ABA Unfiltered

The new episode of ABA Unfiltered is now live 🎙️🎉 Amanda Fullbright is joined by Speech-Language Pathologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Rosemarie Griffin. Rosemarie joins the podcast to discuss the use of Speech-Language Pathologists in the world of ABA. Join us on our journey to learn more about the field of ABA. 

🤩 Here's a little bonus for our listeners: Use the exclusive promo code mentioned in the podcast to get a $5 discount on any CEU in our catalog! 📚✨ Grab this special offer now at https://bcbaceu.bluesprigautism.com/. Don't miss out!

1.       Rose's website, ABA Speech.

2.       The Autism Outreach Podcast

3.       Free Joint Attention Training for Parents and Staff

The podcast hosts BlueSprig's Chief Clinical and Administrative Officer, Sharyn Kerr, to discuss the importance and continued evolution of compassionate care in applied behavior analysis. Join us on our journey to learn more about the field of ABA! 

Check out our CEU site for the Episode promo code: https://bcbaceu.bluesprigautism.com/

Join NASCAR driver Armani Williams and the Head of Team Armani Racing, Del Williams, as they discuss Armani's inspiring journey in becoming a professional driver and the role his autism diagnosis played.

BlueSprig CEU Website Promo: Use Code "Podcast" to get $5 off!

https://bcbaceu.bluesprigautism.com/

Amanda and Andrew are joined by Psychotherapist Ashley Oldfield. Ashley joins the podcast to discuss gender and autism and discusses opportunities in our industry for ways we can all grow and develop skills discussing gender with our clients and families.

BlueSprig CEU Website: Use Promo Code "Podcast" to get $5 off

https://bcbaceu.bluesprigautism.com/

In episode 7 of Season 5, hosts Amanda & Andrew are joined by BlueSprig's own Clinical Initiatives Manager, Diana Powell. Diana joins the podcast to discuss how to build a meaningful relationship between supervisor and mentee, as well as share useful tips for those preparing for the BCBA exam. Listen now to hear valuable tips to building a lasting and effective supervisory relationship.

BlueSprig CEU Website: Use Promo Code "Podcast" to get $5 off

https://bcbaceu.bluesprigautism.com/

In episode 6 of Season 5, hosts Amanda & Andrew are joined by Tyra Sellers, Linda LeBlanc, and Shahla Alai-Rosales. Tyra, Linda, and Shahla join the podcast to discuss their book Building and Sustaining Meaningful and Effective Relationships as a Supervisor and Mentor. Come join us to hear valuable tips for building a lasting and effective supervisory relationship.

 Kelly McKinnon Bermingham joins hosts Amanda & Andrew. Kelly joins the podcast to discuss the importance of family/caregivers and the role they play in seeing meaningful outcomes. Kelly talks about social skills, sibling relationships, finding what's important to you, and more in this week's episode of ABA Unfiltered. 

Kelly's Podcast: Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-25-year-look-across-the-spectrum-with-kelly/id1535918398

BlueSprig CEU Website: Use Promo Code "Podcast" to get 5$ off

https://bcbaceu.bluesprigautism.com/

We are joined by Dr. Shahla Ala'i Rosales & Peggy Heinkel Wolfe. Shahla and Peggy join the podcast to discuss the importance of family guidance and talk about their book, Responsible and Responsive Parenting in Autism: Between Now and Dreams. Join us on our journey to learn more about the field of ABA. 

BlueSprig CEU Website: Use Promo Code "Podcast" to get 5$ off

https://bcbaceu.bluesprigautism.com/

Responsible and Responsive Parenting in Autism: Between Now and Dreams

https://www.amazon.com/Responsible-Responsive-Parenting-Autism-Between/dp/0991040384 

https://difflearn.com/products/responsible-and-responsive-parenting-in-autism-between-now-and-dreams

In episode 3, hosts Amanda & Andrew are joined by Attend Behavior's Dr. Stewart Pisecco and Alan FullBright to discuss the importance of family guidance and share how the Attend platform can help clinicians partner with parents and caregivers. 

Link to Attend:https://www.attendbehavior.com/ 

Courses on Family Guidance by Dr. Karen Bearss:https://abacnj.com/

BlueSprig CEU Website: Use Promo Code "Podcast" to get 5$ off

https://bcbaceu.bluesprigautism.com/

Links to Attend courses on CEU website:

Foundations of Effective Family Guidance - Attend Behavior

Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) in Family Guidance - Attend Behavior

Strategies for Overcoming Barriers and Obstacles to Effective Family Guidance - A Panel Discussion

Amanda & Andrew are joined by the President and CEO of BlueSprig Pediatrics, Jason Owen. Jason joins the podcast to discuss his journey into the world of ABA as well as share his thoughts on the future of ABA. Join us on our journey to learn more about the field of ABA.

CEU Site Link for Episode Promo Code: https://bcbaceu.bluesprigautism.com/

In the Season 5 premiere, new hosts Amanda & Andrew are joined by previous ABA Unfiltered host, and current Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Raven Health Tim Crilly. Tim joins the podcast to discuss Raven Health's ABA Data Collection software as well as discuss his time as host of ABA Unfiltered. Join us to learn some new exciting information on the field of ABA and take a journey into the past as we reminisce on previous ABA Unfiltered episodes.

In the season 4 Finale of ABA Unfiltered Tim is joined by Emily Varon, BCBA to talk about the importance of sleep. Emily is an industry expert on the subject and works with clinicians and families to work on solving sleep issues.  Emily joins the podcast to discuss the common issues she encounters as well as her approach to help solve them. Emily and Tim also discuss the importance of sleep for clinical teams and parents.  Emily offers great advice and insight into in a must listen to episode!!
https://www.bluesprigautism.com/

In the latest episode of ABA Unfiltered, Tim is joined by BlueSprig BCBAs Alex Tomei and Jonathan Keefe to discuss the recent changes in the TRICARE Operations Manual – otherwise known as the TOM. Alex is the Director of Clinical Standards at BlueSprig, and Johnathan serves as the Associate Vice President of Clinical Compliance and QAPI.  Throughout the discussion, Alex and Johnathan offer insight for both families accessing ABA services through TRICARE as well as providers working with them.  This is a must listen to episode for both families and clinicians alike. 

To close out Autism Acceptance and Awareness Month, Tim and special guest host Rebecca Womack have an uplifting conversation with their BlueSprig colleague, Justin Moehn.  Justin is an adult with autism who has been working for BlueSprig for the past 2 and a half years. During the conversation, Justin outlines his current role with BlueSprig, his journey to get to this point in his career, as well as his unique outlook on the work he does.  It is a must-listen episode! Please listen and share!! 

Tim is joined by special guest host Amanda Fullbright as they chat with Shane Isley about his recently published book Helping Your Family Thrive: A Practical Guide to Parenting with Positive Behavior Support.Shane, a returning guest, serves as a Senior Consultant for the Performance Thinking Network and leads the company's Performance Thinking® For Behavioral Health/ABA Organizations business unit.  The conversation centers on Caregiver Guidance and is a great episode for clinicians and parents! 

During this episode, Tim Crilly and Dr. Amber Valentino discuss a myriad of topics relevant to the ABA world today, including the need for better collaboration among ABA agencies to help elevate the level of care nationally. Amber who recently published a book, A Handbook for Practitioners Conducting Research Post-Certification: Applied Behavior Analysis Research Made Easydetails the importance of all BCBAs to work toward conducting research and how do go about it in their daily work life.  It is a great conversation for anyone interested in research but doesn’t know where to start!  Tune in, subscribe and share! 

Tim is joined by a panel of BlueSprig clinical leaders to discuss their upcoming presentations at this year’s CASP conference being held in Portland, Oregon on May 2-3rd. This unique episode offers fantastic insight into the clinical leadership at BlueSprig as well as a glimpse into the many presentations we are set to deliver.  

Tim discusses the need for clinical standards with Rebecca Womack, BCBA, who is the Associate Vice President of Clinical Standards for BlueSprig. During the conversation, Tim and Rebecca talk about her work and how she collaborates with the Clinical Team by ensuring all clinicians engage in clinical activities that align with industry standards, research, payor policy requirements, and best practice guidelines. Rebecca outlines why her team's work is so important to BlueSprig leadership and how it sets BlueSprig apart. In addition to her role with BlueSprig, Rebecca also serves as the President-Elect for the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA), and is a member of the Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP) Public Policy Committee.  It’s a must-listen-to episode for all BCBAs out there! 

The ABA Unfiltered team is joined by Dr. Stewart Pisecco. Stewart is the founder and CEO of Attend Behavior, a mobile technology solution designed to support the delivery of caregiver guidance services for children with Autism, ADHD, and other types of behavioral conditions. Attend is currently being used by clinicians across the country who work in a variety of settings including behavioral health practices, pediatric health systems, and school districts.  Frequent listeners of ABA Unfiltered know that caregiver guidance is a passionate topic for us, and Tim and Stewart have a fantastic conversation about the challenges and the tools that Attend can put in the hands of families and clinicians! 

Tim is joined by an old friend, Rick Loewenstein and they discuss Rick’s journey through the ABA world, and how he approaches relationships. Tune in to hear a great conversation about relationships, and how to best leverage them to better serve your clients! 

To kick off season four of ABA Unfiltered, the team is joined by the Founder and CEO of PeerKnect, Emily Bruce BCBA. Emily and her team are on a mission to help families build appropriate social networks for their children on the spectrum.  Tim and Emily have a fantastic conversation about the importance of social opportunities, the challenges families and clinical teams face, and how PeerKnect is offering a fantastic solution. Tune in to hear this great conversation and learn more about PeerKnect and how it can impact both families and clinicians.

In the Season 3 Finale of ABA Unfiltered Mandy Ralston and Nathan Albright from The Cedar Group rejoin the show to discuss the innovations they have made in their decision model tools. The discussion centers on how these tools can help improve the quality of care for the ABA industry.  Tune in to hear the group chat about how proper use of decision models can lead to a comprehensive accreditation process for ABA providers. 

We are joined by Ascend CEO, Jonathan Mueller, to talk about the past, present, and future of ABA. Tim and Jonathan discuss the path that the ABA industry has taken to get to where it is now and where it might be going. During this conversation, they discuss the good, the bad, and some of the ugly.  Tune in for a fantastic chat! 

In this episode, Tim and Dr. Binder discuss his work at the Performance Thinking Network and how they use principles of applied behavior sciences in the facilitating work they do with a variety of diverse organizations. Tim and Dr. Binder also steer the conversation toward the ABA world and what changes Dr. Binder sees coming down the line. Tune in for a great conversation!

The ABA Unfiltered team is joined by Dr. Leslie Neely from the University of Texas at San Antonio to talk about the university's BCBA program and what sets it aside from others around the county. The conversation focuses on the current system for becoming a BCBA and Tim and Leslie share their thoughts on what improvements and changes we, as an industry, can make to better prepare future BCBAs. 

Shane Isley BCBA, from The Performance Thinking Network, joins the show to talk about his work with ABA organizations and helping them standardize procedures and practices. In addition to his day job, Shane recently co-authored a book titled, Helping Your Family Thrive: A Practice Guide to Parenting with Positive Behavior Support.  During the conversation, Shane and Tim dive into the topic of caregiver guidance and offers great insight that we think both parents and clinicians will enjoy.

Dr. Shala Alai-Rosales from the University of North Texas joins ABA Unfiltered host, Tim Crilly, to discuss a recent webinar she gave titled Culturally Responsive Inclusive and Progressive Supervision. During the conversion, Tim and Shala dive into recent workforce demographic data and how the next generation of clinicians can have a lasting meaningful impact on diversity and inclusivity in our field.

Tune in this week as we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with Isaac Bermudez from LABA. Isaac discusses his role in the creation of LABA and how they are working nationally to build a more diverse workforce in the ABA community. Tim and Isaac discuss the importance of mentorship and how strong mentors can help shape the next generation. Tune in for a great conversation about diversity in our field as well as to learn a bit about how Isaac helped Tim to become a BCBA.

In episode 2 we take a behind-the-scenes look at how BlueSprig’s Learning and Performance Development Team approach training across the entire organization as well as a look into how the team stays up to date on the continuously changing landscape of the ABA world. They also discuss some of the unique features that make BlueSprig’s LPD team the best in the business. Tune in to learn more about everything these dedicated indviduals do to support BlueSprig’s mission to change the world for children with autism.  

Tune in to the Season 3 premiere of ABA Unfiltered for a fascinating conversation with Allan Castro and Jana Grohman from the MAC to learn more about this groundbreaking project they are undertaking in San Antonio Texas.  Set to open its doors in Summer 2022, The MAC (Multi-Access Center) will be a first-of-its-kind facility offering one location for families with children with disabilities to receive all their needed care.  BlueSprig is honored to be one of the future partners at the MAC and can’t wait for the doors to open.  

ABA Unfiltered is honored to be joined by Mandy Ralston from the Cedar Group and her clinical mentor Dr. Vincent Carbone for a fascinating 2 part season finale.  In part 2 of our conversation, Dr. Carbone, Mandy Ralston, and Tim discuss the current ABA landscape, the training of future BCBAs, as well as where the industry is headed moving forward. Please enjoy this fantastic conversation!

ABA Unfiltered is honored to be joined by Mandy Ralston from the Cedar Group and her clinical mentor Dr. Vincent Carbone for a fascinating two part season finale. In part of our conversation, Dr. Carbone talks about his early formative years in the ABA field and his many influences including B.F. Skinner. Please enjoy this must listen to episode of ABA Unfiltered.

In the penultimate episode of season 2, Tim is joined by Mike Miller from the University of Louisville. Mike joins ABA Unfiltered to discuss the unique program he runs at the university’s engineering school supporting students with ASD as they navigate college life. Mike is a passionate and engaging storyteller that we know you will enjoy!

In a must-listen episode, Tim is joined by Dr. Michael Cameron, Ph.D, BCBA-D, LBA and Rachel Cain, M.S., BCBA to discuss her background in anthropology and how it impacts her as a BCBA. It is a fascinating conversation about how our cultural backgrounds influence us as clinicians as well as how we should be interacting with the families we work with.  Michael and Rachael provide plenty of food for thought about how important it is for our industry to provide a workforce with a diverse background both culturally as well as academically.  Hope you enjoy this thought-provoking conversation!

Please note that due to some technical issues during recording there are some slight audio issues during this episode. We apologize to our listeners.

BlueSprig Market Director Sallye Bergland BCBA joins ABA Unfiltered to discuss her family connection to autism and how it led to her unplanned decision to become a BCBA. Saylle shares how growing up with a sibling with autism impacts her approach to care and the families she works with as well as how it continues to impact her and her family. Saylle shares some great stories and talks about her thoughts on helping adults with autism. We hope you enjoy her powerful story and share it with the families you work with!

To kick off Autism Acceptance Month, Jennifer Hines M.Ed, BCBA and Ivy Zwicker, the BlueSprig Texas area VP of Operations join Tim on ABA Unfiltered to talk about how families should be thinking about the process of transitioning into adulthood when families should start asking questions, what those questions should be, and who they need to be asking.  While both Ivy and Jennifer are experts in the field who were able to impart great wisdom and advice, Jennifer is also a parent of an adult son with ASD and shares her firsthand knowledge of her family’s journey.  Please enjoy this fantastic insightful conversation.

In this week’s episode, we are excited to welcome Dr. Michelle Brennan-Cooke, the EVP of Quality at The Cedar Group.  Michelle joins Tim to talk about her experience working for Health Plans and the importance of quality services.  During their conversation, Michelle highlights what the role of the Health Plan should be and how providers in their network should approach their relationship.  Michelle’s institutional knowledge is second to none and we had a great time chatting.  We hope you enjoy this fantastic conversation!

On this week’s episode, we are joined by Mike Jones, the BlueSprig Midwest Business Development Director. During our conversation, Mike details how he came to BlueSprig by way of the Army. Tim and Mike talk about how the ABA industry allows him to be a part of a service industry and work for a mission-driven organization. Mike talks about his passion for helping veterans and why working in the ABA world is a great opportunity for both military spouses as well as veterans looking for gratification in the next phase of their careers. We hope you enjoy listening to Mike and appreciate his passion for his work, his fellow veterans, and the community he serves!

In this week’s episode of ABA Unfiltered, Tim is joined by Dr. Christina Marchesano, M.D., ADP to discuss Think Neurology for Kids and the amazing work they do for their patients. During their conversation, Dr. Marchesano outlines the importance of a comprehensive diagnostic assessment for families who are concerned about their child's development, and how more information about the whole child can better empower families to ensure they are seeking the most appropriate level of care. Whether you are a parent or a clinician this episode will prove to be of great value to you as it provides great insight into how to be informed and questions to ask.

In this week’s episode of ABA Unfiltered Tim is joined by BlueSprig BCBAs Charmaine Bolden and Glenn Harrell to talk about the lack of diversity in the ABA community.  Tune in to hear poignant commentary on the state of diversity in the ABA landscape, their thoughts on how to improve the issue, as well interesting stories about how Glenn and Charmaine found ABA and careers as BCBAs.  Their passion for the families and communities they work with is palpable in this insightful conversation. 

Welcome to the pod Mandy Ralston and Nathan Albright of The Cedar Group! Our first working title for this episode was “Outcomes Shmoutcomes,” but Mandy, Nathan, and Tim dive deep into discussing the significance of addressing the important yet elusive topic of clinical outcomes, why clinicians shouldn't be afraid to ask about them, and how they are ultimately different for each family, and how data can speak to the positive affects on quality of life.

We are proud to welcome Angela Geiger, CEO of Autism Speaks to the podcast where she shares her background in nonprofit work and the Autism Speaks vision for inclusivity and kindness. She talks about how they have worked to help families cope during the pandemic by providing resources and how their Autism Response Team can be a vital resource for families. Angela and host Tim Crilly discuss advice for parents looking for autism services and how virtual reality may be effective in improving social skills for children on the autism spectrum.

We're excited to welcome back Cheri Vandermey, an energetic and intellectual BCBA working in the public school system, as our first external returning guest. She joins host Tim Crilly and another returning guest, Summer Gainey-Adami, SVP Clinical Standards at BlueSprig to discuss the current landscape of schooling during COVID-19, how schools can help parents in this environment of increasing stress, and the long term effects of this environment.

We're excited to kick off Season 2 of ABA Unfiltered with Lorri Unumb, CEO of the Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP). Lorri and Tim talk about her path through the world of autism and how it led her to be an instrumental advocate in changing the autism space and creating access to services for countless families. Lorri also shares what drew her to CASP, the work they have been doing, and their plans moving forward. Lorri touches on how CASP has dealt with COVID-19 and like others, has pivoted to host their 2021 annual conference "unCONVENTIONal” virtually.  And only on ABA unfiltered will you also find out what Lorri’s favorite cereal is!

Is a hot dog a sandwich? What more can we say? We did it - we asked every one of our guests this polarizing question. Here’s the proof. You’re welcome world!

Justin Moehn is a clinical support administrator at BlueSprig who is diagnosed with ASD. Listen in as he talks shop with host Tim Crilly and co-host Dr. Summer Adami - discussing his own initiatives, his passion for educating law enforcement about interacting with individuals on the spectrum, and how excited they are to see families again after COVID-19. Justin dives into his life as an employee at BlueSprig and what the clients and his coworkers mean to him.

Amanda Fullbright, VP of Learning and Development at BlueSprig and returning guest, Summer Adami, VP of Research and Clinical Outcomes at BlueSprig, give some advice to BCBAs early in their careers. They discuss the existing benefits and challenges that exist within the process of training clinicians and the implementation of the BlueSprig internship program.  

Carmen Torres, BCBA and Clinical Director at the BlueSprig center in Edinburg, Texas discusses her Mexican background, her unlikely introduction into the ABA world, and the challenges and benefits of operating in a largely bilingual community.

Cordell Sherwood, diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at the late age of 10, shares his story that ranges from being bullied as a child in school to becoming a guest speaker in graduate study classes at USC. In this episode, we explore systemic issues that exist within  many school districts and the benefits of addressing an ASD diagnosis at an early age. We also get to meet a really interesting young man with an important story to share.

Keith Jones, CEO at BlueSprig, who you heard from in our intro, sits down with Tim to discuss some BlueSprig history, the current ABA landscape, and current initiatives within BlueSprig. Keith just came back from his Road Back Road Trip with a lot of stories to tell and details some of the challenges the BlueSprig team overcame during pandemic shutdowns, and how proud he is of his organization and our accomplishments. 

In response to conversations with BlueSprig employees focused on social justice issues that were honest, difficult, and eye opening, Keith Jones, CEO of BlueSprig, formed Kintsugi. Kintsugi is a diversity, equity, and inclusion mission within BlueSprig that looks at every aspect of the BlueSprig employment experience to ensure that we are living to our value of a level playing field for all. Co-chairs Jenny Pagan, Clinical Integration Manager and Jovan Philips, Clinic Optimization Director, join our host, Tim Crilly to discuss how Kintsugi was founded and how their roles are focused on leading this mission.

In March of 2020 we all saw our lives drastically change as a global pandemic caused lock downs and business closures began. Many states were quick to identify ABA therapy as an essential service, however the work to ensure families safely received care and employees were able to continue in a secure working environment had just begun. Dr. Sharyn Kerr, Chief Operating Officer at BlueSprig, and Jill Jacobson, Chief Growth Officer sit down with Tim to talk about the challenges that BlueSprig faced during the early period of this pandemic. They also discuss the quick and effective decisions they made to create safe conditions for all those involved and how the process evolved over time. Our hope is that this episode can aid other providers and offer best practices for moving forward in our “new normal”.

Cheri Vandermey, BCBA, is currently working with a Los Angeles area school district and possesses a plethora of experience with public schools as well as a vast knowledge of the IEP process. This episode focuses on the challenges families and teachers will face in a distance learning environment for those students with an IEP. Cheri proves to be an incredibly intriguing guest to have on with our host Tim Crilly, and first time co-host Dr. Summer Adami to discuss this situation and how school districts might move forward to improve the learning environment for these students. With so many questions up in the air, our discussion focuses on potential outcomes as well as the lingering questions that exist within the school system during a pandemic.

Dr. Summer Adami, Vice President of Research and Clinical Outcomes at BlueSprig, joins the show and talks about the process she went through when her company was the first ABA therapy agency to be acquired by BlueSprig. She also discusses how her transition to BlueSprig provided her with the opportunity to pursue some of her greatest passions through a variety of initiatives within BlueSprig that relate to advocacy and research.

In our first episode, our host Tim Crilly talks with Dr. Michael Cameron, Chief Clinical Officer at BlueSprig about his most recent study, Telehealth for Family Guidance. 

With COVID-19 affecting the way all health care providers deliver services, technology has emerged as a critical component in order to deliver care via telehealth. Telehealth has changed the landscape of ABA making it possible for families to receive valuable services when they cannot be physically near their clinician.

Dr. Cameron expands on the study he and his team performed and published and he goes deeper into examining how to best approach telehealth and what the future can look like with technology in health care.

Welcome to ABA Unfiltered where our goal is to provide the greater ABA community insights and education to make the science, policy, and culture behind ABA more digestible and accessible. 

In this introduction, you'll hear from our host Tim Crilly, BCBA and Keith Jones, CEO of BlueSprig about how BlueSprig aims to bring the ABA community together to collaborate through this podcast and how BlueSprig was founded. Enjoy!