PODCAST EPISODE

Session 87 Straight Talk on Restraint and Seclusion with Merrill Winston

Instructor: Merrill Winston, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Dear fellow Behavior Analyst,

In Session 87 Dr. Merrill Winston joins me to talk about the use of restraints and seclusion in the context of supporting individuals who exhibit unsafe behaviors. Specifically, we discuss how to define what is a restraint, the pros and cons of restraint versus seclusion, restraint policies in schools and agencies, the criteria for implementing restraint procedures, and managing low-rate/high-intensity challenging behaviors. We even spend a few minutes talking about Merrill’s experience as an expert witness in legal proceedings. In this part of the conversation, Merrill offers great advice on how to be effective in this capacity.

Merrill is the Vice President and Director of Program Development of the  Professional Crisis Management Association. If you're not familiar with him, I've included his bio-sketch below:

In addition to being a PCMA trainer, Merrill specializes in the analysis and treatment of severe behavior disorders with special populations. His range of treatment experience includes feeding disorders, self-injury, severe aggression, language acquisition, and skill acquisition problems.

Merrill is a popular speaker at conferences and conducts presentations on a wide variety of topics in behavior analysis including psychotropic medication usage, mental illness, autism, exceptional student education, assessment and treatment of behavior problems, IEP goal selection and measurement, and a variety of conceptual issues as they relate to conducting behavior analysis in applied settings.

Merrill has worked in a variety of settings including private homes, group homes, large institutions, secured facilities, schools and day-treatment programs. He is an experienced expert witness and frequently consults with attorneys, parents and advocates of persons with disabilities. He currently spends at least one day a week as the Behavior Analysis Consultant for Palm Beach County Schools.

There are 2.0 Type 2 Continuing Education credits available for participating in this event.

Objectives of this training:

1. The participant will be able to define a restraint along a continuum of physical prompts.
2. The participant will be able to describe one advantage of seclusion procedures.
3. The participant will be able to describe one disadvantage of seclusion procedures.
4. The participant will be able to describe an example of where the use of restraint is appropriate for low-rate/high-intensity repertoires.
5. The participant will be able to state one problem with writing restraint-reduction goals.
6. The participant will be able to state Merrill’s advice regarding verbal and written communication when providing legal testimony.

Instructions for this event:

1. Listen to Session 87 of The Behavioral Observations Podcast. Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
2. Purchase the CE. This will require creating an account for first time purchases, or logging in for returning customers.
3. Check your email for a link to a quiz.
4. Take the quiz in order to demonstrate attendance. NOTE: prior to taking the quiz, you will be prompted to enter your name and BACB Certificant #. Please enter your name in the way you want it to appear on your CE attendance certificate. This is important because some customers will occasionally enter their user names into this field, and in the event of a CE audit, the BACB will likely refuse to accept documentation with incorrect names.
5. Download the certificate of completion.
6. Save all materials, including emails confirming purchase.
7. Optional: complete C.E. feedback survey, again you may need to cut and paste this URL into your browser: (https://goo.gl/forms/vA1Uyd5hsCcCdzAG2)

Thank you so much for participating in this Type 2 Continuing Education event. If you have any questions about this event or anything else related to the podcast, please feel free to email me at Matt@behavioralobservations.com!