ABA Inside Track

We were so excited to take the trip back up to Utica, NY for the 3rd Compassionate Care Conference, hosted by Dr. Erik Jacobson and his team at Upstate Caring Partners. And the conference did not disappoint. In this extra-long bonus episode, we spend some time remembering our favorite moments regarding the definition of compassion and the place of PFA-SBT in today's ABA before diving into over an hour's worth of great poster discussion with a slew of excellent presenters. Honestly, I think it's our biggest poster segment ever! Come for the Utica greens, stay for the updated treatment discussions. CCC 2026 truly did "make shift happen."
Thanks to UCP for inviting us again and for all the great folks who stopped by to say "hi". Here's hoping we see them and you in 2028!

As the summer hits the beginning of the end, we're taking a few minutes to reflect on all of our vacation fun. And what better way to share one of our favorite 2026 vacations than to do an entire bonus episode reviewing our trip to Utica, New York. More specifically, our trip to the Compassionate Care Conference hosted by Upstate Caring Partners. And, for ABA Inside Track, nothing says vacation like amazing speakers, street audio poster sessions, and scintillating conversations about the state of behavioral treatment. Next, we supplement your beach reading time with last year's Book Club episode on the trauma treatment bestseller "The Body Keeps the Score", unlocked for all. And, Dr. Bill Ahearn takes a trip back to our show to discuss a Listener's Choice pick of updated legislative policies regarding behavior analysis. Just the kind of topic to enjoy during a Red Sox rain delay!
Articles for August 2026
(UNLOCKED) The Body Keeps the Score Book Club
Van der Kolk, B. (2015). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Books.
Nietfeld, E. (2025, January/February). What the most famous book about trauma gets wrong. Mother Jones. https://www.motherjones.com/media/2024/12/trauma-body-keeps-the-score-van-der-kolk-psychology-therapy-ptsd/
Legislative Policy in Behavior Analysis w/ Dr. Bill Ahearn
De la Cruz, B., Bourland, G., Johnson-Patagoc, K. M., Dillen, J., Fritz, J. N., & Crone, R. (2025). The road to licensure of behavior analysts in Texas: History and lessons learned. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 18, 505-518. doi: 10.1007/s40617-024-01030-z
Bourland, G., Wilczynski, S., Guercio, J., Scibak, J., & Gautreaux, G. (2025). We have a behavior analyst licensure law. Can't we relax now? Behavior Analysis in Practice, 18, 530-542. doi: 10.1007/s40617-024-01013-0

A quick update on some required CE changes coming in September to make sure everyone has plenty of time to get ready.
TL; DL - If you want to earn CEs for listening to a given episode, go IMMEDIATELY and listen on ABA Inside Track's website to avoid needing to double listen.

Returning to the show with a brand new book in tow, we're joined by Dr. Denise Ross and Dr. Doug Greer to talk all about the research behind teaching reading and reading comprehension skills, as put into their edited work, When Text Speaks. We go deep into the foundations of reading instruction, from learning units in the strategic science of teaching planning arenas to classroom management and books as conditioned reinforcers in the "helping kids actually enjoy the process of books" arenas. And that's before decoding, teaching metaphors, and scaling instruction to the classroom and into upper education. Plus some of your favorite Book Club bits like Rob's general review of the last line. It's a smorgasbord of fun reading research!
This episode is available for 1.5 LEARNING CEU.
Content discussed this episode:
Ross, D.E., Greer, R.D. (Eds.) (2025). When text speaks: Learning to read and reading to learn. Sloan Publishing.
If you're interested in ordering CEs for listening to this episode, click here to go to the store page. You'll need to enter your name, BCBA #, the two episode secret code words, and answers to the knowledge check questions to complete the purchase. Email us at abainsidetrack@gmail.com for further assistance.

While behavior analysts might think themselves immune to falling into poor practices when supporting students in public schools, don't forget that we too are sensitive to the contingencies of our environment. And when those environments are using statistically higher rates of punishment in the form of harsh discipline practices for females of color... This week we're joined by special guest, Dr. Mawule Sevon to discuss the research on this terrible trend, how behavior analysts might inadvertantly support its promulgation by responding to assessment and observation requests, and what our field can do to support anti-racist practices in school discipline.
This episode is available for 1.0 CULTURAL/ETHICS CEU.
Articles discussed this episode:
Ladson-Billings, G. (1998). Just what is critical race theory and what's it doing in a nice field like education? International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 11, 7-24. doi: 10.1080/095183998236863
Epstein, R., Blake, J.J., & Gonzàlez, T. (2017). Girlhood interrupted: The erasure of Black girls' childhood [White paper]. Center on Poverty and Inequality, Georgetown Law. https://genderjusticeandopportunity.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/girlhood-interrupted.pdf
Sevon, M. (2022). Schooling while Black: Analyzing the racial school discipline crisis for behavior analyst. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 15, 1247-1253. doi: 10.1007/s40617-022-00695-8
If you're interested in ordering CEs for listening to this episode, click here to go to the store page. You'll need to enter your name, BCBA #, the two episode secret code words, and answers to the knowledge check questions to complete the purchase. Email us at abainsidetrack@gmail.com for further assistance.