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Dr. Jonathan Tarbox credits his professional journey into autism to a gung-ho mom in the mountains of Vermont way back in 1997 who wanted to help her son with autism. It’s so amazing how many professional careers rest on the backs of these passionate moms and dads who simply wanted to help their children lead happier and healthier lives. Today, Dr. Tarbox teaches parents and professionals how to use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to choose healthy habits in small, manageable ways.
ACT is a way of learning new habits, of responding to our own thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations. The way society has taught us to respond to our emotions can actually make the situation worse, and ACT is a way of retraining a person to recognize and sit with these feelings.
ACT has benefits for autism parents, burned out BCBAs, and some children with autism, and because it’s modeled on ABA principles that nobody is broken, it should feel familiar to anyone who’s worked with ABA before. It’s really about understanding what’s most important to our hearts, and then using small behavioral changes to bring our actions in line with our values.
One of the things that I find difficult is being too positive when you talk to someone who’s dealing with a new autism diagnosis. Even though I’ve seen so many positive stories over the years, you don’t want to dismiss someone’s grief. How do you find that balance? Dr. Tarbox shares some ways to manage that delicate balance of honoring someone’s pain while still giving them hope for the future.
Today’s Guest
Dr. Jonathan Tarbox is the Founder and Program Director of the Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis program at the University of Southern California, as well as Director of Research at First Steps for Kids. Dr. Tarbox is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Behavior Analysis in Practice. He has published five books on applied behavior analysis and autism treatments, is the Series Editor of the Elsevier book series Critical Specialties in Treating Autism and Other Behavioral Challenges, and an author of over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters in scientific texts.
He is an advisory board member of the Women in Behavior Analysis convention and the ABA Task Force for Social Justice. His research focuses on behavioral interventions for teaching complex skills to individuals with autism, applications of Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) inside of applied behavior analysis, and applications of applied behavior analysis to issues of diversity and social justice.
You’ll Learn
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