Behaviour Speak with Ben Reiman

When Sylvie Nguena's daughter Meghan was diagnosed with autism at age four, she began a journey that would eventually lead her from accounting to becoming a doctoral-level behaviour analyst, researcher, author, advocate, and international trainer. In this episode, Sylvie shares how her experiences as a parent shaped her career and inspired her mission to expand autism awareness, behaviour analytic services, and caregiver support both in the United States and Cameroon. 

Sylvie discusses the cultural realities surrounding autism and developmental disabilities in Cameroon, where stigma and misconceptions often prevent families from accessing support. She describes how community-centred approaches, local partnerships, and culturally adapted interventions can help bridge service gaps while honouring the values and traditions of the communities being served. 

The conversation also explores Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACTr), caregiver wellbeing, culturally responsive practice, community engagement, and the work of the Lewuh Marvellous Meghan Foundation. Throughout the discussion, Sylvie highlights the importance of listening first, partnering with local communities, and building sustainable systems that empower families and professionals alike.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bBJdWWiibYA

Continuing Education Credits (https://www.cbiconsultants.com/shop)

BACB: 1.0 Ethics
IBAO:  1.0 Cultural
QABA: 1.0 General
CBA/CPD: 1.0 Cultural Diversity

Follow us!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behaviourspeak/

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/behaviourspeak

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@behaviorspeak

Dr. Sylvie Claire Nguena and The Lewuh Marvelous Meghan Foundation

https://lewuhmarvelousmeghanfinc.org

https://www.instagram.com/marvelous_meghan/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylvie-claire-nguena-ph-d-bcba-d-lba-iba-b9b704a6/en

Marvelous Meghan Book Series
 

Marvelous Meghan: Our Big Sister (English and French editions)
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=marvelous+meghan+our+big+sister
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=la+merveilleuse+meghan+notre+grande+soeur

Marvelous Meghan: Sometimes we Feel  (English and French editions)
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=marvelous+meghan+sometimes+we+feel
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=la+merveilleuse+meghan+parfois+on+ressent
 
 

Looking for more conversations on representation, acceptance and commitment training, and expanding behaviour analytic services globally? Check out these related Behaviour Speak episodes:

🔹 Beyond the 5.83: Advancing Black Representation in ABA with Dr. Danielle Jeudy and Dr. Jewel Parham
Dr. Danielle Jeudy and Dr. Jewel Parham join the podcast to discuss representation, mentorship, leadership, and creating meaningful pathways for Black behaviour analysts 

🔹 Empowering Parents and Staff with Acceptance and Commitment Training with Dr. Ashley Carrigan
Dr. Ashley Carrigan explores how Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) can help parents, caregivers, and professionals build psychological flexibility, resilience, and values-based action in everyday practice.

🔹 Building Autism Services in Kenya and Tanzania: Dr. Pooja Panesar on Leadership, Inclusion and Behaviour Analysis
Dr. Pooja Panesar shares her experiences developing autism and behaviour analytic services in East Africa, highlighting the importance of cultural responsiveness, sustainable capacity building, community partnerships, and inclusive leadership.

In this inspiring episode of Behaviour Speak, Ben welcomes Dr. Pooja Panesar, behaviour analyst, Doctor of Behavioural Health, entrepreneur, educator, and founder of Kaizora Centre for Neurodevelopmental Therapies. Born and raised in Kenya, educated in Canada, and driven by a passion for helping children and families, Dr. Panesar shares her remarkable journey from working with a single child in a small room furnished with only a table and two chairs to building leading autism and neurodevelopmental services across Kenya and Tanzania. The conversation explores the evolution of autism services in East Africa, overcoming stigma, building professional capacity, integrating cultural humility with evidence-based practice, and creating interdisciplinary systems of care. Dr. Panesar also reflects on leadership, resilience, parenting, and her vision for the future of autism services across the continent. This episode offers powerful lessons for behaviour analysts, educators, healthcare professionals, parents, and anyone interested in creating meaningful systems change.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ycA180S1EgE

Continuing Education Credits (https://www.cbiconsultants.com/shop)

BACB: 1.0 Ethics
IBAO:  1.0 Cultural
QABA: 1.0 General
CBA/CPD: 1.0 Cultural Diversity

Follow us!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behaviourspeak/

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/behaviourspeak

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@behaviorspeak

 

Links

Dr. Pooja Panesar

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-pooja-panesar-31161872/

https://www.instagram.com/pooja_panesar/

Kaizora Centre for Neurodevelopmental Therapies
https://www.kaizora.com/

Autism Awareness Africa

https://www.facebook.com/groups/128237587206355/

Global Autism Project

https://www.globalautismproject.org/

QABA Credentialing
https://qababoard.com/
 
Cummings Graduate Institute
https://cgi.edu/

Related Behaviour Speak Episodes
If you enjoyed this conversation with Dr. Pooja Panesar and would like to learn more about the growth of behaviour analysis, autism services, and systems change across Africa, we encourage you to explore several related Behaviour Speak episodes.

These include:

From Sudan to Systems Change: Two Sisters Using Behavioural Science to Transform Community Health, featuring two sisters applying behavioural science to improve community health outcomes

The Somali Behaviour Analysis Association with Ikram Buralle, Rahma Farah, Suaad Jama, and Nasteya Mahamoud

Culturally Responsive Screening Tools for Autism and/or Intellectual Disabilities in Nigeria with Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo

Behaviour Analysis in Ghana and Nigeria with Josephine Akure and Joy Oviojie

Behaviour Analysis in Botswana with Maleshwane Mauco; and Behaviour Analysis in Senegal with Adair Cardon.

Together, these conversations showcase the remarkable leadership, innovation, and commitment of professionals working to expand access to behavioural and developmental services across the African continent.

What happens when psychology is viewed through the lens of Indigenous knowledge, community, language, and lived experience?

In this episode, Ben welcomes Dr. Vicky Lomay, a Navajo (Diné) clinical psychologist, assessment specialist, educator, and leader in Indigenous psychology. Dr. Lomay shares her journey from engineering student to psychologist and reflects on how growing up in a bilingual Navajo household shaped her understanding of healing, wellness, and human behaviour.

The conversation explores the intersections between Indigenous knowledge systems and Western psychology, including cultural impacts on assessment, diagnosis, trauma treatment, and mental health care. Dr. Lomay discusses why many traditional Indigenous healing approaches represent generations of what she calls "practice-based evidence," long before Western psychology developed similar concepts and terminology.

Ben and Dr. Lomay also discuss the challenges of psychological assessment in Indigenous communities, the risks of cultural misinterpretation during evaluation, and the importance of understanding language, history, ceremony, and context when working with Indigenous clients.

The episode concludes with a discussion about leadership, mentorship, and the future of Indigenous psychology through organizations such as the Society of Indian Psychologists and the American Psychological Association's American Indian and Alaska Native Section.

Watch the video!  https://youtu.be/3K-L9uVa6gs

Connect with Dr. Vicky Lomay

Tsinajini Psychology Services

https://tsinajinipsych.com/

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicky-t-lomay-phd-5320626/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/tsinajini_psychology

 

Society of Indian Psychologists (SIP)
https://www.nativepsychs.org/
 
Alaska Native/American Indian/Indigenous Women (Section 6 of the Society For The Psychology of Women)
https://www.div35.org/sec6
 

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also enjoy these previous conversations exploring Indigenous knowledge, mentorship, cultural responsiveness, and decolonizing psychology:

From Invisibility to Belonging: When Indigenous Students Finally Feel Seen
Featuring Mikala Chee, Sanoe Rapozo, and Abbey Woldt
https://www.behaviourspeak.com/e/from-invisibility-to-belonging-when-indigenous-students-finally-feel-seen-with-mikala-chee-sanoe-rapozo-and-abbey-woldt/

Mentorship as Medicine with Dr. Anna Kawenní:io Fetter
https://www.behaviourspeak.com/e/268-mentorship-as-medicine-with-anna-kawennison-fetter-phd-edm/

The Sweetgrass Method with Dr. Mark Standing Eagle Baez
https://www.behaviourspeak.com/e/episode-111-the-sweetgrass-method-a-culturally-responsive-approach-among-american-indianalaska-native-peoples-with-dr-mark-standing-eagle-baez/

The Decolonization of the Mind with Dr. Michael Yellow Bird
https://www.behaviourspeak.com/e/episode-162-the-decolonization-of-the-mind-with-dr-michael-yellow-bird/

Explore the full Indigenous Voices collection: https://www.behaviourspeak.com/category/indigenous-voices

What can studying perspective taking tell us about relationships, dating violence, and the experiences of neurodivergent people?

In this episode, Ben sits down with Ashley Rodrigues, a graduate student in Western University’s School and Applied Child Psychology program and lab manager with the Living Organisms Learning Lab. Ashley describes how her early experiences seeking mental-health support helped shape her interest in psychology, school-based services, and research with neurodivergent people. 

The conversation centres on Ashley’s research examining perspective taking and dating-violence-related outcomes among post-secondary students with ADHD, autism, and neurotypical participants. She explains emotional perspective taking through a Relational Frame Theory lens and describes how the study moves beyond self-report by using a behavioural perspective-taking task. 

Ashley also walks Ben through the evolving findings from the project and some important cautions around interpreting differences between groups. They discuss social communication, working memory, social desirability, masking, literal interpretation of questions, heterogeneity within autism, and the possibility that measurement itself can influence apparent differences. 

The conversation becomes personal as Ashley discusses being diagnosed with both ADHD and autism at age 22 following earlier explanations centred on anxiety and related concerns. She and Ben explore what lived experience can bring to clinical relationships and research, particularly when people's experiences do not fit conventional expectations of how neurodivergence presents. 

Finally, Ashley shares what happened when she presented this work very early in her graduate career at an Ontario behaviour analysis conference. What began with uncertainty about whether she belonged turned into productive interdisciplinary conversations and a poster award. 

Contact Ashley

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyvrod/

Links

Living Organisms Lab

https://www.livingorganismslearninglab.ca/

For another perspective on autism, relationships, and interpersonal violence, listen to my conversation with Amy Pearson about autistic lived experience, masking, relationships, and her research into intimate partner violence and abuse. 

🎧 The Hidden Cost of Masking: Autism, Identity and Authenticity with Dr. Amy Pearson

Dr. Don Togade came to behaviour analysis through a deeply personal journey, one that began with trying to better understand himself.

Don and Ben explore how that journey now shapes the way he teaches future behaviour analysts, from mindfulness, gratitude, and self-monitoring to cultural humility, feedback, and interdisciplinary collaboration. They also discuss AI, professional regulation, Mindful Seeds, and what Don sees as perhaps the most meaningful outcome of his career: becoming a kinder person.

 

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mIe-KuWHadQ

Continuing Education Credits (https://www.cbiconsultants.com/shop)

BACB: 1.5 Learning
IBAO:  1.5 ABA Topics
QABA: 1.5 General
CBA/CPD: 1.5 Learning

Follow us!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behaviourspeak/

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/behaviourspeak

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@behaviorspeak

 

Links

Mindful Seeds
 

George Brown Polytechnic School of Behavioural Science

Don's LinkedIn Profile
Related Behaviour Speak Episodes
If you’d like to continue exploring themes from this conversation:

Interteaching with Dr. Rocío Rosales: A deep dive into interteaching and the behavioural design of college instruction. 

Humility, Compassion, and Reflection with Dr. Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi and Dr. Jonathan Tarbox: Extends Don’s discussion of self-reflection, humility, compassion, and kindness in behaviour analysis. 

Behaviour Analysis in the Philippines with Razelle Kaye Castillo, Kristine Gomez & Kathryn Mendoza: Explores behaviour analysis in the Philippines, including culture, ethics, accessibility, and professional community-building.