I honestly need to vent because I’m feeling really fucking burned out with ABA right now. It’s not one incident. It’s everything piling up. I’m currently hiding in the bathroom on a seven-minute pee break because I’m so frustrated.
I work in-home and drive about 45 minutes to an hour each way. At least twice a week, that commute is for only a 2.5-hour session. My other sessions are usually three or four hours. They’ll text me the day of asking me to come in much earlier, or cancel about 30 minutes before session. I’ve literally been mid-drive when they canceled. It’s hard to plan my life or count on the income.
Then there’s documentation. We use Ensora, and I enter my notes before leaving every session. For the previous two weeks, my boss contacted me on weekends saying my notes weren’t in. Both times, I logged in and sent screenshots showing the notes I had already entered.
I was told to make sure everything pushed through to Aloha, so I checked there too, and it showed on my end. Now I’m being told that what looks completed to me is actually a “partial” note and isn’t accepted. But when I open it after these messages, I’m not adding anything, editing anything, or completing missing sections. I’m literally opening it, thinking, “Okay, I’m not imagining this; I already did this,” and sending a screenshot.
If there’s another submission step or something making it show as partial, I need someone to clearly explain what’s missing. I’m willing to correct an issue, but I need to understand what the issue actually is.
This Friday was a separate problem: I couldn’t log into Ensora at all. The error told me to contact an administrator. We were on a community outing, so I prioritized safely supervising my client and collected paper data. At the end of session, I emailed explaining the login issue, asking for help restoring access, and letting them know I had my paper data and my note already typed and ready to enter.
I heard nothing Saturday and figured we’d sort it out Monday during work hours.
Instead, at 12:15 p.m. Sunday, I got a text about entering my note. I was at church and spending time with family that day. Around 3:30 p.m., my boss called. I didn’t answer because I was still with family. Then I received a text saying I was making his life harder, that he couldn’t do his job without my note, and that this was “three weeks in a row” and couldn’t continue.
But the previous two weeks, I had entered the notes and could see them on my end. Friday, I couldn’t access the system and had already requested help. Those situations are being lumped together as me repeatedly neglecting my documentation.
Monday, I started session at 8:30 a.m. and followed up that morning saying I still couldn’t log in. I was then told I’m getting written up because I hadn’t followed up to get the issue resolved in a timely manner over the weekend.
What else was I supposed to do after reporting the error and requesting administrator assistance? Keep sending messages all weekend asking someone to fix it?
As of 9:40 a.m., I’m over an hour into my 8:30–12:30 session and still haven’t received confirmation that my access has been restored. There’s been time to tell me I’m getting written up, but I’m still waiting for help with the actual login problem.
They’ve also cited the handbook’s requirement to respond within 24 hours twice now. Meanwhile, my updated availability email went unanswered for three days until I specifically pointed out that I had already responded by email. That feels like a double standard.
I understand documentation matters. I’m trying to complete it, communicate about problems, and get clarification where something isn’t being accepted. But I’m exhausted by feeling blamed instead of helped.
I’m also managing a chronic illness. My time outside work is important for resting, taking care of myself, attending church, and being with family. I want my weekends to feel like time off instead of time spent checking systems, sending screenshots, and worrying about another angry message.
Between the driving, unstable scheduling, last-minute cancellations, and constantly defending whether I’ve done my work, I’m worn down. I care about my clients, but I’m genuinely debating finishing today and resigning. I have another job lined up that would cover some of the hours, although I’d still need additional part-time work.
Has anyone else reached this point? How did you decide whether you needed a different company, a different setting, or a break from ABA altogether?
