ABA on Call

In this episode of ABA on Call, hosts Rick Kubina and Doug Kostewicz explore the transition from practitioner to business owner with guests April and Stephen Smith from 3PiSquared. The conversation traces their journey from early clinical work in ABA to launching and scaling a successful practice, highlighting the realities of entrepreneurship in the field. Listeners gain insight into common startup pathways, costly early mistakes, and the importance of mentorship, legal compliance, and financial planning. The episode also examines warning signs of organizational drift such as reactive management, staff issues, and declining outcomes, and offers practical strategies for course correction. Ethical challenges, workforce training gaps, and emerging influences like AI in clinical operations are discussed, emphasizing the need for systems that support both quality care and sustainable growth. This episode provides a candid, experience-driven look at what it takes to build an ABA business without losing clinical integrity or personal well-being.
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Show Notes: 
Website:
https://3piesquared.com/
 
Free Consultation Booking Link:
https://3piesquared.com/stephen-booking-page
 
Book Pre-Order Copies:
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-aba-business-leaders-guide/id6755113017
Amazon: https://a.co/d/0hgLukNm

This podcast episode explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into applied behavior analysis practice, featuring Kelly King, BCBA, Manager of Clinical AI Governance at CentralReach. The discussion highlights the evolution of AI technologies, including large language models, and their application in clinical workflows, such as documentation and decision support. Emphasis is placed on ethical considerations, including data privacy, avoidance of overreliance on AI outputs, and the importance of maintaining human oversight in clinical judgment. The episode addresses risks such as hallucinated outputs, inappropriate data input (e.g., protected health information), and the need for behavior analysts to develop AI literacy as part of their professional competence. This content aligns with the BACB Ethics Code by focusing on responsible use of technology, protection of client confidentiality, and maintaining professional competence.
To earn CEUs for listening, click here, log in or sign up, pay the CEU fee, + take the attendance verification to generate your certificate! Don't forget to subscribe and follow and leave us a rating and review.
 
Show Notes
 
None explicitly cited in the course. For considered readings on possible cognitive impacts of leveraging AI without safeguards of responsible use:   Izquierdo-Condoy, J. S., Arias-Intriago, M., Tello-De-la-Torre, A., Busch, F., & Ortiz-Prado, E. (2025). Generative artificial intelligence in medical education: Enhancing critical thinking or undermining cognitive autonomy? Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27, e76340. https://doi.org/10.2196/76340 

Gerlich, M. (2025). AI tools in society: Impacts on cognitive offloading and the future of critical thinking. Societies, 15(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15010006 

(preprint) Shen, J. H., & Tamkin, A. (2026). How AI impacts skill formation. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.20245 

Sourati, Z., Ziabari, A. S., & Dehghani, M. (2026). The homogenizing effect of large language models on human expression and thought. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2026.01.003

This episode features a discussion focused on equipping behavior analysts with practical strategies for communicating effectively with parents about core behavioral principles. Rick and Doug examine common parent concerns, including misconceptions about reinforcement versus bribery, objections to "rewarding" children for expected behavior, and the short- and long-term effects of yelling and punishment. The conversation explores coercive cycles, habituation to punishment, escalation patterns, and counter control. Rick and Doug also address adolescent behavior through the lens of reinforcement history and motivating operations, emphasizing that teenagers are shaped by contingencies rather than being "broken." Practical communication strategies are provided, including using lay terminology, modeling empathy, setting clear contingencies, and teaching parents replacement strategies for coercive interactions. The content is applied and practice-oriented, supporting behavior analysts in improving parent training and consultation outcomes. 
 
To earn CEUs for listening, click here, log in or sign up, pay the CEU fee, + take the attendance verification to generate your certificate! Don't forget to subscribe and follow and leave us a rating and review.
 
Show Notes:
Azrin, N. H., & Holz, W. C. (1966). Punishment. In W. K. Honig (Ed.), Operant behavior: Areas of research and application (pp. 380–447). Appleton-Century-Crofts. 

Patterson, G. R. (1982). Coercive family process. Castalia Publishing Company. 

Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. Macmillan

In the Season 8 premiere of ABA On Call, Rick and Doug kick off the year by responding to three of the most pressing listener questions from the past season: how behavior analysts should think about punishment and ethics, how well-intended ABA can accidentally cause harm, and how the field can better address professional burnout. The conversation examines punishment through a technical, ethical, and real-world lens, emphasizing wellbeing, context, and the necessity of replacement skills rather than simple behavior suppression. The hosts then explore how skipping analytic steps, overreliance on familiar techniques, and systems-level pressures can lead to harmful outcomes despite good intentions. Finally, they turn to burnout as an organizational and relational problem, discussing supervision, workplace culture, and systemic contingencies that shape staff wellbeing. Together, these topics frame a practical, ethically grounded roadmap for doing ABA in a way that is both effective and humane.
 
To earn CEUs for listening, click here, log in or sign up, pay the CEU fee, + take the attendance verification to generate your certificate! Don't forget to subscribe and follow and leave us a rating and review.
 
Show Notes:
Procedural Fidelity Data as an Indicator of Quality Service Delivery in Aba Organizations

This episode explores the often-confused concepts of morality and ethics and examines how each guides human action both in daily life and in professional practice. Morality reflects the norms and values individuals and cultures use to judge right and wrong, while ethics serves as a formal system for evaluating and regulating behavior within professions. Building on this distinction, the episode introduces a scientific perspective on moral truths: the idea that morality can be grounded in facts about what increases or decreases the well-being of conscious creatures. Finally, the hosts apply these ideas to behavior analysis, discussing how moral considerations, empirical outcomes, and ethical codes intersect in real practice. Using examples ranging from family interactions to clinical decision-making, the hosts illustrate how a data-driven understanding of well-being can shape more humane, effective, and responsible behavior-analytic work.
 
To earn CEUs for listening, click here, log in or sign up, pay the CEU fee, + take the attendance verification to generate your certificate! Don't forget to subscribe and follow and leave us a rating and review.
 
Show Notes:
https://www.samharris.org/books/the-moral-landscape

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3739395-when-slow-is-fast-enough