Thank you for listening!

You can access .5 Learning CEUs with the link below.

CEU Links: https://forms.clickup.com/14171965/f/dgftx-79257/A527DD1MQ0BE474BAD?Type%20of%20CEU's=.5

How do you support a child or adult with disabilities through death and loss when many of us are uncomfortable talking about it ourselves? In this episode of My BCBA Life, Penina sits down with BCBA and thanatology specialist Tricia Lund to unpack how grief shows up for neurodivergent individuals and what BCBAs can realistically and ethically do to help.

Tricia Lund is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with approximately 10 years of experience. She began her career working in schools and clinics and now primarily supports teens and adults with disabilities living in group homes and day habilitation programs in Texas. Recognizing a major gap in how our field addresses death and grief, she pursued additional certification in thanatology, allowing her to integrate evidence-based principles about death, dying, and bereavement into her ABA practice while remaining solidly within scope.

Key Takeaways:

• Grief is not “less real” for people with disabilities; their grief is often ignored or minimized, which can complicate the grieving process and increase distress.
• Understanding death requires grasping its permanence, universality, biological basis, and causation; many clients with cognitive differences need explicit teaching and support in these areas.
• Start early: use neutral, everyday examples (plants, animals, media) to introduce concepts of life and death and to build accurate, concrete language (including on AAC devices).
• Primary losses (the person who died) often create a cascade of secondary losses (home, routine, transportation, community, financial freedom) that can be even more impactful in daily life.
• BCBAs can stay within scope by focusing on education and participation, modifying environments, supporting involvement in rituals, and collaborating with counselors and spiritual leaders for deeper grief work.

00:00 - How the topic of death and grief emerged in her practice

03:06 – What thanatology is and why a BCBA would pursue it

05:13 – How children (and many adults) understand death, and the core concepts needed

06:32 – Permanence, universality, and biology of death; cultural and media distortions

07:30 – Causation and how cognitive level affects grief responses and timing

11:02 – Disenfranchised grief and how society minimizes certain losses

12:18 – Why people with disabilities are often excluded from funerals and rituals

14:01 – When to start talking about death with children: “Do it now” and how

14:29 – Building vocabulary, using real-life examples, and correcting media myths

16:39 – What to prioritize immediately after a loss: safety, stability, and presence

20:03 – Grief reactions vs. “problem behaviors” and why punishment is harmful

21:52 – Primary vs. secondary losses and how BCBAs can address the secondary ones

24:47 – Scope of practice: education and participation vs. facilitation and intervention

27:34 – Why this work is needed for “typical” adults as well, not just clients

28:30 – Using clear language (“dead,” “death,” “dying”) instead of euphemisms

29:22 – Addressing your own death-avoidance so you can better support clients

Ready to rethink how you, as a BCBA or caregiver, approach death, loss, and grief with the individuals you support?

Tune in to the full episode for practical frameworks, compassionate strategies, and a fresh perspective on staying within scope while truly showing up for your clients.

Thank you for listening!

You can access .5 Learning CEUs with the link below.

CEU Links: https://forms.clickup.com/14171965/f/dgftx-72637/G9OX191GE40IEG4RBB?Type%20of%20CEU%27s=.5%20BACB%20Ethics%20CEUs&Instructor=Jesica%20Peterson,%20BCBA

How do you deliver high-quality ABA without burning out—and without losing the heart? In this conversation, Jesica Peterson, BCBA and founder of Graceful Behavior Solutions, shares how “quality” and “grace” guide her practice with families, RBTs, and kids.

Discussion Points:

• The “click” moment: from tough first cases to first words and real progress
• Defining and protecting quality: staffing, training, CE, and ethical practice
• Grace in practice: meeting parents where they are, flexibility over rigidity
• Parent training that lands: roles, language, pacing, and checking capacity
• Continuous learning: revisiting core trainings and avoiding stagnation
• Family-centered care and the goal of “working yourself out of a job”

Jesica traces her journey from RBT to BCBA and the early case that taught her perseverance and the power of meaningful progress. She unpacks her two core values—quality and grace—and shows how they shape everything from RBT training and clinic standards to flexible, human parent training that meets families where they are. We hear practical ways to avoid burnout by focusing on staff development, revisiting foundational trainings, reading body language, and pacing sessions to a parent’s capacity. Jesica explains why family-centered care improves outcomes and why the true success metric is helping families no longer need intensive support.

About The Guest:

Jesica Peterson, BCBA, has worked across home, clinic, and adult crisis settings since 2018. A prior military family member with experience in diverse communities, she founded Graceful Behavior Solutions, a practice grounded in the values of quality and grace.

Time Stamps:

00:00 Jesica’s path into ABA

02:34 The challenging early client and the breakthrough moment

04:41 Values that guide practice: quality and grace

07:04 What “quality” looks like: staffing, training, CE, ethics

09:56 Keeping learning alive; revisiting foundational trainings

13:10 Practicing “grace” with families and teams

17:22 What doesn’t work in parent training

20:24 How Jessica opens the first parent training and defines roles

23:34 Addressing fears and misconceptions about ABA

26:0 Remembering parents are “in the trenches”

29:07 Reading body language and pacing sessions

32:08 Family-centered care and real-life outcomes

35:46 Parting advice: anchor to your values

Ready to bring more quality and grace into your ABA work?

Tune in to the full episode for practical, compassionate strategies you can use today.

Thank you for listening!

You can access .5 Learning CEUs with the link below.

CEU Links: https://forms.clickup.com/14171965/f/dgftx-65817/3MXDBM3V50ACY20NGN?Type%20of%20CEU%27s=.5%20BACB%20Learning%20CEUs&Instructor=Samantha%20Alba,%20BCBA

How do you build true collaboration with schools so your learner thrives in every setting? In this episode of My BCBA Life, Penina talks with Samantha, a Circle Care–exclusive BCBA with deep school-based experience, about practical ways BCBAs can partner with teachers and related service providers, support parents through IEPs, and bridge home–school skill generalization.

Discussion Points

• Entering schools with humility: observing first, understanding dynamics, and making your presence supportive (not disruptive).
• Pairing with educators and therapists; leading with non-judgmental curiosity to build buy-in.
• Interdisciplinary respect: learning from OT, SLP, and PT approaches (e.g., addressing sensory needs and functional replacements).
• Home ↔ school collaboration for faster progress and generalization (communication, social skills, and behavior plans).
• Practical IEP support for parents: where BCBAs can add value, aligning goals, and wording effective behavioral/communication targets.
• Consent, boundaries, and tactful outreach to school teams.
• Helpful resources BCBAs can use in school settings (NJ best practices, PBIS World, peer workgroups).

Samantha shares how starting with listening, pairing, and empathy lays the groundwork for productive school collaboration. She describes concrete strategies for working with diverse school teams and highlights the power of interdisciplinary learning—like using OT-informed sensory replacements (obstacle courses, carrying weighted items) for automatically reinforced behaviors. For home-based BCBAs, she explains why school collaboration still matters: it reveals progress, gaps, and ready-made interventions to generalize at home. On IEPs, Samantha suggests focusing on the social/emotional/behavioral goal section and aligning it with real data and parent priorities (e.g., adding a manding component to toileting). She closes with resources that make school work more effective and less isolating.

About The Guest

Samantha is a BCBA with a master’s in Cognitive Science & Education who completed the ABA verified course sequence. She’s worked extensively in school settings (and school-adjacent roles like curriculum writing) and currently serves Circle Care home cases, integrating school goals and approaches to accelerate learner progress across environments.

Time Stamps

(00:00) Samantha’s path into ABA and school-based work

(02:20) Choosing BCBA over school psychology; ABA track in grad school

(03:34) ABA as “common sense” applied—why it resonates with teams and parents

(04:43) Today’s focus: collaborating with school personnel

(05:27) What collaboration looks like: observe, understand roles, pair with staff

(07:06) Being a positive presence and earning buy-in before giving feedback

(08:16) Non-judgmental coaching to avoid defensiveness

(12:30) Working with OTs/SLPs/PTs; honoring different evidence-based approaches

(14:04) OT insights on sensory needs; functional replacements (obstacle courses, weighted carries)

(16:54) Why collaborate when you’re home-based; get the IEP and compare data

(18:45) Aligning behavior plans and social skills across settings for generalization

(20:34) Efficiency and parent assurance when teams are aligned

(21:26) Humility and teamwork mindset that centers the child

(24:47) Coaching parents on IEPs; goal wording (e.g.,...