r/bcba

So I’ve been an RBT for about 1.5 years now and I’ve fallen in love with it since I started. I love celebrating the small wins with my kids; I love feeling like I’m helping a vulnerable population learn new skills, and this job is definitely the most rewarding I’ve ever had. I know that ABA has somewhat of a darker past though, and I’ve been reading (almost exclusively from folks on the spectrum) that ABA is an abusive practice. It’s easy to understand HOW ABA can be abusive, sure. Anything can be turned into a weapon in the wrong hands.

When I’m at work, I do try the least invasive interventions at all times, and I try to only intervene when it obstructs safety or learning for the patient or anyone else. However, I just can’t shake the feeling that there is some truth to what I’ve read.

Does anyone here feel the same? Why do people call ABA abusive? And where’s the line between helpful and harmful? My company says “above all, do no harm” a lot, and I take that to heart, but what if we’re doing harm without meaning to? How do you cope with that possibility?

As a school BCBA, what do you wear?

Hi !!

I’m brand new to the ABA field and currently learning how to support autistic children. I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology and social sciences, and I’m about to begin my master’s program in ABA.

I previously worked as a BT for about one month before I was let go. It was discouraging, but I still want to learn, improve, and continue in this field. Since I only have about a month of direct experience, I know I have a lot to learn.

What advice would you give someone at the very beginning of their ABA career? Are there any skills, resources, workplace red flags, or lessons you wish you had known when you first started?

How could I meet the 25hour a week billable hours Monday-Friday if I need to take Thursday and Friday off without using PTO?

I'm looking for tips about what questions I should ask for a remote BCBA position. What are red flags?

The company I work for now allowed me to do virtual supervision when I was out on medical leave for a few weeks, so I know that it can be difficult for the RBTs and it can be distracting for the kiddos. I did feel that I could see things well enough to provide constructive feedback. I know remote supervision is controversial, but please no judgement.

I am a remote BCBA with in home cases. My clients range in hours from 6 hours per week up to about 30, though most are on the lower end. Right now I have 14 clients and even if I billed the maximum 97155 per week I’d only have about 24 hours. My billable requirement is 25 hours.

Cancellations are CRAZY. And with everyone’s varying schedules if someone cancels it’s usually not easy if impossible to reschedule for that week.

How do you guys deal with this? Feeling like it’s impossible.

Hi everyone,

I am keeping my eyes open for opportunities and am wondering if anyone has any insight on these two (responsibilities, billable requirement, compensation, "unspoken truths" about culture and such, etc.):

1. Action Behavior Centers - Clinical Director
2. Behavioral Invitations - Senior Director of Clinical Services (this seems to be a traditional CD role with a fancy title but maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong)

Thanks in advance!

I've been looking over the questions I'm getting wrong on mock exams, and there were a few on BAS and Understand bx specifically that I couldn't understand why I got wrong, even with their reasoning. I ran a few of those questions through Chat gpt to see which answer it would choose, and chat gpt was selecting the same answers that I was. Chat gpt's response to this was that I am thinking about things as they'd be done in a clinic, not how the test wants me to answer. It also seems like some mocks want you to infer a bit of background info, within reason, and others don't. There is definitely a method to answering these questions, but that method seems to differ by WHICH mock you're taking.

As an example, one question asked me which step of an FA would come next, given xyz scenario. I thought this was an easy question, but I got it wrong because I was supposed to infer that a records review had already taken place, though the question did not mention this. This was from a UB mock, so I don't want to write it off as a bad question.

I test in about a week, and when I study, there are a few task list items I'm weaker in, but nothing specific I'm struggling with. Its often times the wording that trips me up. I've gotten 76% on UB, 72% on BAS, and 80% on Boost. None stood out as "harder" than the others, so I am now concerned about wording and whether the BCBA exam leans straight forward or not.

Hello all,

I have a plan to start my education towards my master in ABA is anybody has the same experience with that field?

Any advice and tips for study?

Thank you all,

Any moms out there who bill 30 hours/week? Is it challenging balancing home and work life?

I've just started my masters through Purdue Global.

I feel like I'm getting tested on something I wasn't taught. There was emphasis on not memorizing the answers, but I don't know what else I'm supposed to do other than try to remember what I'm supposed to say. I want to understand what I'm doing.

What resources would teach me what I'm supposed to know?

Hi! I’ve been going back and forth on something and would love to hear from behaviour analysts or anyone who’s completed (or is completing) their master’s in ABA.
I’m in Ontario (just mentioning that because of the recent regulatory changes with the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts), and I’ll be starting my master’s this September. Since the new pathway requires post-graduate supervised practice, I know I won’t be completing my registration hours while I’m in school anyway.
Before my current job, I worked as an ABA therapist for about six months. Right now, though, I’m working as an ECE (early childhood educator) in a community-based program that’s a little different from a typical childcare role. I work with children, but I also spend a lot of time supporting parents, families, and the community. It’s a position I worked really hard to get after graduating, and I genuinely enjoy it because of how much I’m learning.
I know ABA is a science and that there’s a lot to learn beyond the coursework, especially when it comes to terminology, clinical thinking, and practical experience. That’s why I’ve been wondering if I’d be putting myself behind by staying in my current role for my first year instead of trying to get back into ABA right away. My program also has a placement in second year, so part of me wonders if that would be a better time to transition back into an ABA role.
Has anyone else taken a similar path? If you worked in a related role with children or families instead of directly in ABA during your master’s, did you feel behind afterward? Or did you find the experience in an adjacent field was still valuable?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently in school working toward becoming a BCBA, but I have never worked as an RBT before. I currently work with children in a different setting, and I’m starting to realize that while my experience is helpful, it doesn’t fully translate into the ABA/BCBA world the way I need it to.

I’m looking for a bridge between what I’m learning in my coursework and what ABA looks like in real practice. I’m considering part-time RBT work, but I’m unable to leave my current day job because RBT pay alone would not support my household. I may be available for a few hours on weekends, especially Saturday afternoons or possibly Sundays.

For those working in ABA, is weekend-only or very part-time RBT work common? Are there companies that hire RBTs for just a few weekend hours?

I’m also wondering how helpful RBT experience is for someone becoming a BCBA. Did working as an RBT help you understand the language of ABA better, learn how to take data, read programs, graph progress, understand behavior plans, and apply what you were learning in school?

I’m still fairly new in my coursework and supervision, and so much of it is reading and learning concepts. I think I would benefit from seeing ABA in action so the material starts to make more sense.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Edit:

I think I may not have explained my question clearly. I am not asking whether I can complete BCBA fieldwork without supervision, without clients, or without qualifying activities. I already have a qualified BCBA supervisor, access to clients, and fieldwork opportunities in my current setting.
My question is separate from that. I am interested in part-time RBT or BT work because I want hands-on exposure to ABA implementation. I want to better understand what RBTs do day to day, how programs are run, how data is collected, and what implementation looks like from the technician side. I think that experience would help me connect my coursework and supervision to real ABA practice and eventually make me a more informed BCBA.
I am not trying to make RBT work my full-time career or rely on it as my main source of fieldwork hours. I am simply looking for practical experience so I am not disconnected from the role I may one day supervise.

I’ve been an RBT for a little over a year now and I love my job. It’s very fulfilling and although it has its downsides such as cancelations and late arrivals it is compensating me enough to pay for my expenses right now. With that being said, if I were to become a BCBA (which is my plan as of now), can I use my experience as an RBT as leverage for wage negotiations when becoming a BCBA? If I maintain my job until I become a BCBA, I would have six years of experience at the minimum. I’m also heavily considering relocating to the greater Denver area, as I love Colorado and BCBAs are paid very well there from the job listing I see online so if any people in the greater denver can they be about their experience I’d greatly appreciate it.

Does anyone else feel very lonely in their BCBA position? I visit my clients in their homes and various community institutions, so basically everyone I interact with on a daily basis is either an RBT or a stakeholder in the client's life. To avoid dual relationships I try to stay very professional and avoid going deeper than small talk. It feels like I am not allowed to make friends at all. I miss being an RBT and feeling like I'm part of a team and getting to really know my coworkers.

I was using ChatGBT and YouTube to practice some studying before I purchased ABA Exam Review mock package and also I was exploring getting ABA wizard. is this a good resource?

i was able to make study cards based on areas I was not as competent in but I learned I can do mock quizzes on chatgbt in between, so I wanted to know if it’s valid? Any other suggestions as well.

Has anyone ever run into this situation while completing BCBA fieldwork under the 2022 requirements?

Let's say you're in your final month of fieldwork and, after capping your previous months at the maximum allowable hours, you only have a small number of hours left to reach 2,000 (for example, well under the 20 hour monthly minimum).

What did you end up doing?

• Did you have to complete a full 20 hour month?
• Did you or your supervisor contact the BACB for clarification?

PSA: I fully intend to ask my supervisor. I promise I'm not relying on Reddit for guidance so don't come for me. It's just 11 PM on a holiday weekend, and my brain won't let this go. I'm mostly curious whether anyone has actually encountered this edge case before.

I’ve looked at other post in this thread on pay transparency and wanted to start my own.

What is your hourly rate or salary?
What are your hours/ days of the week?
What is your state?
Lastly do you enjoy your job?

Excited to see the responses :-)

I am struggling with complex questions for positive/negative reinforcement/punishment! When the questions are easy and straightforward, it's easy to figure out the answer... but when it comes to the longer more trickier questions with multiple moving pieces, I get overwhelmed and end up picking the wrong answer based on my mocks.

Any tips for how to distinguish between what the correct answer is? I know you should pay attention to if the behavior increases or decreases - that means reinforcement or punishment. However, the part that trips me up is deciding if something is positive or negative. I asked ChatGPT to give me a difficult question and it did 😭. Any explanations or tips for breaking down the question? TIA!

(I know my message is all over the place, but I test in 2 weeks and I feel like I should have this concept mastered already)

Example question: A 9-year-old girl named Sophia frequently argues with her little brother over toys. When she argues, her dad usually steps in and makes them share the toy. Over time, Sophia starts arguing more often because she knows her dad will make them share. One day her dad gets tired of it and tells her, “If you argue with your brother again, I’m taking away your tablet for the rest of the day.” Sophia starts arguing less. But when she plays nicely with her brother without arguing, her dad gives her extra praise and lets her choose the next game.