r/BehaviorAnalysis

How would you feel about going through your master's program being taught by an instructor(s) who have never practiced as a BCBA? Does this matter to you?

I have 5 years of ABA experience, mostly Registered BT/School Based BT. I feel like I have learned all that I can learn from the amount experience that I gained and I have not much of a desire to become a BCBA.

I am still wanting to be in the ABA/ behavioral health/mental health field but no longer wanting to sacrifice my body though the work is indeed rewarding. I still want to continue to do my part in helping others but being more in the background rather than the forefront.

I have just moved to a new state and I thought that getting back in the field after taking time off would be the most practical thing to do in order for me to be able to have money rolling in to secure stability. However, I am not really wanting to get back in the field in the way of being a Behavior Technician/RBT. A lot of the ABA companies offer in home services that are part time (10-15 hours a week) and I need to make more money than that.

I am wanting to transition out of this particular into something else such as Behavioral Health Coordinator, Client Services Coordinator, Clinical Support, even ABA Scheduler or even a entry level Data Analyst. I am having a hard time either finding these kinds of jobs or my resume doesn't seem to be strong enough to receive the attention to these kinds of jobs that I have been applying to. Though I have tailored my resume to have more of the language of coordinating, I am still receiving inquiring from ABA companies wanting me for BT roles and not what my resume is set up for.

Does anyone have an advice or guidance on how I can achieve this successfully? Any fellow BTs/RBTs that have achieved this? I feel like I have quite the background and skills to be competent and I am not sure what else I need to do.

I am a clinic director for a small-scale ABA company and we currently use Motivity/Aloha primarily. While both are great, and Aloha does have a space for authorization information storage as well as document storage, I am trying to find a way to organize all my clinic information in one location for ease of access. I of course want it to be HIPAA Compliant as well, but my other big thing is trying to avoid human error with dates or information missed. Here is what I am trying to organize:

• Authorizations (auth expiration dates, files, Verification of Benefits info, auth status (i.e., active, pending, denied, follow up required, etc.)
• Checklists and Tracking of New Hire training steps
• Housing of SOPs

There is probably more that I would want to use it for. I would love to have something that I could also set widgets for manually to look at percentages of returns, or steps not completed on time, etc. I would also love to have it send reminders for due dates. I'd also prefer it not to cost a ridiculous amount or require 25+ users.

So far I have tried playing around with Monday.com, Process Street, Asana, Click Up, Air Table, and Microsoft Planner. Anyone have recommendations on good project management software?

TLDR: Any good project management and organization software that you use to organize client and staff info? TIA!

I have a client who is 8 years old. He has ASD and also suffered a TBI as a baby that resulted in damage to his frontal lobe.
He has been harming his brother’s pet. He does this when he thinks he’s alone, but also when parents get on to him, he tells them he didn’t think the pet had feelings.
I was thinking about working on impulse control and theory of mind goals. Has anyone else had anything similar? What worked??

I just started working at this center not too long ago, and honestly, I’m overwhelmed. I started a few days ago, and I haven’t really received any support. From the moment I first interacted with my BCBA, she was super cold. I went in to shake hands, and she moved away from me.

Don’t want to shake hands? Fine by me. I go to introduce myself to my client (a young, nonverbal child, black). I noticed the BCBA was also cold with him. She has another client at the same center as me. However, this child is white, also new, but she was much warmer. Cool. I’m pairing with my client, who just analyzes. Nothing genuinely unusual. But I wanted to know a bit about him and the case overall, so I asked a question. Ignores me completely. Maybe she misheard? I ask again. Responds super cold. Not a problem. I wasn’t told anything about the case, center, or schedule, so I’m moving around like a chicken without a head. I ask her when lunch is for him…. I get an idk. The other non-black BT, who is once again super new, asks something along those lines? She is being as bubbly as can be and responds. Alrighty!

Welp, it’s only once a week for roughly 2 hours, right? I try to reframe my thoughts to reassure myself… She comes the next day.
The client is having a rough time adjusting. He’s crying, I’m trying, but hey, it’s his first week. For reference, we don’t get a break and work 7 hours, 5 days a week. So really, when the children eat, we try to eat as well. What could go wrong with that game plan(sarcasm)? The child comes in with shrimp. I’m superrrr allergic to seafood, so I let the BCBA know and, as a result, I need to move away while he eats it. I take the time to eat really quickly, but I’m still in the room. After he’s finished eating, she turns to me and says, “You need to make sure that while he’s eating, you are always next to him. Regardless of allergies “. Okay???? I respond with “ I’ll die, and then there’d be absolutely no one to watch him”. She doesn’t respond.

After lunch, he’s crying because he’s not used to the routine. I’m trying all my tricks, but I just started working with him. He doesn’t know me. He wouldn’t stop crying. So I sing to him and try to put on the show of a lifetime. He calms down. The BCBA comes in, completely takes over, and basically says, “You’re doing wrong.” He starts crying again, and then takes 30 extra minutes to calm down. Great!! I then overheard the BCBA talking about me to somebody else. I have been here for less than 12 days, and she’s somehow trying to make it seem like I’m inadequate as I’m pairing with him.

I honestly don’t know what to do, and I’m really overwhelmed having just started here. I would never try to make it hostile for anyone just coming into a case. I’m concerned about letting the company know, because we all know how often they side with BCBAs. The company treats BTs and RBTs as nothing more than a pair of pants. I really need my daytime hours. I don’t know what to do. Any advice? I really need my daytime hours. I don’t know what to do. Am I overthinking it? Any advice?

Just wondering if anyone has ever stopped working, kept their BCBA license and returned to work after a few years? Is this something that’s doable or do you automatically become less desirable as a candidate from not working in the field for years? I just had a baby and will be staying home for the time being however I am planning to keep my license active. Maybe in the future I could return in some capacity but wondering how difficult that is. Any persona experiences are welcome!

I dont know how to change my behaviour, but I keep feeling like a doormat who keeps getting walked all over. Im not argumentative or confrontational, if something upsets me I’m not one to start an argument usually. I try and make changes in my relationship (for him to quit smoking, for example) but I feel like he doesn’t respect my wishes or thinks I will never leave him? I guess I just want to know how do I earn respect from people , for them to want to be around me and stuff?

Has anyone here made the switch to remote/telehealth ABA work? Curious about your experience

I've been doing a lot of research lately into how telehealth is changing the ABA space — especially for CBTs and RBTs — and I'm genuinely curious how people in the field feel about it.

A few questions for the group:

• Have you tried virtual sessions? How does it compare to in-person or center-based work?

• What's your experience with evening/weekend caseloads — is the flexibility worth it?

• For those working as 1099 contractors in ABA — any tips for managing that vs. W2?

I work adjacent to the ABA space and love hearing from people actually doing the work. Drop your experience below — would love to hear different perspectives! 👇

My wife completed a Master’s degree in Psychology (Behavior Analysis) at a Brazilian university and also earned a diploma in Applied Behaviour Analysis from Capilano University in Canada.

She has already completed all of her supervised hours as well. However, when she requested the BCBA coursework verification/form in order to apply for the BCBA exam, the coordinator at Capilano told her they could not issue it because the program she completed there was considered undergraduate-level, which seems to be correct.

Now she’s extremely worried that she may not be eligible to sit for the BCBA exam after all.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What should we do next? Is there another pathway or evaluation process that could help determine her eligibility?

Narcissistic behavior creates a "monologue" where your feelings are dismissed as inconveniences and you are scapegoated for every conflict. This toxic cycle uses volatility and a lack of empathy to erode your mental health and erase your true identity.

Hi everyone! I recently got an offer at clinic as a Behavioral health specialist. It’s an office hybrid position. Has anyone worked in this field? I would love to hear your experience. :)

l used a hold on a client who was engaging in self harming and violent behavior towards peers. I was told by an office person I had a meeting with that based on my description I had used the hold correctly. Despite this, I was reported by my FSM (who had never been to the house or met any of the clients involved) saying that the hold was unnecessary.

I can't find on the website where I can go to contest the allegations, only where i can report myself / someone else.

I am currently a practicum student, working on a graduate certificate in ABA. I also have a diagnosis of Level 1 ASD myself and have some behaviors that I would like to manage or at least reduce. My question is, has anyone else tried to make a behavior plan for themself? How would you go about that and does it work?

I am far from skilled at looking up behavior analytic research, and I am currently looking for anything I can get my hands on about a topic that I fear there might not be much out there to begin with.

I want to find anything I can about pda or o.d.d presenting in non speaking, high support needs autistic children.

I would be super greatfull for anything that you all could point me in the direction of.

Is that true that if i start with Purdue now, i wont be able to sit for the exam because they are not ABAI accredited and rules are changing jan 2027?