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ABA on Tap is proud to brew with Dr. Holly Blais (Part 1 of 2):

A worksheet hits the desk, a student melts down, and the room labels it “escape behavior.” The Tap doesn't buy that shortcut, and neither does Dr. Holly Blais. Holly brings a rare mix of school-based behavior analysis, special education, systems consulting, and lived experience with dyslexia to ask a harder question: what are we missing when we stop at the three-term contingency and call it the full story?

ABA on Tap and Holly trace her path from being the kid who felt misunderstood and judged as lazy to becoming a paraprofessional, special educator, and BCBA who now pushes for values-driven, transdisciplinary work in schools. Along the way, she breaks down why “context” is more than a classroom label. It includes health, stress, learning history, identity, peer dynamics, instructional design, and the constant trade-offs educators face. Her art history background becomes a powerful metaphor: like a painting, behavior makes no sense if you only describe what you see without analyzing the forces that shaped it.

We also get into systems change and social impact, including her focus on prejudicial bullying and why purely collecting ABC data can miss development, language, social status, and cultural messaging. Then we tackle a tension many educators and clinicians feel: acceptance and neurodiversity affirming practice still needs challenge. Dr. Blais defines “push” using zones of proximal development plus ACT and RFT, aiming for growth without chronic stress, restraint-heavy practices, or blind compliance.

Subscribe for part two, share this with a school-based BCBA or teacher, and if this hits a nerve, leave a review and tell us: where do you see “context” getting ignored most in student behavior support?

Tune In, Drink Up, and ALWAYS ANALYZE RESPONSIBLY.

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ABA on Tap is proud to present Chris Larson (Part 2 of 2):

Private equity didn’t just “enter” ABA, it helped build the modern autism therapy industry as we know it and that reality comes with uncomfortable questions. Mike and Dan continue the brew with Chris Larson from Behavioral Health Business for part two, and we get specific about what investment capital changed at the macro level: access, scale, hiring, payer relationships, and the growth that followed insurance mandates. Then we turn the lens toward the hidden cost of speed, especially when investors expect a three to seven year arc and clinical care requires trust, continuity, and judgment.

We talk through the ethical tension head-on. Chris breaks down why private equity firms answer to limited partners, why that mindset can clash with provider ethics, and why “McDonald’s ABA” is a real fear across the field. At the same time, we don’t let clinicians off the hook: nothing gets implemented without a BCBA green light, and the culture we teach new BCBAs can become the culture they assume is normal. That leads into workforce pipeline problems, the lack of a nursing-style university partnership model, and why the field keeps having to build its own training engine.

From there, we move into the push for an ABA standard of care and why it keeps stalling, including iCHOM efforts and newer bets like Project Align and eye tracking technology. We also unpack the Maryland RBT strike and union vote, what “living wage” means when reimbursement rates are set by payers, and why RBT turnover hurts kids, families, and providers. We close by exploring collaboration with pediatricians, the limits of “objective” measurement in behavioral healthcare, and why opioid-crisis comparisons can mislead even when incentives rhyme.

If you care about ABA therapy quality, reimbursement, RBT wages, BCBA ethics, and the future of autism services, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave us a review.

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ABA on Tap is proud to present Chris Larson (Part 1 of 2):

Autism therapy sits at the intersection of healthcare, politics, and money, and that collision is getting louder. Mike and Dan talk with healthcare journalist Chris Larson from Behavioral Health Business about why ABA has become an easy target for skepticism, how federal narratives can trickle down into real-world payer behavior, and what parts of the backlash are cultural versus policy-driven.

We also get concrete about the mechanics that shape a provider’s survival. Chris explains why Medicaid acts like the pace-setting car for reimbursement and utilization rules, how state Medicaid programs can rapidly tighten oversight, and why changes like fixed fee schedules, accreditation expectations, and hour caps can reshape access. Even if you mostly serve commercial members, you still feel Medicaid and Medicare influence through benchmarks like daily limits and authorization standards.

Then we tap into the private equity debate with fewer slogans and more operations. Why did some investor-backed ABA roll-ups collapse while others kept growing? We break down thin margins, reimbursement delays, scaling problems, and the shortage of executives who truly understand the subtleties of autism therapy delivery. If you’re a BCBA, clinic leader, or founder trying to build ethical growth in a volatile market, this conversation gives you a clearer map of the terrain. Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review with your biggest question about where ABA goes next.

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ABA on Tap is proud to spend more time with Stephen and April Smith:

It's a pod swap! Please go to the ABA Business Leaders podcast to continue listening to this conversation.

If you’ve ever watched a great BCBA become a burnt-out owner running on payroll panic, this conversation will feel uncomfortably familiar. Mike and Dan pod swap with Steven and April Smith from 3Pie Squared to get brutally practical about what actually keeps an ABA company ethical and sustainable when real-world pressure hits. The get into the nitty gritty regarding payor rules, credentialing delays, overhead, turnover, and the constant temptation to choose “easier” over “right.”

We talk through Steven’s new book on building an ABA business and why he leans on questions, not cookie-cutter steps. The core idea is simple and hard: write down your vision, values, and red lines early, then use them to make decisions when the ecosystem tries to dictate your clinical work. That includes saying no to bad rates, resisting session models that drift toward daycare economics, and refusing shortcuts that sacrifice training, supervision, or compliance for short-term profit.

We also dig into the true cost of RBT turnover, why undertraining becomes a safety issue, and how leaders can avoid recreating the same company culture they tried to leave. Finally, Steven and April share what they’re building next: a new all-in-one practice management software with waitlist management, parent portal, data collection, claims submission, telehealth, team messaging, and an AI session note checker designed to teach, not ghostwrite.

Subscribe, share this with an ABA owner who needs guardrails, and leave a review with the one “non-negotiable” you refuse to compromise on.

For Part 2, go to:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aba-business-leaders/id1574542939

https://open.spotify.com/show/3JNNWZfF5p37XVwAH6coWO?si=7eabf9f34fc642b3

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ABA is proud to present Michelle Burr (Part 2 of 2):

A diagnosis can open doors, but it can also be withheld in ways that quietly shut families out. Mike and Dan continue the brew with Michelle Burr, to talk about what it looks like when autism diagnostic practices miss the mark, especially for families of color, and how those delays ripple into access to services, school support, and day-to-day quality of life.

From there, we get honest about labels. We’ve all seen how a label can bring relief, community, and clarity, and we’ve also seen how it can narrow expectations until every moment gets filtered through a diagnosis. We unpack the strange new reality of self-diagnosis trends, the growing understanding of autism in girls and women, and why “normal” is a wide statistical range, not a social pass or fail.

Then we go deep on assent-based ABA. Michelle lays out what assent actually looks like in behavior you can observe, why pausing matters, and how “assent-based” can get twisted into permissive, chaotic center-based services that do not teach functional skills. We talk functional communication, individualized programming, generalization beyond the clinic, and a hopeful model for ethical center-based care that starts with pairing, builds communication, and creates calm structure kids can succeed inside.

If you want ABA that feels humane and still works in the real world, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a colleague or parent, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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ABA on Tap is proud to present Michelle Burr (Part 1 of 2):

The fastest way to lose what makes ABA powerful is to turn it into a checklist. Mike and Dan sit down with Michelle Burr, a veteran clinician with decades in autism services, to talk about what happens when real teaching gets buried under perfect data sheets, rigid protocols, and insurance-driven “progress” that doesn’t generalize.

Michelle walks us through her origin story, the early in-home era, and the Wisconsin initiatives that expanded access through Medicaid while also creating new bottlenecks like long waitlists and unrealistic parent-presence requirements. We also get honest about the complicated legacy of Ivar Lovaas, what the old structure got right, and what modern training often misses: the why behind prerequisite skills, the purpose of imitation, and the point of manding beyond scripted trials.

From there, we zoom out to the field today: BCBA credentialing pressures, private equity in ABA, and the push to standardize services until they feel like fast food. Michelle shares why Montessori education became a turning point in her work, and how developmental, individualized environments can strengthen ABA rather than weaken it. We also unpack “assent-based” practice, HRE (happy, relaxed, engaged), and why skill-based treatment (SBT) gets risky when teams stop progressing demands and accidentally reinforce escape.

If you care about ethical ABA therapy, practical autism intervention, and training clinicians to have both technical skill and real feel, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share with a teammate, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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ABA on Tap is proud to present Jennifer Kraft (Part 2 of 2):

A single line in the wrong plan can change a child’s whole trajectory: “increase compliance.” We dig into what it looks like to replace that mindset with support that actually removes barriers, starting with augmentative and alternative communication and the broader world of assistive technology.

We talk with Jennifer Kraft about why you are never too young or too old to start AAC, and why it is devastating when someone only gets the right device and the right team in adulthood. We walk through the practical reality of access, including the IEP process, insurance requirements, and how SLPs and physicians often become the documentation gatekeepers for prescriptions and funding. If you have ever searched “how to get an AAC device,” “assistive technology evaluation,” or “AAC through Medicaid,” you will leave with a clearer picture of what to ask for and where to look.

Then we zoom out past speech devices into everyday assistive technology that changes lives: weighted bowls and spoons, pencil grips and slant boards, hearing supports, magnification tools, adapted computer mice, and the creative problem solving mindset behind it all. From there, we get real about school-based ABA consultation: building rapport with teachers, setting boundaries, observing the whole classroom system, picking targets that can actually work in a busy environment, and navigating the hard truth that sometimes school politics override good data.

If you care about neuro-affirming ABA, assent and safety, and helping clients become who they are, not who someone else thinks they should be, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review with your biggest AAC or school collaboration question.

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ABA on Tap is proud to present Jennifer Kraft (Part 1 of 2):

AAC is everywhere right now, but too many people still treat it like a gadget instead of a voice. Mike and Dan sit down with Jennifer Kraft, a longtime special educator, assistive technology specialist, and BCBA, about what actually makes augmentative and alternative communication work in the real world and what goes wrong when devices get handed out without true assessment, training, or follow-through.

Jennifer shares a career journey that spans early intervention, life skills classrooms, ed tech facilitation, and behavioral health leadership in Pennsylvania’s evolving system (BHRS to IBHS). Along the way, she gets candid about the ethical pressure points in agency life, what it feels like to walk into a broken organization, and why protecting clients and clinicians sometimes means refusing to play along. That path ultimately leads her to launch her own practice, Krafted Care, and push through licensing and Medicaid barriers that can delay autism services for months.

Then we dig into practical AAC best practices: why AAC does not take away speech, how it can serve as a backup during stress or motor planning challenges, and why modeling matters more than “handing over the device.” We also cover device fit, customizing pages for real routines, separating entertainment screen time from the AAC system, and the nonnegotiable need for constant access and a charged battery.

If you care about ethical ABA, assistive technology, or helping kids and adults communicate with dignity, hit play. Subscribe, share this with your team, and leave a review with your biggest AAC question.

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