Episodes

  • 020 Behavioural Self-Care: Preventing Practitioner Burnout with Micaela Rafferty

    020 Behavioural Self-Care: Preventing Practitioner Burnout with Micaela Rafferty
    Apr 7 2026
    In this episode, Micaela Rafferty — Board-Certified Behaviour Analyst, special educator, and nationally recognised nutritionist — joins the podcast to explore the science of burnout and how behaviour analysts and allied health professionals can apply their own expertise to protect their health and wellbeing. Micaela unpacks the official definition of burnout as a predictable response to chronic, unresolved workplace stress and explains why those working in the NDIS space face a particularly layered set of stressors — from shifting government policy and funding constraints through to compassion fatigue and the emotional demands of caring work. The conversation covers practical, evidence-based self-care strategies grounded in behavioural science: designing supportive environments, reducing response effort, building in rest and recovery across physical, mental, emotional, and sensory dimensions, and creating systems of accountability and reinforcement to sustain behaviour change over time.

    This episode reframes self-care not as an indulgence but as an ethical and professional responsibility. The very skills practitioners apply daily with clients and participants — functional assessment, environment design, shaping small consistent behaviours, and frequent reinforcement — are exactly the tools needed to protect clinical capacity and prevent burnout. Whether you’re already feeling the weight of an unsustainable workload, or you want to get ahead of the warning signs, Micaela’s insights offer a genuinely practical starting point. Small, meaningful steps, taken consistently and without self-judgement, are what create lasting change — and that applies as much to practitioners as it does to the people they support.

    Looking for practical, flexible learning that goes beyond the podcast?

    The All Access Pass gives you unlimited entry to all of our self-paced online courses, early access to new content, exclusive member discounts, and our ever-growing library of downloadable resources, templates, and clinical tools. It’s all grounded in evidence-based, person-centred practice, designed to support you at your own pace, in real-world ways.

    Visit https://specialistbehaviour.com/all-access-pass/

    Questions, comments, feedback? Email us at info@specialistbehaviour.com
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • 019 PBS Implementation Intricacies (Dr. Fiona Davis)

    019 PBS Implementation Intricacies (Dr. Fiona Davis)
    Mar 1 2026
    Jenn Colechin is joined by Dr Fiona J. Davis to unpack what actually makes Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) implementation work in real-world disability contexts. Fiona is a specialist developmental educator and specialist behaviour support practitioner with more than 35 years’ experience across Australia, and she brings a strongly rights-based, practical lens to the “doing” part of PBS.
    Together, they explore why implementation often becomes an afterthought (especially for novice practitioners under compliance pressure), and what it looks like to start implementation from “day dot” by building trust, working with context, and focusing on micro-changes that families and support teams can realistically sustain.

    Takeaways:
    • Implementation isn’t the optional second half of PBS. It’s the core work that turns assessment and plans into meaningful quality-of-life change.
    • Many PBS practitioners have been trained for compliance (reports, timelines, restrictive practice identification), but not supported to build strong implementation skills.
    • Start implementation from the first contact: the way you listen, communicate, and build trust sets up everything that follows.
    • “Good implementation” is always contextual. Your approach shifts depending on the person, setting, safety risks, and stakeholder capacity.
    • Micro-changes matter: small, doable shifts can create momentum, reduce overwhelm, and help stakeholders see that change is possible.
    • Data collection needs to fit the family’s real life. Creative, low-burden options (like simple dots on a calendar) can still give useful insight.
    • Strong therapeutic relationships make it easier to collaborate, problem-solve, and respectfully challenge when things don’t go to plan.
    • Understanding disability (including history, rights, and lived impact) is essential. Behaviour support doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
    • Clear, concrete communication supports predictability (for example, reducing language during escalation and using specific times rather than vague “later”).
    • Implementation is iterative: expect adjustments as you learn more, circumstances change, and you refine strategies, often by simplifying rather than adding more.
    • Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS goals) offers a practical way to define success, capture progress on a spectrum, and make outcomes visible and measurable.
    • Organisation supports implementation: simple structure, checklists, and consistent communication reduce “floating in the wind” for both practitioners and teams.
    Looking for practical, flexible learning that goes beyond the podcast?
    The All Access Pass gives you unlimited entry to all of our self-paced online courses, early access to new content, exclusive member discounts, and our ever-growing library of downloadable resources, templates, and clinical tools. It’s all grounded in evidence-based, person-centred practice, designed to support you at your own pace, in real-world ways.
    Visit https://specialistbehaviour.com/all-access-pass/

    Questions, comments, feedback?
    Email us at info@specialistbehaviour.com
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    57 mins
  • 018 Early Intervention (Jill Hellemans)

    018 Early Intervention (Jill Hellemans)
    Feb 2 2026
    Jenn Colechin is joined by Jill Hellemans (Behaviour Analyst, Special Educator, and Child and Family counsellor; Clinical Director of All Aboard Inclusion) to unpack early intervention- especially what good early intervention can look like when it’s embedded in inclusive, real-world settings like homes, childcare, and preschool.
    Together, they explore why early intervention is fundamentally about building meaningful skills (not “fixing” children), how capacity-building with families and educators creates real intensity over time, and what current shifts in Australia’s NDIS landscape (including Thriving Kids) could mean for practice, particularly around natural environments, collaboration, and tiered support.

    Takeaways:

    Early intervention is most powerful when it builds foundational learning skills early (communication, play, transitions, tolerance, daily living skills, safety), reducing the likelihood that distress behaviours become the main way needs are communicated and met.
    Progress comes from everyday practice across routines, relationships, and environments.
    High-quality early intervention prioritises capacity-building: upskilling the people who are with the child most (family, educators, support staff) so strategies are used consistently and confidently.
    Teaching needs to happen where life happens, like at home, community, and early childhood settings because that’s where skills are most likely to generalise and stick.
    Multidisciplinary work is essential, but collaboration needs to be realistically funded and protected.
    In early childhood settings, therapists who “blend in” (support routines, join play, build rapport, avoid the clipboard-in-the-corner vibe) are more likely to create sustainable change.

    Early intervention is a rights-based opportunity: teaching choice-making, requesting, and rejection (including “no”) supports agency and reduces reliance on unsafe or misunderstood communication.

    · Thriving Kids could create better pathways by focusing on need (not just diagnosis), strengthening natural-environment supports, and investing earlier, before children reach school already behind.
    · Jill’s call to the field: be more visible, collaborative, and open. Show what contemporary ABA looks like in practice, learn from lived experience and past harms, and keep improving.

    Resources mentioned in the episode:

    · PRECI Report (National Best Practice Framework in Early Childhood Intervention) – released May 2025
    · Thriving Kids Advisory Group Final Report – released December 2025
    · Key worker model (and how behaviour analysts can work effectively within it)Want extra support to turn these ideas into practical, real-world strategies?

    Looking for practical, flexible learning that goes beyond the podcast?
    The All Access Pass gives you unlimited entry to all of our self-paced online courses, early access to new content, exclusive member discounts, and our ever-growing library of downloadable resources, templates, and clinical tools.
    It’s all grounded in evidence-based, person-centred practice—designed to support you at your own pace, in real-world ways.

    Visit https://specialistbehaviour.com/all-access-pass/
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    54 mins
  • 017 All About Supervision (Kristin Bayley)

    017 All About Supervision (Kristin Bayley)
    Jan 4 2026
    In this episode of Behaviour Bits, Jenn Colechin is joined again by behaviour support practitioner, Board Certified Behaviour Analyst, speech pathologist, and co-director of Launch Supervision, Kristin Bayley, for a deep dive into supervision.
    Together they unpack what “good supervision” really looks like in Positive Behaviour Support, both within NDIS contexts and beyond, and why it matters at every stage of your career.
    They explore the difference between clinical and organisational supervision, how to balance KPIs with genuine clinical growth, and why the “dose” and quality of supervision can be a major protective factor against practitioner burnout.

    You’ll also hear practical guidance on individual vs group and clinical vs organisational supervision, how to find a supervisor who’s a good fit for your values, and how supervision can help you hold onto your “why” in this demanding but rewarding work.

    Takeaways:
    • Supervision should be lifelong: even very experienced practitioners benefit from a reflective space, a soundboard, and someone to challenge and extend their thinking.
    • There is a crucial difference between organisational supervision (KPIs, billables, deadlines, compliance) and clinical supervision (case formulation, evidence base, skills, wellbeing) and both are needed.
    • When supervision time is often consumed by compliance issues, practitioners lose opportunities for deeper clinical reflection and skill-building, and risk practising in a reactive way.
    • Finding a supervisor starts with knowing your own “why” and values—then seeking out practitioners whose public work resonates, connecting through communities of practice, and treating the match a bit like dating: fit matters.
    • Supervision is a key protection against practitioner burnout in emotionally demanding work; connection, celebration of small wins, and peer/reading groups all help you keep giving people the best of you, not just what’s left of you.
    Looking for practical, flexible learning that goes beyond the podcast?

    The All Access Pass gives you unlimited entry to all of our self-paced online courses, early access to new content, exclusive member discounts, and our ever-growing library of downloadable resources, templates, and clinical tools.
    It’s all grounded in evidence-based, person-centred practice—designed to support you at your own pace, in real-world ways.

    Visit https://specialistbehaviour.com/all-access-pass/

    Questions, comments, feedback?
    Email us at info@specialistbehaviour.com
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • 016 Navigating Positive Behaviour Support in Education (Russ Fox)

    016 Navigating Positive Behaviour Support in Education (Russ Fox)
    Nov 30 2025
    In today’s engaging conversation, Dr. Russ Fox discusses his journey in education, focusing on positive behaviour support and its implementation in schools.
    He emphasises the importance of multi-tiered systems of support, building relationships with students, and the need for targeted training for teachers.
    Dr. Fox highlights the interconnectedness of academic and social behaviours and advocates for a rights-based approach to behaviour support.
    The discussion also covers practical strategies for effective classroom management and the significance of celebrating small successes to motivate both teachers and students.

    Takeaways:
    • Dr. Russ Fox emphasises the importance of effective implementation in positive behaviour support.
    • Multi-tiered systems of support are crucial for addressing diverse student needs.
    • Building relationships with students is essential for effective teaching and behaviour management.
    • Teachers often feel overwhelmed by the demands of classroom management and behaviour support.
    • Positive behaviour support should be a team effort involving the entire school community.
    • Teachers need targeted training in behaviour management strategies during their preparation.
    • Academic and social behaviours are interconnected and should be taught together.
    • Implementation of behaviour support strategies must be functional and sustainable.
    • Celebrating small successes can motivate both teachers and students.
    • Research on rights-based approaches to behaviour support is emerging and important.
    Looking for practical, flexible learning that goes beyond the podcast?

    The All Access Pass gives you unlimited entry to all of our self-paced online courses, early access to new content, exclusive member discounts, and our ever-growing library of downloadable resources, templates, and clinical tools.
    It’s all grounded in evidence-based, person-centred practice—designed to support you at your own pace, in real-world ways.

    Visit https://specialistbehaviour.com/all-access-pass/

    Questions, comments, feedback?
    Email us at info@specialistbehaviour.com
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    52 mins
  • 015 A Constructional Approach to Positive Behaviour Support

    015 A Constructional Approach to Positive Behaviour Support
    Nov 2 2025
    Join us for the Positive Behaviour Support Implementation Seminar — a full-day, practical program co-hosted by Specialist Behaviour and the Complex Behaviour Community of Practice. Across six focused 1-hour sessions, experienced PBS practitioners share how to implement and monitor effective strategies, collaborate across settings, and build genuine, supportive relationships.When: Fri 13 Feb 2026, 9:00am–4:30pmWhere: Novotel, Preston (215 Bell St, VIC) + livestream (no recording)CPD: Earn 6 CEUs or a Certificate of Attendance.Seats are limited. Register nowThis episode dives straight into the constructional approach to positive behaviour support (PBS), an outcomes-first, person-led framework championed by guests John Wooderson and Oliver Roschke.Rather than shrinking “problem behaviour”, they emphasise building repertoires, opportunities and genuine options using four guiding questions: where the person wants to go, where they are now, how to get there, and what will keep them going.You’ll hear how this shifts practice towards true therapeutic contracts with the individual, assent-based, strengths-focused planning, and dignified risk—grounding change in what matters to the person, not in compliance for others.We get practical about disentangling PBS from restrictive practices by targeting the behaviour of the implementing provider and co-designing alternatives that keep everyone safe without eroding rights. John shares a compelling case example replacing a compulsory in-car harness with communication supports and staged fading—resolving conflict and maintaining safety by building skills and staff practices, not adding restraint.The conversation closes with actionable takeaways: co-created “lifestyle plans” over behaviour plans, rigorous progress reviews that treat programme design (not the person) as the problem when change stalls, and a relentless focus on quality-of-life outcomes.Resources:"Nonlinear Contingency Analysis: Going Beyond Cognition and Behavior in Clinical Practice" is probably one of the most accessible introductions to the constructional approach and non-linear contingency analysis, and it was written to introduce these ideas and concepts to a broader audience, beyond behaviour analysis: https://www.amazon.com.au/Nonlinear-Contingency-Analysis-Cognition-Behavior-ebook/dp/B09GFMZ6F9/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0 PDF copies of the book are available via most uni libraries.Constructional Approach community website: The Constructional Approach to Behavior Analysis – constructional approachRelevant research papersLiden, T.A., Rosales-Ruiz, J. Constructional Parent Coaching: A Collaborative Approach to Improve the Lives of Parents of Children with Autism. Behav Analysis Practice 18, 109–126 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-024-00944-y (attached)Abdel-Jalil, A., Linnehan, A.M., Yeich, R. et al. Can There Be Compassion without Assent? A Nonlinear Constructional Approach. Behav Analysis Practice (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00850-9 (free download: (PDF) Can There Be Compassion without Assent? A Nonlinear Constructional Approach)Layng, T. V. J., & Abdel‐Jalil, A. (2022). Toward a constructional exposure therapy. Advances in Cognitive Therapy, Fall, 8–11. (Free download: (PDF) TOWARD A CONSTRUCTIONAL EXPOSURE THERAPY)Linnehan, A.M., Abdel-Jalil, A., Klick, S. et al. Foundations of Preemptive Compassion: A Behavioral Concept Analysis of Compulsion, Consent, and Assent.Behav Analysis Practice (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00890-1 (Free download: (PDF) Foundations of Preemptive Compassion: A Behavioral Concept Analysis of Compulsion, Consent, and Assent)Scallan, C.M., Rosales-Ruiz, J. The Constructional Approach: A Compassionate Approach to Behavior Change. Behav Analysis Practice (2023). Https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00811-2 (free online copy: The Constructional Approach: A Compassionate Approach to Behavior Change)Layng T. V. (2009). The search for an effective clinical behavior analysis: the nonlinear thinking of Israel goldiamond. The Behavior analyst, 32(1), 163–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392181Goldiamond, I. Toward a Constructional Approach to Social Problems: Ethical and Constitutional Issues Raised by Applied Behavior Analysis. Behav. Soc. Iss. 11, 108–197 (2002). https://doi.org/10.5210/bsi.v11i2.92Looking for practical, flexible learning that goes beyond the podcast?The All Access Pass gives you unlimited entry to all of our self-paced online courses, early access to new content, exclusive member discounts, and our ever-growing library of downloadable resources, templates, and clinical tools.It’s all grounded in evidence-based, person-centred practice—designed to support you at your own pace, in real-world ways.Visit https://specialistbehaviour.com/all-access-pass/Questions, comments, feedback? Email us at info@specialistbehaviour.com
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    1 hr
  • 014 Multi-Element Behaviour Support (Matthew Spicer)

    014 Multi-Element Behaviour Support (Matthew Spicer)
    Sep 30 2025
    In this episode, Psychologist and Director of Clinical Training, Matthew Spicer explains the Multi Element Behaviour Support (MEBS) model. MEBS is a way of thinking about behaviour support that goes beyond simply trying to “stop” challenging behaviour. Instead of focusing only on what happens before and after an action, Matthew shows how MEBS emphasises needing to understand the bigger picture—the person’s past experiences, what they are trying to achieve, and how their environment supports or blocks them.

    He describes how behaviour support can be about improving someone’s quality of life, not just preventing problem behaviour, and that prioritising proactive strategies (what we do every day to set someone up for success) from reactive strategies (what we do in the moment to keep everyone safe) makes all the difference.
    Using real-life examples, he shows why sometimes the most respectful and effective response in the moment is to meet the person’s need—like offering that cup of coffee—while planning long-term skill-building and supports for the future.

    Matthew shares a guide for doing MEBS well. He talks about how to start with a good assessment, design plans that build skills and positive experiences, and make sure the people putting the plan into action feel supported, trained, and confident. He links this approach to broader ideas like trauma-informed practice and positive psychology, but always brings it back to what really matters: helping people have better, safer, meaningful lives.
    His message is clear—good behaviour support is not about controlling behaviour, but about building an environment where people can thrive.

    Looking for practical, flexible learning that goes beyond the podcast?

    The All-Access Pass gives you unlimited entry to all of our self-paced online courses, early access to new content, exclusive member discounts, and our ever-growing library of downloadable resources, templates, and clinical tools.
    It’s all grounded in evidence-based, person-centred practice—designed to support you at your own pace, in real-world ways.

    Visit https://specialistbehaviour.com/all-access-pass/

    Questions, comments, feedback? Email us at info@specialistbehaviour.com
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    54 mins
  • 013 Reframing Sexualised Behaviour with Sarah McCluskey

    013 Reframing Sexualised Behaviour with Sarah McCluskey
    Sep 2 2025
    In this thought-provoking episode, Board Certified Behaviour Analyst, consultant psychologist, and Director of Billy Cart Behaviour Sarah McCluskey joins the discussion to unpack the complex and often misunderstood topic of sexualised behaviour.
    Together, they challenge common assumptions, explore why context matters, and reframe how these behaviours are described and responded to- especially when disability is part of the picture.Sarah sheds light on the concept of “counterfeit deviance”, where behaviours that appear problematic may stem from lack of education, privacy, or opportunity rather than harmful intent.
    She also shares practical ways to support healthy, respectful relationships and sexual expression, while reducing risk and protecting dignity.From teaching correct anatomical language as a safeguarding measure, to using structured frameworks to understand the unmet need of the behaviour, Sarah offers strategies for support that are grounded in evidence and compassion.
    This conversation highlights why labelling behaviours as “sexualised” can be misleading and harmful, and why skill-building, environmental adjustments, and open, values-aware conversations are critical. It’s an essential listen for anyone wanting to replace discomfort and stigma with informed, person-centred support, ensuring people’s needs for intimacy, connection, and safety are understood and respected.

    Looking for practical, flexible learning that goes beyond the podcast? The All Access Pass gives you unlimited entry to all of our self-paced online courses, early access to new content, exclusive member discounts, and our ever-growing library of downloadable resources, templates, and clinical tools.
    It’s all grounded in evidence-based, person-centred practice, designed to support you at your own pace, in real-world ways.Visit https://specialistbehaviour.com/all-access-pass/

    Questions, comments, feedback? Email us at info@specialistbehaviour.com
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    52 mins