Dr. Bill Ahearn on Stereotypy, Social Skills, and the Future of ABA

🔥 At FABA, one of ABA’s most respected researchers sits down for a rare, unfiltered conversation and the insights are game-changing.

Dr. Bill Ahearn, Director of Research at the New England Center for Children, opens up about the state of ABA today, the misconceptions holding practitioners back, and the breakthroughs that could reshape how we understand automatically reinforced behavior, social skills, and early-career supervision.

Here’s What We Dive into:
✨ Why automatically reinforced behaviors require fresh strategies and how new research is shifting best practices.
✨ How the field is failing early-career BCBAs and what must change to support competent, confident practitioners.
✨ The real reason social-skills training lags behind and how to build interventions that actually transfer to real-world environments.

If you care about the future of ABA, or want to sharpen your own practice, this episode is a must-watch.
👉 Tune in now and level up your understanding of the field.

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:47 FABA Podcast Presentation and Dr. Bill's Intro
4:24 Dr. Bill’s Research and Excitement
8:56 Challenges and Successes in the Field
16:16 Impact of New RBT Requirements
18:22 Post-COVID Generations and Social Skills Training
25:10 Rapid Fire Questions And Reflections
32:23 Final Thoughts and Appreciation
33:53 Where to find Dr. Bill online