loader from loading.io

From Amazon to Autism Care: AI Powered Tools for ABA and Diagnostics: Frontera Series on AI with Grant Sickle

The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

Release Date: 09/25/2025

The Four Leadership Hats: Applying Behavioral Science to Leadership and Supervision — Session 321 with John Guercio show art The Four Leadership Hats: Applying Behavioral Science to Leadership and Supervision — Session 321 with John Guercio

The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

In this episode, I’m joined by John Guercio for a wide-ranging and practical conversation about leadership through a behavioral lens. John and I dig into what it actually means to lead in applied behavior analysis, especially when so much of the existing leadership literature is vague, mentalistic, or disconnected from observable behavior. We start by talking about the need to operationalize leadership in behavioral terms and explore the four leadership hats developed by : leading, training, coaching, and managing. We break down what each of these roles looks like behaviorally, how they...

info_outline The Importance of Hard and Soft Skills in ABA Practice: Session 320 with Tiffany Kodak and Landon Cowan show art The Importance of Hard and Soft Skills in ABA Practice: Session 320 with Tiffany Kodak and Landon Cowan

The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

In Session 320, I sit down with Landon Cowan and Tiffany Kodak to talk about an area of behavior analysis that doesn’t get nearly enough attention: professional (or “soft”) skills. We spend a lot of time in our field teaching and refining technical, clinical, or “hard” skills—and for good reason. But far less time is devoted to the interpersonal, communication, and problem-solving skills that ultimately determine how effective we are as clinicians, supervisors, and collaborators. In this conversation, Landon and Tiffany share their research aimed at identifying, defining, and...

info_outline 2025 Year in Review: Session 319 with ABA Inside Track show art 2025 Year in Review: Session 319 with ABA Inside Track

The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

Don’t adjust your podcast player folks, you have the right show. Welcome to Session 319 of the Behavioral Observations Podcast. If you’ve been listening for a bit, you know what’s coming. If you’re new to the show however, first, welcome and thanks for listening. Every year, I team up with my friends from the ABA Inside Track Podcast to do a Year In Review episode. We’ve tinkered with the format over time, but for this one, we talk briefly about the trends and issues that we thought were important in 2025. From there, we discussed some of the most downloaded shows from our podcasts...

info_outline Smarter Study Strategies Using Cover, Copy, and Compare: Session 318 with Sarah Frampton show art Smarter Study Strategies Using Cover, Copy, and Compare: Session 318 with Sarah Frampton

The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

In this episode, I sit down with , who conducts research on, amongst other things, improving how we teach, learn, and organize information using behavior-analytic strategies. We explore her career journey, her research on graphic organizers and the Cover, Copy, Compare (CCC) strategy, and the broader implications for stimulus equivalence, educational technology, and effective teaching. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: How Sarah’s unconventional path led her from economics and psychology into Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Why note-taking and structured...

info_outline Eye Contact and AI in ABA Treatment: Session 317 with Francesca degli Espinosa show art Eye Contact and AI in ABA Treatment: Session 317 with Francesca degli Espinosa

The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

In Session 317, I sit down with Dr. Francesca Delia Espinoza to revisit one of the most foundational—but often misunderstood—topics in behavior analysis: eye contact. We explore why eye contact shouldn’t be treated as a simple objective, but instead understood within its broader social and developmental context. Francesca explains how eye contact is better re-framed as "eye-looking," and why behavior analysts need a strong conceptual foundation for evaluating when, how, and why to teach it. We discuss her recent paper in Perspectives on Behavior Science, which encourages practitioners to...

info_outline Making ABA Research Matter: Practical Dissemination Strategies for Behavior Analytic Scholars, Inside JABA 25 show art Making ABA Research Matter: Practical Dissemination Strategies for Behavior Analytic Scholars, Inside JABA 25

The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

Episode Overview In this special episode of the Behavioral Observations Podcast, I had the honor of celebrating the 25th installment of the . This one was particularly meaningful because it also marks the final appearance of Dr. John Borrero in his role as Editor-in-Chief of . I invited John to reflect on his three-year tenure—what he learned from reading an enormous volume of manuscripts, how his thinking evolved, and why adapting our language is essential if we want behavior analysis to reach broader audiences. From there, we transitioned into an...

info_outline Trauma-Informed Behavior Analysis, A Guide for BCBAs: Session 315 with Gabi Morgan and David Adams show art Trauma-Informed Behavior Analysis, A Guide for BCBAs: Session 315 with Gabi Morgan and David Adams

The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

Thanks for joining me in Session 315 of The Behavioral Observations Podcast. In this episode, I spoke with Drs.  and  to dive deep into trauma-informed behavior analysis. Gabi brings her 30-year journey in the field—from undergrad roots to professorship at —while David shares his evolution from child and family therapy to clinical psychology, with a heavy focus on foster and adoptive parenting. Both guests are passionate about closing the divide between trauma therapy and behavioral strategies, and they credit mentors like  for lighting the way. We...

info_outline Supporting Schools in Hawaii with the Care Project: Session 314, Live from HABA 2025 show art Supporting Schools in Hawaii with the Care Project: Session 314, Live from HABA 2025

The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

If you follow Behavioral Observations on , you might recall that I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to the 20th Annual  conference to give the closing Keynote Address. I could devote an entire podcast episode to talking about all the wonderful people I met, the fun experiences I had, and the amazing sights I was able to take in. One of the biggest highlights though, was the opportunity to sneak in the following conversation I had with a panel of employees from Hawaii's Department of Education. It turns out that the State of Hawaii is doing some innovative work in...

info_outline Client Assent in Behavior Analysis: Balancing Autonomy & Clinical Progress, Session 313 with Cody Morris show art Client Assent in Behavior Analysis: Balancing Autonomy & Clinical Progress, Session 313 with Cody Morris

The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

In Session 313, Dr. Cody Morris from , and the newly re-launched podcast (please also see ), joins me to dive into a topic that has merited quite a bit of discussion in Applied Behavior Analysis. These days, you pretty much have to be living under a rock in ABA circles to not have noticed the increased focus on assent practices in treatment programming. Cody is one of the preeminent authorities on this topic, and in this episode, we talk about the definitions of assent, how assent has been conceptualized in other fields, and how it applies to the work we do as Behavior Analysts. In doing so,...

info_outline From Amazon to Autism Care: AI Powered Tools for ABA and Diagnostics: Frontera Series on AI with Grant Sickle show art From Amazon to Autism Care: AI Powered Tools for ABA and Diagnostics: Frontera Series on AI with Grant Sickle

The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

In this episode of The Behavioral Observations Podcast, I talk with , former Amazon product leader and current head of product at , a company building AI-powered platforms to improve autism care. Grant shares how his team is developing  and  tools to shorten waitlists, streamline reporting, and support clinicians in delivering more efficient ABA therapy. We also discuss how Frontera’s  app enables HIPAA-compliant behavior tracking, parent engagement, and asynchronous supervision — while addressing the issue of . This conversation highlights...

info_outline
 
More Episodes

In this episode of The Behavioral Observations Podcast, I talk with Grant Sickle, former Amazon product leader and current head of product at Frontera, a company building AI-powered platforms to improve autism care.

Grant shares how his team is developing assessment and diagnostic tools to shorten waitlists, streamline reporting, and support clinicians in delivering more efficient ABA therapy. We also discuss how Frontera’s digital phenotyping app enables HIPAA-compliant behavior tracking, parent engagement, and asynchronous supervision — while addressing the issue of fraud prevention.

This conversation highlights both the promise and the challenges of using AI in clinical settings, emphasizing the importance of clinician oversight, robust validation, and feedback loops. Grant also shares insights from Frontera’s home-based pilot program, which helps parents capture real-world behavior data to support better generalization and treatment planning.

Whether you’re a BCBA, RBT, parent, or researcher, this episode offers a fascinating look at the intersection of technology, autism care, and ethical ABA practice.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • How Frontera is building AI-driven assessment and diagnostic tools for autism care
  • Why clinician oversight remains critical in AI-powered healthcare solutions
  • Insights into fraud prevention in ABA therapy using videographic evidence and facial recognition
  • How home-based video tracking is supporting behavior generalization and parent engagement
  • The challenges of adoption among BCBAs versus RBTs and parents
  • Future directions for AI in ABA, including outcome measurement and identifying autism subpopulations
  • The technique Amazon's founder used to find and correct problems

Links to Related Resources