Last month I celebrated the 5th birthday of Busy Analytical Bee. The first edition was released to a handful of people June 2014, and since then it has grown and grown! Over the years I have had the opportunity to interview some amazing Behaviour Analysts and Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) providers, and I have enjoyed sharing their stories with you. This post will reflect on each of these interview editions (Click the person name to view that relevant edition). Thank you to you all for taking the time to answer my questions, and share your story with us.
The very first interview (September 2014) was with my dear friend Faryaneh Akhavan who set up Snowflake School, London. She set up the school to provide services for her son, and for many other families like hers, who wanted ABA for their child.
The second interview was with Nicole Reynolds in December 2014. Nicole was an Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) who was incorporating ABA practises in her own clinic which had set up. She discussed the services she provided in this interview.
My wonderful colleague and friend Kelly Taylor-Saunders joined me in March 2015. Kelly works for her own company ABA Matters and I had the pleasure of working with her early on in my career and I learned a lot! She has always supported me and she is a fantastic Behaviour Analyst!
Then I was joined by Jennifer Austin who is the President of UK- Society of Behaviour Analysis (UK SBA) and also holds a position at the University of South Wales.
I invited Jonathan Beebee to join me in September 2015 to talk about his company PBS4 and the Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) approach.
December 2015 I was joined by the amazing Jane McCready. Jane created ABAA4ALL and helps promote the field and disseminate information about the field. Her aim is to help anyone and everyone access ABA services, as her son received ABA therapy as he was growing up.
In March 2016 I invited Christos Nikpolpulos to do an interview and tell us more about his career and his work within video modelling. Christos researched this approach and demonstrate its efficacy.
Another amazing colleague of mine, who has taught me so much, Georgiana Barzey joined me next (June 2016). Georgiana runs her own business with a team of amazing Behavior Analysts, All Behaviour Consultancy.
Next, the wonderful Lesley Love . Lesley worked as the Headteacher of Treetops School and has recently set up her own Clinic Love ABA.
December 2016 was an absolute honour, as I welcomed one of my ABA heroes, Vincent Carbone. I have a lot of admiration for the work he has done in the field and especially with Verbal Behaviour and I was so grateful for the time he took to do this interview!
Another Hero, Steven Hayes. He is so widely respected for the work he has done within the field and specifically within the domains of Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and Acceptance and Commitement Therapy (ACT). Very inspirational Behaviour Analyst.
June 2017, I welcomed Robert Schramm who developed the Seven Steps of Instructional Control. I love this piece and refer to it regularly in my practise.
In September 2017, I interviewed a wonderful Behaviour Analyst who is based in Scotland, Gemma Gilmour. She shared about who ABA services look in Scotland and how it is developing. She also told us about her career and her company Keys For Learning.
A budding Behaviour Analyst Maria Amenabar was studying her Masters in Applied Behaviour Analysis, so I invited her on to share her thoughts about being a student of the field! Maria now works for All Behaviour Consultancy.
In 2017 I interviewed Tracy Mapp who uses Precision Teaching. She explained about Precision Teaching and how her career has developed.
Next I invited Todd Ward to tell us more about how his career has developed. Todd set up Behavioral Science in the 21st Century (bSc21). This is a massive platform that helps to disseminate and promote the field. Todd also supported me, and was briefly had an Editorial Role with the newsletter, in which he taught me alot!
Another great Behaviour Analyst who is based in Wales, Risca Solomon. She owns her own, ever-growing company Skybound. Risca shared with us about her company, and how she became interested in ABA.
March 2019, was a slightly different interview edition, in which I was joined by Jonathan Beebee (PBS4) and Georgiana Barzey (of All Behaviour Consultancy) to discuss the differences between Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) and Positive Behaviour Support (PBS). There is often a lot of confusion around the distinction between these two.
And that brings us up to the latest interview edition, the 5th Anniversary edition. This was very special as I was joined by the incredible and inspirational Megan Miller. Many of us will have heard of her work in the #DoBetter Movement. She also has her own company Navigation Behavioral Consulting and is the CEO of the PEAK ABA Solutions.
Thanks again for all these amazing interviewees and all the readers for supporting the newsletter for so many years! It has been amazing so far!
Let me know if there’s someone you think I should interview? Who would you like to know more about? You can contact me here, I want to hear from you!
Busy Analytical Bee 