This document discusses the importance of health and wellness. It provides statistics showing that most adults do not meet exercise guidelines and have unhealthy diets. Maintaining good physical and mental health is important as noted by several historical figures. Barriers to health and wellness include lack of time, motivation and access. The document explores how behavior analysis principles like goal setting, feedback, and reinforcement can help people improve their health behaviors but acknowledges that competing priorities and life events can interfere. It questions how organizations and practitioners can apply these lessons to better support clients and their own wellness goals.

1. Health and Wellness
Megan Thompson, M.Ed., BCBA
O.R.L.
Alison McManus, M.A.
O.R.L.

2. Health and Wellness: Why is it
important?
• 80% of adults do not meet the guidelines for exercise
(CDC)
• Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for
global mortality (WHO)
• Less than 5% of adults get 30 minutes of exercise each
day (Department Of Agriculture)
• Typical American diets exceed the recommended limits
for fats and sugars (CDC)

3. Health and Wellness: Why is it
important?
• The part can never be well unless the whole is well.
–Plato
• To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we
shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.
-Buddha
• Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys
to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative
intellectual activity.
-John F. Kennedy

4. Moving towards health and
wellness?
• Physical ailments or illnesses directly effecting an
individual
• Mental health or emotional concerns (Atkinson and
Permuth-Levine, 2009)
• Knowledge of how physical exercise impacts health
(Merrill, Chatterly, and Shields, 2005)
• Engaging in physical activities
that are reinforcing to the
performer help you
“get hooked”
(Malott and Harrison, 2002)

5. Barriers
• “ Here is the problem: knowing what to do, when to
do it, and why, is not enough to get us to do it”
(Mallott and Harrison, 2002)

6. Barriers
• “…a variety of physical activity barriers have been
identified: time, inconvenience, lack of self-
motivation, the belief that exercise is boring or
unenjoyable, low self-efficacy, fear of injury, poor
self-management skills, lack of social support, and
insufficient access to safe places to exercise” (Tai-
Seal, 2003)

7. …contingencies are different
for everyone…

8. Why does it come up at ORL?
• Chart share
• Staff demographics
• ORL also includes
health and wellness
as a pinpoint on the
professional
evaluation for
professional staff

9. What do our charts look like?
• Data in context
• Themes of intervention
• A note on our charts
– Not learning new motor responses
– These charts look crazy

17. Bet Money

19. What Worked
(or at least, what were some common
practices?)

20. SURPRISE! Setting goals

21. Recruiting feedback and social
reinforcement, reinforcement
contingencies

22. Other Common Themes

23. life happens…
so do competing values

24. Assent withdrawal

25. What Did We Miss?

26. Data based decisions

27. Goose v. Gander: How can this
inform us going forward?
Our health and wellness
charts:
• Recruit feedback
– Get a chart advisor
– Share publicly
• Try non-linear
approaches
• Use reinforcement
• Have more frequent
contact with the chart
• Put $ on it
• RESPOND TO DATA!!
As an organization, in our
work with clients:
• Let life happen
• Sometimes it is okay to:
– Intervene on a chart
– Stop counting
– Stop contingencies
– “Stay for joy”

29. References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Behavioral Risk factor Surveillance
Survey. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/
Malott, R.W., Harrison, H. (2002): A behavioranalytic tretise on auto-regulation in
homosapiens. Department of Psychology, Western Michegan University.
Merrill, Ray M., Chatterly, Amanda, Shields, Eric C. (2005). Perceived effectiveness among
college students of selected statistical measures in motivating exercise behavior.
American Journal of Health Education, 36(2), 94-102.
Tai-Seale, T. (2003). Stage of change specific triggers and barriers to moderate physical activity.
American Journal of Health Behavior, 27(3), 219-227. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/211791496?accountid=166077
U.S. department of agriculture. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. available at:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/DietaryGuidelines
World Health Organization http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/physical_activity/en/

30. The Big Question: Aligning
Values at Work and Home (or
the gym)
• How can the work we do with our clients
inform how we intervene on our own
behavior?
– Let the data inform changes
• How can our data on intervening on our own
behavior guide us to be better practitioners?
– As a group we were good at allowing for life to
happen
• Intervened on chart
• Stopped counting
• Stopped contingencies