Wael Al Awabdah, BCBA & Founder of ABA Experts | Behaviour, Relationships & the Science of Why

In this episode, we sit down with Wael Al Awabdah — Board Certified Behaviour Analyst, founder of ABA Experts, and the first Syrian BCBA in the world — to explore the science behind why people do what they do, and what it means for every relationship, habit, and pattern in your life.We go beyond self-help advice and motivational content to examine how behaviour actually works — through 15 years of clinical practice with real families, real children, and real consequences.In this conversation, we discuss:• Why behaviour is communication, not a character flaw• The 4 functions of behaviour and what drives everything we do• The gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it• Why toxic relationships feel addictive — the variable reinforcement trap• Skill deficit vs motivation problem — and why solving the wrong one keeps you stuck• What the Milgram experiment reveals about leadership, obedience, and power• How childhood patterns quietly run your adult relationships• What trauma does to a child’s developing behavioural system• The truth about ADHD self-diagnosis on social media• What to do if you’re an exhausted parent who doesn’t know where to startThis episode challenges the idea that difficult behaviour is a personality problem — and asks a deeper question:What if every pattern you can’t break is simply trying to tell you something?