A Hound That Won’t Tree
with Dr. Mari-Luci Cerda
Behavior Bites Podcast - Ep10 & 11Mar 22 & 29, 2023Have you ever been crushed under the weight of not only your ambitious dream, but the grinding realization that others might be actively working against you?
In this 2-part feast — Dr. Mari shares her experience with creating a clinic that clients run to in excitement. We also chat about the anti-ABA movement, being misunderstood, the wisdom of family, and why cats are so awesome!
-
Amuse-Bouche
What are you discovering at your clinic with de-implementing the 40 hour/compliance based model of ABA?
Appetizers
How did you get into Behavior Analysis?
In your own words, what does assent mean?
What’s something you wish you could have told yourself when you were getting started?
Palate Cleanser
Why are cats so awesome?
Entree
When was a time that you failed?
What is the best compliment you have ever received or an “insult” you’ve received that you’re proud of?
What’s something people seem to misunderstand about you?
If you could remove all barriers and constraints, what project would you do?
How do you feel about the lack of nuance around the anti-ABA movement?
Dessert
Who are your role models?
Describe your daily routine
How do you practice self-care?
How do you feel about the lack of resources and support for Autistic parents of Autistic children?
Excerpts from the Episode
(*Paraphrased highlights)-
My entire existence.
My whole life has been a series of people (predominantly women) misunderstanding me because I don’t behave in a neurotypical fashion, and they come to conclusions that I am arrogant, cold, harsh, intimidating, scary.
I am a true Enneagram 8 through and through.
-
I would disrupt and rebuild the interlocking behavioral contingencies running/controlling education.
It would be rooted in IRM, and indigenous knowledge, because we can’t change society until we address how people are taught.
Right now we teach people how to comply, how to stay in line, how to work for someone else’s dream. We don’t teach people how to engage in thinking. We let others think for us through social media, through education, etc. We don’t teach reciprocity but individualism, and it’s killing us slowly.
-
It's always been fairly easy for me to walk away from stuff. Not quit, but pause and leave something until I am ready to deal with it.
I have tried to instill in my kids that everything is either: fixable, replaceable, workable, solvable, or at the very least "walk awayable".
There is nothing on this planet worthy of stealing your peace.
-
Being the shield for children that I needed when I was a child.
I remember so many traumatic instances with teachers and peers and there was no one there to stand up for me.
ABOUT Dr. Mari
Mari-Luci Cerda, PhD, BCBA, LBA (she/they)
Dr. Mari is a Mesoamerican Indigenous woman, wife, mom, Autist, and board-certified behavior analyst with over 13 years experience working with Neurodivergent individuals and their families.
A former special education teacher, behavior specialist, and inclusion coordinator of 13 years—Mari has a deep passion for advocacy work with both schools and clinics to develop trauma-responsive, neurodiversity responsive practices.
Her work focuses on shifting language and systems used in practice to reframe and move away from unintentional ableist frameworks that are often rooted in traditional therapy and educational settings. Much of this work pulls from IRM (Indigenous Research Methods) and models of care rooted in Cultural Safety and Responsiveness.
She recently opened her own trauma-responsive center, The Lighthouse Learning Center in Lubbock, TX with the goal of creating a model of true neurodiversity-affirming and assent-based practices.
Mari is also the co-founder of the The LEAP Institute, a non-profit with a mission to address the disparity of diverse practitioners in the ABA field.
Connect with Dr. Mari
* Follow Mari on Instagram @Autie.Analyst* Check out her Lighthouse Learning Center* Follow on IG @Lighthouse.Learning.Center* Learn about LEAP Institute (non-profit)* Follow LEAP on IG @Leap.InstituteResources
* The article Mari recommended: "Systemic Racism and Cultural Selection: A Preliminary Analysis of Metacontingencies"
(Saini, Vance 2020)* Podcast episode with Mari
“Racism Within the Anti-ABA Movement”(Love, Sex, and Applied Behavior Analysis with Cammie D)
Visit my Podcast page to learn more about Behavior Bites!
