I started working at this location about two months ago. It is my first ever experience being an RBT/doing ABA, and this location is awful. They made me take a 40 hour course for training which I have no problem with, but it's like they expected me to automatically know everything based on the online course. They hardly provided me any hands-on training or an introduction to their schedule, routine, etc. (probably because they don't even have one--it is insanely disorganized) and they just shoved me in day one, hardly spoke to me. My coworkers hardly act like I'm even there and talk amongst themselves all day. They play video games and go on their phones and leave me with the children in the other room. They hardly showed me how to do proper DTT, only two employees were nice enough to help me out a bit (a couple weeks later). It's also insanely unproductive and functions like a daycare at this location. It's just a bunch of children running around one big room and the only interventions from the techs are when the kids start acting out, and when one acts out, they all do. It's an endless amount of chaos with no actual ABA, just babysitting. Also, we're given a different client each day, which I understand is helpful for flexible schedules, but in my opinion, ABA shouldn't have flexible schedules. I don't know these kids well and I don't know how they have been trained therefore I don't know what behaviors to encourage, reinforce, discourage, ignore, etc. I just feel no support at this location whatsoever and I can't quit for a full year otherwise I have to pay a huge fee. I genuinely think this location should be shut down because it is not ABA at all. The only think I could think about was if I had a kid, I would NEVER send them here. I would much rather work at a company that does in-house sessions because it is ridiculously unorganized and unprofessional here.

My BCBA’s have supervised me more often this week (they actually normally don’t, I have two for the client.) I know that it is technically good for them to be there, because they can clear up any questions I have about how to run goals (and we did have a few new ones introduced to session today) and so that I can improve at my job, but I feel so awkward whenever they’re there even though they aren’t bad people nor bad at giving feedback. I think I seen noticeably uncomfortable too. I don’t mean to seem like that. It’s hard to feel comfortable when you know your performance is being assessed, even though it’s their job.

How do you determine the recommended amount of service hours for direct therapy?

At my company we have a checklist that adds up the amount of hours based on age, their barriers to learning, skill deficits, and problem behaviors.

I've been having some push back from a parent after doing an initial evaluation when my hours recommended wasn't as high as they wanted it. They are requesting more to focus on preparing for school. I feel like its not needed for a child to have 40 hours of ABA to prep them for school if there aren't that many barriers or skill deficits to back it up.

I work for a charter school that contracts with a therapeutic staffing agency to hire RBTs like me for their classrooms. I go in every day to take care of students with special needs, creating behavior change for some of the most challenging students. You'd think there'd be some gratitude, or at least some semblance of being part of the team, right? Nope! They always act like we're unwelcome outsiders. Their classrooms wouldn't be able to function without our intervention, but they act like we're an intrusion. I was shocked I even got invited to the company holiday party, but when I got there, people acted like, "Why are you here? You're not one of us!" They wouldn't even let me join the raffle! I don't understand the attitude! We are serving the same students regardless of who signs our paychecks!

I work at a charter school that contracts with a therapeutic staffing agency to hire RBTs like me for their classrooms. I go in every day to take care of students with special needs, creating behavior change for some of the most challenging students. You'd think there'd be some gratitude, or at least some semblance of being part of the team, right? Nope! They always act like we're unwelcome outsiders. Their classrooms wouldn't be able to function without our intervention, but they act like we're an intrusion. I was shocked I even got invited to the company holiday party, but when I got there, people acted like, "Why are you here? You're not one of us!" They wouldn't even let me join the raffle! I don't understand the attitude! We are serving the same students regardless of who signs our paychecks!

Need help understanding how to fill out T & E on the pyramid grid based on PCA scores. The Facebook group seems pretty dead. Please DM!

I am 22F and have been open with my job about my medical history. Before I started I had previously been an RBT for 2 years but had been with the in-home department for the last 6 months. For transparency I disclose my current health limits and restrictions. I have less stamina than most my age and when i reach its max I risk suffering from burnout. which causes me to become more drained. I can suffer from sickness more as i have a weakened immune system. And i have also have severe symptoms of yeast infection and BV. being sick this season has also just been aggravating everything.

I love what I do and love where I am, and want to stay and continue as I am able to fulfill my role and responsibilities. When I am given the opportunity to treat illness and injury im experiencing.

I have doctors notes and obvious physical symptoms. I have talked about the concern I have for burn out with my supervisor and am met with having my abilities questioned. I have reasonable explanations and solutions to my situation and struggles, but am dismissed or ignored. This leads to the problem, is it me?

I believe I should have the opportunity to continue the role I have with the organization while still giving myself proper healthcare. I have reached put to HR for short term disability and plan to try that for the interim of healing.

But I want to know more before reaching out the my supervisor and the office for schedule changes. I have questioned reaching out to the executive director about how i feel I have been mistreated, but would anyone recommend that?

I am not sure what to do and do not want my boss to take any disciplinary actions for the amount i have missed… how does the aba field deal with and treat disability?

any advice?

TLDR need advice on how soon and how to tell my supervisor about myself applying for disability.

For me this is funny but also embarrassing. I had a client who worked on homework in clinic. I helped him with it and although I had to look some things up when it came to math I felt confident. Until one day I got a message from my Bcba asking that I check his homework because a lot of his math had been wrong and his teacher had been complaining. I was so embarrassed 😂

I’ve recently started working one of the hardest cases I’ve ever had in a school setting. First off I want to say that the school is incredible, extremely progressive, emotionally intelligent, and the inclusivity here is absolutely off the charts. I’m SO happy here that I can truly envision myself thriving at this job for a long time. I am currently working one on one with a 8F diagnosed with autism and adhd. She is incredibly intelligent, charismatic, and just a joy to laugh with. However she is EXPLOSIVE! I mean to a degree that in my 7 years as an RBT I have never encountered: throwing furniture, escalates to a point of threatening her life/making herself vomit, self injury, ear-piercing refusal. I looked into strategies used for children with ODD as it seems that she is triggered by academic demands or rules being placed on her in a way that feels deeply unfair to her.

I have been working with her for a few weeks now and have found a lot of great strategies for breaking her out of this dysregulation and getting her back on task. The moment before her escalation tips I give her an explaination of the rule, as well as her choices on what we can do first/how I can help her. When she tips I say nothing; and only do what I can to keep her safe when she starts destroying everything in her path. The only verbal prompt I give her is to BREATHE. When she comes down slightly I ask if she’d like a hug or some space; typically she will ask me to hug her to regulate. This has been hugely successful for keeping these episodes under 5 minutes at most, and she is able to comply once she calms down.

My problem is that every adult around her has a different approach to her episodes. Her teacher wants her to succeed academically and maintain the original demand as much as possible, her school therapist and case manager often will remove the original demand entirely or modify it to the extreme of doing the work FOR HER even when she is more than capable of completing it, and her parents I’d speculate are just giving into her anger or ignoring it completely.

I personally am trying to find the middle ground between showing her empathy during these escalations, modifying academic demands within her IEP, and getting her back to the normal expectations of a 3rd grader for the most success. I’m still learning how to successfully shift my approach to help her the best I can, and taking in as many opinions as possible. But there’s a lot of frustration from everyone at the school who projects a different idea of success for her. All of the work she is refusing she is MORE than capable of doing; I just struggle to maintain the original demand when she knows that her behavior will get it removed from SOME teachers/therapistd but not others. Any advice would be appreciated on how to navigate the differences of opinions amongst my coworkers.

I’m leaving the ABA position that I’ve held for a long time. Not because of the nature of the work, but because my boss, who’s also the BCBA, makes life very chaotic. I had to tell my clients today and they did not take it well. I put so much of my heart and soul into these teens and it’s breaking my heart that I have to walk away from them. People outside of these type of roles have a hard time understanding it, but I’m thinking maybe I should just leave this field entirely. I don’t know how not to get attached to someone I spend 40+ hours with weekly. Does it ever get easier?

I am studying for the BCBA exam. I have found many definitions for Solistic tact extensions (i.e.: slang, poor grammar, saying something lacking connection to the Sd, saying something under their breath or to themselves. Are there any succinct answers out there or simple explanations? I read cooper and I am more confused.

Hey all! I just happily accepted a job being an RBT in home after 2 years of being an RBT in a clinic. I’m very excited, but not sure what to expect. Any advice?

Hi guys,

I recently held a job at a company as a BT that I had to leave due to mental health issues. I was so excited to be employed by them and was already planning my career. That was earlier this year, like 6 months ago. Since then I haven't worked and have been trying to take care of myself and get my head in order.

I really want to try and get another position as an RBT sooner or later but my health issues are still weighing on my mind even though they've generally dissipated. Plus leaving the job and it being one of the only RBT job options in my area might make it really hard to pursue this option unless some other positions open up.

Still, I have a Bachelor's degree and want to continue my education with an M.S. in ABA. I think the field is extremely fascinating and I really think if I can finally overcome my health issues then I could make it my career. In fact I really see a light of hope in this field even though there's not much opportunity in my area just based on the fact that I find it so interesting and as something I could totally see myself making a career out of just based on my minimal experience (experience that would not look good on a resume by the way, it was very short-lived and my exit strategy was not professionally tactful and I take full responsibility for that...) Just my personal feelings about the position I held and the company I worked for. In all honesty I truly wish I could re-enter that position in a a new head space but... they'd definitely turn me down.

This being said, even though I don't technically have verifiable experience as a BT and there's not much opportunity in the area (at least right now according to indeed and google) would it even be worth it to pursue an M.S. in ABA for the sake of gaining the knowledge and experience that comes with a graduate degree and taking it with me into [my hopeful] future with ABA?

Without getting into the nitty gritty, I got into a legal situation with a therapy clinic and they sent the BACB board absolutely false information in retaliation. However because it's a legal situation, the board took it seriously enough to reach out to me to respond to the ethics complaint. I do have a lawyer and they are handling this for me. Looking for an uplifting story or two that this isn't going to be the downfall of my career based on an insane amount of lies.

I have found that all of my clients have 4.5 hour sessions and they are having sessions like 5-6 days a week. I feel like this is too much? It is too much for me so I can’t imagine how much it is for the child. How long is too long?? Is this normal in companies?

Has anyone worked for PBS in the Oklahoma region? I am highly considering them, as my options are limited here as a BCBA. But everything I look into says that it very largely depends on the region. Some stories were very unprofessional and unproductive, and some had great and consistent work and support, all based on the location. Can’t find any Oklahoma stories though.

I just got offered a job as a behavioral technician for a non verbal child with a lot of aggression. I just graduated college with an unrelated degree, and I have about 5 years of experience doing volunteer work with children and adults with disabilities including autism.

I was told there’s only one hour of training, and it’s online. Sounds like I would just kind of be thrown in. This seems pretty wild to me, is this typical? Wondering if this is a red flag?

https://www.propublica.org/article/unitedhealthcare-insurance-autism-denials-applied-behavior-analysis-medicaid

What is everyone’s opinion on working for Forta as a BCBA?

I know I recently posted about the struggles but it seems to be getting worse. I developed a sinus infection and started balling my eyes out. I only worked an hour today before I was struggling to breath. I cried the whole way home. I have broken down 3 days this week and feel lost.

In the years I have been doing this I have worked mainly with high magnitude behaviors and was trained in PCM all the way to supine holds. I have bottled up a lot of trauma from the companies I have worked at and this is leading to me breaking down. This morning I was supposed to do a coverage shift on a tougher client, bit have been struggling to breath. The switch happened so quickly I wasn't able to read the BIP or prepare myself for this client.

I reached out to HR about being sick cause I was afraid to talk to ANY supervisor for the fear of retaliation (past work trauma). I don't want to be seen as unreliable but I don't feel good.

How long did it take to get a response after you did the virtual interview with PBS?

good evening, everyone! it's me again from the Philippines. I just want to ask if you have a template or sample of a progress report. Our head or program manager sent me an assessment report and it doesn't look like a progress report template for me. help me please, haha. thank uu.

I NEED IT TOMORROW HUHU.

I got my BCBA at the beginning of this year and I am already looking into my third position with a different company. The first was a school district, it was very unprepared, I was the only person for ~15 elementary, middle and high schools working in behavior, and it was very hard to get teacher buy in or get anything done without having techs or other people to stay and implement my behavior plans. Completely impossible to be one singular BCBA for a district like that. I was there about 2.5 months then I got a really good offer with a clinic about an hour away and I made the uncomfortable decision to quit and switch. The reason I chose that clinic was because my town is smaller and doesn’t offer luxurious packages like this one did. I like this company but commuting 2.5 hours total every day is exhausting and taxing. I recently was reached out to with a BCBA position opening in my town, and it’s another great package. Had this been offered back before I worked with the school or before I took this commute job, I would’ve started with this one. It just didn’t exist until now. It is so much more flexible, it’s more my pace (current company is very big, long shifts, and every aspect of my day is very controlled by the other positions). This new one is in home which I have experience with and enjoy. Working in my town and being home before the sun goes down I think would make me so much happier, plus for my family as I’m a new mom. Does this make me horrible if I switch AGAIN (but this is for sure the ideal position I’m looking for and will stay with)? 😩😩

My housemate has recently picked up working for a center known in town for being pretty relentlessly strict. They’re the harshest center in our city and the only major corporate-owned chain (they’re big in CO and CA). They cycle through BTs like no other and hand out written warnings like candy.

But what has me concerned is that my housemate has said that their new system, which isn’t CR, won’t let them complete a session and begin their next one without fully converting. They don’t have a break between sessions sometimes, which means that they’re being expected to write notes and convert while they’re direct.

I know there’s not a lot of billable time allowed for notes, but this seems suspect to me. I doubt that Medicaid would like it if they knew that BTs were being expected to write notes during direct sessions. Is this legal, and can anything be done about it?

BCBAs, I’m genuinely curious—do you allow homework during ABA sessions? Are you incorporating any academic programming or even reinforcing academic tasks during sessions?

I have a client who spends an hour or more doing homework with the caregiver at the start of the session. This leaves little time to work on actual goals and has led to several behaviors. However, the parent insists on completing the homework first because the child’s ADHD medication wears off later in the day.

I’m struggling to gain more parent buy-in, as it’s clear that sitting for such a long time isn’t working for the child. Any suggestions?

Currently I am majoring in ABA and minoring in special education. I am considering sitting for the BCaBa exam when I graduate (if it’s still around, I am a sophomore now likely graduating in 27’). My advisors are not really helpful but maybe I’m just asking the wrong questions?? I want to know what Master’s programs I am eligible for. My advisor only talks about a Master’s in ABA and sitting for the BCBA exam, but is that all I am able to do? Later down the line I‘d like to explore becoming an SLP or an OT, I just am so unsure if this is the correct foundation for me to be able to do all of that. Any advice is helpful at this point.

My guess is that since it’s the week of 12/23-1/6, we’re probably just off due to the holidays. I normally work with family on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Mom actually did mention to me towards the end of today’s session that client has no school the week after next, that she told scheduling she’d still like for them to receive therapy and that scheduling “might” contact me. Mom seemed a little frustrated today but there was a lot of construction going on at home and I could tell it bothered her so may have just been noise sensitivity.

I’m graduating this month and applying for ( Applied Behavioral Analysis) masters program; currently applied to USC only. However, as my plans are to eventually open up my own clinics would there be a difference if I do an online non prestigious school but finish faster and start quicker?