Disability Advocacy and Empowerment with Julia Chalker

Supporting Professionals with Behavior Tools with Sasha Long, BCBA

Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Sasha Long, BCBA. Sasha is the founder and president of The Autism Helper, Inc. She is a board certified behavior analyst and former special education teacher. Sasha works full time as a consultant, writer, and behavior analyst. Sasha manages and writes The Autism Helper Blog, as a way to share easy to use and ready to implement strategies and ideas. Sasha also travels internationally as a speaker and consultant providing individualized training and feedback to parents, educators, therapists and administrators in the world of autism. She is currently an adjunct professor in the school of Applied Behavior Analysis at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Today in our discussion with Sasha we discuss her journey to starting the Autism Helper Inc., resources she creates such as curriculum design and behavioral strategies, as well as important topics for professionals such as executive functioning and inclusion. The Autism Helper Contacts: Website Instagram Facebook Pinterest

Disability Advocacy and Empowerment with Julia Chalker

Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Julia Chalker. Julia is the Director of The Arc of DFW Area, a role in which she is able to apply her 30+ years of experience in public education and advocacy for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and her personal experience as being sister to Bobby, who has autism.  She holds a B.S. in Special Education and a M.S.Ed. in Special Education & Transition, and she last served as Transition Coordinator in a school district, where she led initiatives to assist students in transitioning to adulthood.  Julia has served on the board of The Arc of DFW Area and REACH Centers for Independent Living, is certified in Person Centered Planning, and she enjoys working with siblings through the Sibshops (sibling support) program.  Julia is passionate about advocating for and protecting the rights of those with disabilities and for helping individuals and families navigate the supports, services, and knowledge required to ensure a quality life for everyone. Today in our conversation we discuss her former and current roles and the importance of planning and preparing early to help prepare adults with disabilities for the transition to adulthood. We also discuss the current state of rights for those with disabilities and how to get involved in advocacy. https://siblingsupport.org/sibshops/ https://www.reachcils.org https://www.thearcofdfw.org

Behavioral Interventions in the Hospital Setting with Kelsey Hunter, BCBA, LBS

Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Kelsey Hunter. Kelsey is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Licensed Behavior Specialist (LBS) with almost 10 years of experience supporting individuals and families with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), intellectual disabilities and severe behavior disorders.  Kelsey is a skilled clinician that prides herself on her ability to provide meaningful connection, honesty and values based interventions to the individuals and families she works with. She aims to provide therapeutic support through a trauma informed, neurodiverse affirming (NDA) lens to caregivers, parents, and siblings who have loved ones with social learning differences. Today in our conversation we discuss Kelsey’s current role as a BCBA working in an outpatient hospital setting. We discuss the diverse roles a behavior analyst can play in these types of medical settings, her interdisciplinary collaboration with other medical professionals, as well as using a caregiver only training model to help the patients and families that she serves.

Autism Research with Dr. Kathryn Unruh, PhD

Dr. Kathryn Unruh, PhD is an assistant research professor at the University of Kansas Life Span Institute. Her research interests include understanding the psychological and brain processes that underlie core features of autism and developing methods for measuring behaviors that are more closely tied to their underlying biological mechanisms. She is specifically interested in using this work to improve clinical trials in autism by advancing our ability to understand why interventions (pharmacological and behavioral) show variable effectiveness across individuals and by developing new ways to predict which individuals may benefit most from certain therapeutic options.  Today in our conversation with Kathryn we discuss the importance of understanding the brain systems that underlie autism, Kathryn’s current research in better understanding pharmacological interventions for autism, as well as how the neuroscience and behavioral fields can work better alongside each other. Autism Research Resources: autismspeaks.org autismsciencefoundation.org nlm.nih.gov (National Library of Medicine) sparkforautism.org

Introducing Best Behavior Solutions!

In today’s episode we are excited to share about our new company, Best Behavior Solutions! Best Behavior Solutions, LLC aims to close the research to practice gap by training schools, churches, and businesses on how to include people of all abilities. We train on how to implement evidence-based behavior strategies in order to serve and support all individuals. We offer in person and online training and resources! Please listen to learn our heart behind creating this business and how we can help support you and your community. We view every individual as valuable and capable 💙 Find us at: @bestbehaviorsolutions https://Bestbehaviorsolutions.org [https://Bestbehaviorsolutions.org]