Dr. Claudia Dozier and Dr. Katie McHugh discuss their research on synchronous reinforcement schedules and their application in promoting tolerance of health-related routines for adults with disabilities. The conversation covers the shift in behavior analytic research towards adult participants, the challenges of implementing synchronous schedules, and the importance of staff training in applied settings. Our guests share insights on the effectiveness of their methods, modifications made during their study, and future directions for research in this area.

Guests

Dr. Katie McHugh is a Board Certified and Licensed Behavior Analyst with over a decade of experience serving individuals with developmental disabilities across clinical, academic, and research settings. She earned her Ph.D. in Behavioral Psychology from the University of Kansas under the mentorship of Dr. Claudia Dozier, following two graduate degrees in Applied Disability Studies with a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis from Brock University. Katie currently serves as the Clinical Director at Atlas Autism Health, where she leads clinical programming and staff development initiatives. Her research focuses on tolerance-building interventions, health-related routines, and reinforcement-based strategies for individuals with disabilities.

Dr. Dozier is Professor and Chair of the Applied Behavioral Science Department at the University of Kansas. Her research has been conducted in the clinical environments in which she and her doctoral students work (early childhood environments as well as adult service environments)—it spans both translational and applied research and across the lifespan on topics such as assessment, treatment, and prevention of behavior disorders; classroom behavior management; staff training; schedules of reinforcement; and preference and reinforcer efficacy.

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc. (BACB®) does not operate, license, endorse, or recommend this continuing education activity, provider, or instructor. The BACB® accepts continuing education credits from ACE-approved providers as meeting certain continuing education requirements for recertification.