnout, nuanced ethical practice, and connecting with a broader, more diverse community of practitioners. The personal reflections, recurring jokes, and memorable quotes also showcase the warmth and camaraderie among ABA’s thought leaders. Whether you’re a new BCBA, a seasoned practitioner, or just ABA-curious, this episode offers a curated window into what’s shaping the field in 2024—and what listeners really care about.