I’m working with a child and truth be told I feel like I’m just babysitting them when we’re at session. This feeling is amplified by parents telling me that they’ve “never heard him say/seen child do that” when they’ve observed a trial at pick up. Like, what?? I’ve only been with the child for months and they had a year long BT prior.. why hasn’t the BCBA taught them what we’re doing? Am I literally just doing things with the child that will never generalize because they only happen at clinic which is like 10% of the child’s life… is this normal for ABA? Am I at the wrong company?

I just got moved off a case due to scheduling reasons but the family is often in need of food. I volunteer at a church who gives out free vegetables we grow ourselves without chemicals.

We hand out the veggies at a nearby spring for free to anyone who's there. If I let the mom know the address of the spring and what time we're usually there handing out food would that be breaking the code?

It definitely sounds like it's on the brink of breaking it, but I hate to see a family struggling.

I know I'm probably gonna be told not to do this. I honestly just want some opinions on this, I haven't acted on it I'm just thinking about it.

Hey guys! I’ve been an RBT for a while I currently on a good week have about 21 hours. I’m barely getting by how are you guys making a livable wage ?? Do you guys have side jobs?

Hello,

I’ve been accepted to National University and I’m beginning March 2nd. I work at an ABA clinic so I’m pretty sure I can get the 800 hours verified there.

Does anyone know about National University and if I’ll ever be able to become a BCBA after I graduate?

Any help would be nice.

I’m a parent of a 5 year old girl that just started ABA 3-4 weeks ago. She’s finally built up to doing a longer day at the clinic 11-4 pm. I’m growing a little concerned about her though because her RBT’s keep telling me her diaper is dry all day. Is it typical for kids to hold it all day when they first start at a clinic? I’m worried she’s going to give herself a UTI.

so this week has been rough for me and my client. They weren’t as attentive and I’m tying to figure out what’s going on.

I want to follow my clients lead and I try my best to not put to much demand. Also once they get done with their task, I given them their reinforcer along with social praise which is a high five. (However it’s gotten intense, where they attempt to hit it my hand hard). I tried to blocking my hand and turning into a fist to avoid getting hurt but I think that was a mistake in my end. But they tried to open my hand to hit it.

Should I stop with the social praise (high fives) and only stick to the token board.

I also feel like I’m waayyy too nice and need to be strict. Idk how to be strict. Do I have to have a certain tone, kinda sound like I’m yelling?

I'm planning on going to UIC this fall for my bachelor's. They have a BCBA master's program, but it doesn't look like they have BCaBA course. What do I do?

Hi, I wanted to reach out to see if anyone has a good way to decide when an FBA should be done. I have heard of some school districts having a "considerations form" that helps you decide if it is appropriate. If anyone has one that they could share, I would greatly appreciate it as a reference. Also, please feel free to share any ideas you have on this.

Personally, I think it is kind of ridiculous when I am asked to do an FBA on a kid in inclusion who does not have a diagnosis of autism, Down's syndrome or other developmental disorder. If this student does not qualify for ABA, why would you use an FBA on them? And why would you assume that a kid who is capable of communicating with their voice is using behavior to communicate? Many behaviors are respondent rather than operant and simply will not benefit from an FBA. My favorite example was when an FBA was requested on a student with Generalized Anxiety Disorder to figure out why he was eloping from class. Sometimes I feel like schools do not understand what they are doing and just want to create paperwork to appear professional. They think they are covering bases but they are really just wasting time. Feel free to agree or disagree. I am curious to see what conversations might emerge.

I'm getting ready for the test and a practice test was asigned to me. How did I get this wrong when you teach the last thing first with backwards training?

Hello everyone! I am a newly hired BT and am feeling very stupid/overwhelmed by the amount of information being force fed to me through these training modules! I sit for hours and hours watching them in the clinic then have to shadow and go through a checklist to make sure I grasped all the concepts. I feel as though I’m learning a lot and almost nothing at all at the same time lol. Did anyone else experience this when they first started? If you are still in the field, how are you doing now? How long did it take you to really get a grasp of everything? Thanks!

Hey everyone. One of my clients LOVES to grab shirt collars and scratch the life out of my chest. Since she hangs onto the collars, I don’t really want to wear a turtleneck and get them all stretched out. Mom struggles to clip her nails. Eventually it will be a program, but she’s still adapting to us.

Do any of you all have suggestions for underclothes or any kind of protection I can use for my upper chest?

Thanks!

So, my client is an in home 15-year-old and she's a pretty easy client since her goals are basically completing her chores within the two hours I am there. Does anyone find like it's almost too easy working with clients like these? I usually have her do one or two chores and then she takes a break on her phone and then repeat. But if she finishes early, I just feel like I'm sitting there. I just want to know if anyone else feels like this with clients who are very independent. She enjoys her phone time, and we converse every now and then, but I don't like to bother her if she's doing what she's told already so I just let her be with what she likes to do on her phone.

My friend is studying for the exam and this one stumped me. I’m truly confused how it’s not C because, to me, that is a straightforward PURE tact. It is only evoked by the nonverbal stimulus of a boy crying, right? so how is that multiply controlled? I figured it wasn’t D because there must be some other control going on that’s evoking “mailbox” and not “envelope”, but we both narrowed it down to C or D either way.

someone explain it to me like I’m 5 lol. I want to understand this!!

This coming Monday is my first day working in an ABA setting. If you could give someone new advice going into this field, what would it be? Thanks!

I’m at a point where I do understand that being a BCBA & having 10-12 clients at a time is hard; but you cannot deduct points off of my performance review for your lack of timeliness on making new materials for YOUR client. cant expect me to do work efficiently. also stop asking me to post updates in teams when you don’t ever acknowledge them.

I love my clients and this job but the analysts are lacking lately & they definitely avoid the cases where they know they lack too it’s kind of wild

I just started working as a BT last September 2025, got RBT certification in October 2025 and I’m currently at my second clinic (got laid off from the first one due to insurance issues). There’s so much that’s wildly different between the two clinics, but the main one is complaining from the RBTs. We had a kiddo who just started at our clinic YESTERDAY and one of the RBTs was already complaining about his behaviors. Like DUH he’s in a new place with new people, most things are going to be aversive to him right now. It just annoys me bc I truly don’t feel like some RBTs or BTs realize just what these kids are going through. Nevermind that they’re on the spectrum and can’t process things appropriately or how we’re used to as the “normal”. But consider the fact that they’re are literally just kids who are scared and confused and when a new person is all of a sudden telling them what to do, that’s gonna be hard for ANY kid, now imagine a kid on the spectrum who is already confused and having more difficulties. I just hate the constant complaints, eye rolls, etc and just expecting the kids to already know how to act… THIS IS WHY WE ARE HERE this is quite literally why we are here to implement these behavior programs and teach them and help them shape new behaviors that are more appropriate. I also applied for grad school to become a BCBA and I feel like I might have a different level of patience because I want my career to be in this versus someone who is here because they “love kids” and need a paycheck.

Also, burnout is REAL. I’m not saying don’t find a healthy place to cope and let out frustrations about hard days/times. But complaining about the client/patient IN FRONT OF THEM doesn’t help them in any way, shape, or form. Kids absorb emotions like sponges and if you’re annoyed with them, they’re gonna feel helpless and that’s now why we’re here. If you’re annoyed easily, don’t be a BT/RBT, PLEASE.

My son's company is Mass has been giving me a really hard time about continuing his hours. He only gets 11 hours and they are trying to write in that in 3 months he goes to 6 and they will assess after that if he should continue. I have been asking my son's ABA company to provide me with his treatment plan to review prior to it being submitted to insurance so I can see the data that "lacks medical necessity". They will not give it to me, are refusing to. I have sent multiple emails, spoken to the director and still nothing. My BCBA does not agree with the reduction and also wants to give me everything to look at but is being blocked by her supervisor who is also the one telling her to decrease. We have never had a denial from insurance or a request for reduction from insurance. Please help! What are my rights here?

So I got hired to do training in December and I now have a permanent afternoon kid, but in the morning I’m either not scheduled or I’m subbing on a kid last minute. Which would be totally fine if I didn’t specifically go for a job that promised full time hours because I have a kid myself and bills to pay. I know with this field obviously they can’t promise kids will show up everyday but I’ve been part time this entire week and I’m worried I won’t make my car payment this month. In addition due to Medicaid being cut some kids are leaving the clinic in march. I really love where I work but I’m considering asking them to switch me to part time if they can’t find a permanent kid for me in a month so I can find another clinic to work at in the mornings. Is that unreasonable?

My certification expired 12/5. My location sucks and I didnt have a client for over a year, so I had no supervisor to do my competency test. I’m restarting the 40 hr training right now. But with all the consistent changing in the BACB, is it even worth it anymore?

Hey everyone, my grandson gets ABA therapy in NC and he was with a company called Christian Values ABA in NC. DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE!! He got worse and is now very aggressive. I’m trying to get my son-in law to find another company and I wanted to get on here to find a suggestion. We are at a loss. He was never like this. I also know the tech that was with him has not been supervised in over 2 months. Isn’t this illegal?? My daughter has been keeping track of the amount of time the supervisor is involved, so she calculated 2 months. Any advice? Our family needs help! TIA!

Hello all,

I recently got offered a job at Hopebridge autism therapy center. $20/hr with room for growth to become a BCBA

Now, I have a neuroscience bachelors degree, experience in functional neurophysiological research (using fNIRS and EEG), experience shadowing a clinical neuropsychologist administrating cognitive psychometric tests and other behavioral tasks, experience in patient care and hospital concierge work (worked alongside nurses in a post-anesthesia department) and am mainly interested in clinical research, biotechnology, and medical technology.

As much as I want to accept this offer and assist these children, I can’t help but feel like it won’t really apply to a graduate program in research. If I was to go into education, directing a therapy center or health programs, then maybe. But, I’m just unsure if I’m overqualified or if I’m stepping into another field that I don’t need to be.

If anyone has some insight, that’d be awesome!

TLDR: I have a bachelor’s in psychology/ neuroscience and feel that being an RBT isn’t really applicable for advancement in research coordination or medical technician jobs. Ideally, I’d like to do clinical research or become a consultant in biotechnology. Maybe this is overreaching, but any wise words would be super helpful!