Explain ABA Like I’m 5 with Kendall Ryndak Samuel

I remember the first time I brought up ABA to, I don't know, it was maybe at some, like, family Thanksgiving or something like that, and someone asked me, "Where's the chapter in your book on how to manipulate people?" And I was like, "What? What? Is this what people think our science is?"

It's behavior, bitches.

[upbeat music]

Hey, guys.

It's Liat.

Welcome back to today's episode of Behavior Bitches podcast.

Today is an exciting day because...

I always say it's exciting, I know, because life is just so exciting.

Am I right? Toxic positivity.

[laughs] Today we're joined by Kendall Rindac Samuel.

She's a BCBA, also known as The Behavior Influencer.

Kendall's been a BCBA since 2017 and has made it her mission to make behavior analysis accessible, relatable, and, dare we say, fun.

Sounds like what we do over here at Study Notes ABA and Behavior Bitches.

She's the author of Talk Behavior to Me: The Routledge Dictionary of the Top 150 Behavior Analytic Terms and Translations, a book that takes our super nerdy ABA jargon and translates it into a language that real humans can actually understand.

I have a copy of this book.

It's great, especially if you're trying to teach people, maybe RVTs, families around you, the basic terms.

This is a great resource to have.

Kendall's also the founder and CEO of Behavior Influencer, where she helps ABA companies and professionals communicate their services in plain English, creates resources, trains staff, and basically serves as the communication liaison for our field.

This is very needed.

On top of that, she's a content creator on TikTok and Instagram, teaching audiences about ABA with a comedic twist, and she works with Team ABA as a sports and dissemination BCBA, helping athletes reach their performance goals while spreading the science of behavior far and wide.

At the core of it all, Kendall is passionate about making ABA one of the most widely used sciences and ensuring that behavior professionals have endless opportunities across every specialty of the field.

Welcome to the show, Kendall.

Woo.