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How do you deliver high-quality ABA without burning out—and without losing the heart? In this conversation, Jesica Peterson, BCBA and founder of Graceful Behavior Solutions, shares how “quality” and “grace” guide her practice with families, RBTs, and kids.

Discussion Points:

• The “click” moment: from tough first cases to first words and real progress
• Defining and protecting quality: staffing, training, CE, and ethical practice
• Grace in practice: meeting parents where they are, flexibility over rigidity
• Parent training that lands: roles, language, pacing, and checking capacity
• Continuous learning: revisiting core trainings and avoiding stagnation
• Family-centered care and the goal of “working yourself out of a job”

Jesica traces her journey from RBT to BCBA and the early case that taught her perseverance and the power of meaningful progress. She unpacks her two core values—quality and grace—and shows how they shape everything from RBT training and clinic standards to flexible, human parent training that meets families where they are. We hear practical ways to avoid burnout by focusing on staff development, revisiting foundational trainings, reading body language, and pacing sessions to a parent’s capacity. Jesica explains why family-centered care improves outcomes and why the true success metric is helping families no longer need intensive support.

About The Guest:

Jesica Peterson, BCBA, has worked across home, clinic, and adult crisis settings since 2018. A prior military family member with experience in diverse communities, she founded Graceful Behavior Solutions, a practice grounded in the values of quality and grace.

Time Stamps:

00:00 Jesica’s path into ABA

02:34 The challenging early client and the breakthrough moment

04:41 Values that guide practice: quality and grace

07:04 What “quality” looks like: staffing, training, CE, ethics

09:56 Keeping learning alive; revisiting foundational trainings

13:10 Practicing “grace” with families and teams

17:22 What doesn’t work in parent training

20:24 How Jessica opens the first parent training and defines roles

23:34 Addressing fears and misconceptions about ABA

26:0 Remembering parents are “in the trenches”

29:07 Reading body language and pacing sessions

32:08 Family-centered care and real-life outcomes

35:46 Parting advice: anchor to your values

Ready to bring more quality and grace into your ABA work?

Tune in to the full episode for practical, compassionate strategies you can use today.