Trainings

As the training director at PBS, Corp., I'm responsible for curating our training library. We have multiple free offerings available to the public, including parent training resources.

Behavior analysis is capable of addressing a wide breadth of human and animal behavior. In fact, our science is one of the most ubiquitous sciences in terms of application. This flexibility and application also includes the complex nature of sexuality, an area of practice that many behavior analysts will intersect with in their time working in the field. In this talk, Dr. Shane T. Spiker will discuss the current research in behavior analysis related to sexuality as well as how to successfully and ethically navigate assessment, treatment, and collaboration in this research area.

HABA 2024 Keynote. The field of behavior analysis is simultaneously maturing and evolving. Over the past several years, we have seen a rapid growth in the number of professionals entering the field, the development of unique subspecialties, and the growing pains associated with private equity entering the conversation. Despite these various hurdles and changes, our field persists. If our field is to continue to sust...

Crisis behaviors occur in highly intense treatment conditions, requiring snap decisions from those involved. However, the majority of crisis management discussions focus on reactions to the event rather than a contextual accounting of the event. In this discussion, Dr. Shane T. Spiker will specifically focus on how crisis management is supposed to be viewed within a treatment context and what we can do to make the need for crisis management as minimal as possible.

Sexuality education is a sensitive topic as the norms surrounding sexuality education differ across cultures. It is even more sensitive when providing education to people with disabilities as society may have misperceptions regarding sexuality for people with disabilities. The social communication deficits for people with ASD make sexuality education for this population even more complex. This presentation provides learners with real life case studies in which behavior analytic services were used in collaboration with others to help address individualized sexuality education for people with ASD. Ethical considerations for BCBAs and resources for teaching are also provided.

Supervision practices have become an ethical pain point for behavior analysis over the past several years, with issues of supervision being one of the most reported and founded ethical violations according to the BACB®. Given that the field is growing at exponential rates, the need for quality supervision has never been more apparent. In this discussion, Dr. Shane T. Spiker will discuss how we can use instructional design methods to build supervision practices that are not only quality, but ethical in their application. Instructional design is one of the most powerful design tools at a behavior analyst's disposal though it is rarely attended to in an intentional way. Through the use of instructional design methods, behavior analytic supervisors can effectively reduce ethical dilemmas by creating quality supervision programs.

The art of addressing ethical dilemmas appears to be one that behavior analysts are quite proficient in. However, upon closer analysis, that may not necessarily be the case. Rather, it is possible that behavior analysts are more adept at identifying things they don’t like and conflating them into ethical dilemmas. The danger of this is that we begin to develop a coercive, fear-based approach to ethics, a problem that is not easily reversed in our field. In this discussion, Dr. Spiker will discuss some of the nuances and variables related to the development of ethical practices vs. preferences in behavior analytic work.

TABA 2024: In our coursework, we are taught that the seven dimensions of behavior analysis serve as our guiding principles. However, as our field has evolved and matured, we have encountered some challenges that may not be fully addressed by the original seven dimensions. Penney et al. (2023) proposed an additional dimension: compassion. Despite this inclusion, we might still be overlooking a crucial aspect of our work: humility. In this talk, Dr. Shane T. Spiker will explore the benefits and implications of incorporating humility as an additional dimension in our practices.

NJABA Speaker Series 2023. The supervision journey can be a lengthy process for trainees and supervisors alike. It can be quite easy to think of supervision as a list of requirements toward receiving that behavior analyst credential. However, supervision is far more complex, contextual, and emotional than that. To ignore the qualitative aspects of supervision (relationships, soft skills, etc.) or the individualization of supervision is to provide the bare minimum supervisory experience. In this talk, Dr. Shane T. Spiker will discuss some strategies for building a comprehensive and complete supervisory experience WITH your trainee.

FABA 2023. Despite being a commonly occurring challenge for behavior analysts, sexuality in behavior analysis is severely lacking in research and practice. With limited research applications over several decades, there is a glaring gap in inclusive practices in this specific area. In this talk, Dr. Shane T. Spiker will discuss some of the current trends in sexuality in behavior analysis, including ethical considerations for working within sexuality, current applications, legal issues, and future research directions related to this highly sensitive and commonly occurring behavior concern.

Intimacy and sexual behavior are socially significant skills that influence our interpersonal relationships. Pietromonaco and Collins (2017) presented a call to action in investigating practical and effective interventions to increase related behaviors and continue examining their effects on interpersonal relationships and biological processes. Within behavior analysis, interest in intimacy and sexual behavior is not novel (Barlow et al., 1970; Kantorowitz, 1978; Martinez-Diaz & Edelstein, 1979, etc.) and continues to attract more behavior scientists (Kanter et al., 2020; Hamrick et al., 2021; Wongsomboon & Cox, 2021; Jarmolowicz et al., 2022, etc.) However, locating relevant articles on the topic can oftentimes be limited. The present literature review has identified relevant articles (N = 63) which provide behavior-analytic conceptualization, assessment, and/or intervention for intimacy and sexual behavior. These articles are sourced from prominent behavior-analytic journals (i.e., JABA, BAP, etc.) and non-behavior-analytic journals (i.e., Archives of Sexual Behavior, International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy) from the journals’ inception.

Behavior analysis is capable of addressing a wide breadth of human and animal behavior. In fact, our science is one of the most ubiquitous sciences in terms of application. This flexibility and application also includes the complex nature of sexuality, an area of practice that many behavior analysts will intersect with in their time working in the field. In this talk, Dr. Shane T. Spiker will discuss the current research in behavior analysis related to sexuality as well as how to successfully and ethically navigate assessment, treatment, and collaboration in this research area.

APBA 2023. The field of behavior analysis acknowledges our responsibility to ethically provide services that support the autonomy of and maximize reinforcement for our clients, while also maximizing benefit to the community at large. Perhaps in no arena is this responsibility more pertinent than in that of sexual behavior. Cognizance around ethical issues as well as potential legal implications is of highest importance, especially when supporting disabled individuals. This panel will serve as a sounding board for common issues faced in the field as behavior analysts who address potential behavior change surrounding sexual behavior. Panelists will use professional experience to provide relevant anecdotes and discuss best practices surrounding the ethics of consultation and intervention, and the ethical considerations of each. The panelists will facilitate real-time, interactive discussion between themselves and the audience in order to identify potential ethical dilemmas while modeling decision-making processes.     

ONTABA 2024: Behavior analysis is widely used to treat a variety of challenging behaviors, but how well do we do when considering sexual behavior? Despite the research being fairly limited in this area, behavior analysis does have some excellent examples of interventions that are not only useful, but may aim to improve the quality of life of the learner regarding their sexual behavior. In this talk, Dr. Shane T. Spiker will discuss what’s been done in behavior analysis and how those treatments have “measured up” in addressing socially significant behavior concerns related to inappropriate sexual behavior. NOTE: Please ensure you sign up with the email address listed on your ONTABA account to receive free access.

FABA 2023. It is assumed that when you work in behavior analysis, you will eventually experience some type of behavioral crisis. Additionally, crises come in all forms, requiring clinical expertise and guidance to come to a resolution and move forward in your practice. In some instances, it might be necessary to pool resources and focus specialized clinicians to provide that higher level of support. In this talk, Linda Meckler and Shane Spiker describe the process of developing a specialized committee to monitor and address crisis circumstances in clinical practice. The presenters will discuss how to create a committee that contextually applies to an organization, what data are analyzed and monitored, and outcomes related to organizational goals.