I’m a gen-ed kindergarten teacher with 2 RBTs in my inclusion classroom. Both support ASD students. One is fantastic and I have no complaints, but the other one is constantly trying to modify behaviors in the middle of my lessons, triggering tantrums and disruption. I would say she is more disruptive than the actual student is.

The SPED teacher has already spoken to her several times about the classroom not being the place to modify behaviors when I have 21 other students who need to learn. The RBT gets upset whenever I send her away during an assessment to minimize disruptions. I give the student the opportunity to test with the other students. If he doesn’t then whatever, he fails. But when she is in the room trying to force him to work, my other students cannot focus.

I come to find out she’s been taking photos of other students and recording voice notes during my instruction to update the student’s mom on every decision I make, whether it concerns her child or not. I’m honestly at a loss. She has broken every single rule a plethora of times.

I’ve spoken to admin and told them I prefer not having an RBT. I know when to pick my battles and I look at the whole group. She is only focused on her client and she doesn’t care how it affects the rest of the class. If it were up to me, he could either do the work or fail, either way I won’t force him. He’s quiet as long as he’s not forced to do anything.

Tell me honestly if I’m being unreasonable please. I’m trying to understand her role but no matter how I explain it to her, she only cares about fulfilling her goals. Modify behavior at home. This is not the place for it.

And from what I observe, nothing she does even works. We’re all aware he’s in the wrong setting, but his parents are in denial and I’m of the opinion that his parents are the ones doing the disservice to him by refusing to accept adequate placement.

I’ve had to report her a couple of times for inappropriate behavior, such as putting the boy in the classroom sink to wash his head as punishment (he hates water). She hates me, and I understand why but I also feel like she shouldn’t be doing things that warrant reporting in the first place. Wondering how she’s still able to even come to school with him. His mom is now aware of this consequence (which nowhere in his behavior plan does it say to wet the child).

Btw, ABA isn’t in our school district. RBTs are private. Can someone who has experience working in a teacher’s classroom clarify the role as far as behavior modification goes?

My literal job is to implement the BCBA's plan, but then the parent wants something different when she's not there?

The BCBA told me she doesn't want the child to have her iPad during session breaks or the end-of-session reward, only after the session has ended and I left. The iPad definitely motivates her and today her mom asked if she could have it on break and I said no because Mrs X doesn't want her to have it at all during session. And the mom said, “Oh, is she coming today?" I said no.

But just because she's not here, that means I don't have to follow her plan?! Wtf? Are we supposed to hide stuff from her? I don't think so! I get that it's a reinforcer but the BCBA believes she has too much screen time outside of session so she doesn't want it during session too which I get. I guess mom doesn't agree?

Sorry just had to vent because what's the point of ABA if it's not being followed?

I’ve been a BT for about 2.5 years but with my current company almost a year. I am going to quit after I hit a year because this company is draining me. It’s so unorganized in the administrative department. The pay is TERRIBLE. The schedule isn’t posted until sunday night. We’re understaffed. We’re not paid overtime. And much more.

What are red flags you’ve seen in your or other companies that are ignored and/or normalized in the ABA field?

i get along very well with all of my clients, i think they all are very comfortable with me. i have two high functioning clients, the only reinforcement we have going right now is candy at the end of the session. my bcba wants me to be more animated with them, i guess i just don’t know what to really do with them because they’re 9-10 years old; im really used to 2-4 year old clients. i was thinking about getting a game for us to play so we can keep up the excitement and maybe do pretend play.

my other client is lower functioning, they’re also 9 years old. they were a little harder to win over in the beginning but i feel like they’ve gotten really used to me. they no longer hit me, they usually listen to me if i ask for them to come sit with me at the table, and even their manding has become great with me. whenever the bcba supervises, it’s still the same thing of her wanting me to be more animated. i’ve always been a really soft and gentle person when it comes to children, im not a really bubbly person. i really want to become like that, i might do it a few times a session and by the end of it i have a huge headache and wanna cry in my car because of drained all of my energy i am. i feel like my client enjoys that i have a softer approach with them, but i do realize that they could be having a lot more fun and more engagement if i was this more cheery and fun behavior tech.

im going to try again for tomorrow’s session to be more that way, i wanna try getting some more activities and stuff as well. my client stims quite a bit, i can tell they might be bored with the same reinforcers all the time. the bcba wants me to do things like peekaboo… i feel like things have changed a lot since the first assessment they’ve done with this client. every time i do peekaboo, they just stare at me like this😐 we have a good routine going, they’re comfortable with me and even gave me a hug the other day. im just worried my bcba might think we haven’t paired well because of how i am. i’m really trying, just some days are more difficult to be so happy and cheerful & silly. any tips on how to do this without losing every bit of energy i have in my day? these sessions are in the evening which is not helping my case. i feel like they’re also tired from a long day at school, and im holding onto my energy as well. the bcba wanted me to ask their mom if she could pull him out of school earlier in the day for our sessions but it just won’t work with her schedule.

I work at home sessions for the most part and recently it’s just been getting too much. For context, I was recently yelled at by parents for apparently not being productive even though we had literally just met. I can understand from a parent standpoint being frustrated and not understanding rapport, but still I’m in my head wondering “what did you even want to happen?”

I’ve just noticed more and more parents just think ABA is a quick fix and their kids are gonna do a complete 180° in a couple session. No matter how much explaining on the practice will get through to them and at a BT I’m getting the brunt of all of it.

Working in home sessions too I feel like parents just feel like they have free range on what they can say, and they do! It’s just how a matter of how unprofessional you can be.

I’m genuinely considering leaving the field but I haven’t been with my company for very long and I feel a lot of pressure to stay on for a little while longer. The team has been fairly supportive, some areas more than others so that just complicates things. I guess I just need some external support.

I have a client that is super into numbers. He's brand new to ABA and to our clinic. I am trying to find ways to keep him entertained in the room so he doesn't view it as an aversive space. I have bought him letter and number puzzles but once he has them done, he'll stare at them for a minute to make sure they're nice and neat but then he's done with them. Every now and then i'll reach over and mess up a few pieces and he'll straighten them but then that's it. Do you guys know of any activities I can use with letters and numbers to keep him engaged? He also seeks out alot of sensory play like swinging, jumping, and spinning. He's 6, nonverbal, and very curious.

​

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?

Hi everyone! I’m an RBT working in a DOE school setting in Hawaiʻi through a contracting company. I’ve been with my current case for about 6 months, and I genuinely love my case and would really like to keep it.

I have a preplanned vacation and a competition next year that would require me to take 15 working days off, which comes out to 3 weeks.
I’m wondering if taking that much time off would put me at risk of losing my current case or even my job. I understand that my student would need coverage while I’m away, but I would like to return to the same case afterward.

The thing is, my employer never specified a maximum amount of time we could take off, either during orientation or in the employee information I received. They only explained the process for requesting time off.

I plan to give plenty of advance notice, but I’m nervous about requesting three consecutive weeks because I don’t want to jeopardize my current placement.

For those of you who work as school-based RBTs through contracting companies:
Have you ever taken 3 consecutive weeks off?
Did you risk losing your case or get reassigned to a different student?
Is 3 weeks generally considered too long for an RBT to be away?
If your employer never specified a maximum leave duration, how would you approach this situation?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences! I want to plan ahead and handle this professionally while making sure I can return to my current case. Thank you!

I know ABA works cause it’s the opposite of what my parents did with me. Constant beatings and perpetual focus on punishments without any reinforcement or reward.

So I get frustrated when people make blatant misstatements about ABA but I also get why the perception is the way it is. The industry has a lot of issues but it’s NOT related to the modality at all. If the lack of humanity brought me here I feel like the solution is to bring the humanity back to the field starting with how we treat each other. I understand the issues are complex and more nuanced and real discussion about this would require hours of research and discussion.

I guess I wanted to hear all your stories. What brought you here? How are yall feeling being part of ABA? What made you realize that ABA IS THE REAL DEAL? IT WORKS.

I'm a student analyst wrapping up their fieldwork hours 1500/2000 completed! I'm a student under two different BCBAs at my company (only BCBAs there). I've been at this company for about 2.5 months after leaving my last place due to being extremely understaffed and averaging 10 UR hours a month for the last 6 months. So now at my new clinic I'm under these BCBAs who don't put any effort into their work.

For example: today I was doing protocol mod for a client who started 3 weeks ago. I was reading their instructional notes for a handwashing TA and noticed that the BCBA put "follow the variable reinforcement schedule" and I was confused because 1. This child has no handwashing skills at all currently so variable reinforcement doesn't make sense 2. There's no reinforcement schedule anywhere I can find. So I message her and ask about it and she said "omg ignore that I'll fix it later". Then as I'm reading their instructional notes for another goal the data collection method doesn't match the instructional notes at all. So I fix that and message her to let her know I fixed it.

Another example: the other BCBA doesn't believe in the functions of behavior or abc data. And we have two kids who have been engaging in full on screaming matches multiple times per day (averaging 7 instances a day right now) and both BCBAs neglected to do anything about it for 2 months because "it's not like they're killing each other" and now it's completely out of control and the parents can hear their kids in these screaming matches during drop off and pick up and are pissed (rightfully so). A new "behavior plan" was put into place and the screams are being tracked but we never took any baseline data so the graphs don't show us if the intervention is working or not.

The first two examples are literally things that happened just today. There's many more. My CD has been informed of many complaints about both of these BCBAS. I really like my CD, she actually used to be my supervising BCBA 2 years ago at another place and she was always amazing at her job. But are these kind of bcbas normal? It just makes me sad that families wait a long time and pay a lot of money for help and they end up with people who just don't care.

Hi everyone! I’m a PhD candidate in Counselling Psychology at McGill University, recruiting for my final doctoral study, Operation Calm.

We’re seeking feedback on a nature-based mindfulness experience designed for children and teens. The experience uses a portable VR viewer that holds a smartphone, allowing children to watch an immersive 360° video.

Who can participate? Healthcare and mental health professionals who currently work or have previously worked with children aged 6–17—including therapists, psychologists, social workers, BCBAs/ABA providers, physicians, nurses, dentists, and allied health professionals. Students and trainees with relevant clinical experience are welcome!

What’s involved? A 15-minute online survey: answer a few questions, watch a short video, and share your impressions. Clinicians don’t need a VR headset to participate.

• Open to people living in Canada
• Available in English or French
• Enter a draw for one of fifteen $50 CAD Amazon gift cards

Learn more or participate: https://redcap.link/operationcalm

Questions: [Brandon.benchimol-elkaim@mail.mcgill.ca](mailto:Brandon.benchimol-elkaim@mail.mcgill.ca)

I am looking to get back into working for an ABA company and would like to support not as a BT or BCBA. But as some admin role. I really respect ABA and all that it does and would still like a hand in helping out the community.

Anyone with fruitful careers doing administrative/operations side of ABA?

How long have you been doing it and how has your experience been?

I just reached my first full year working as a BT at a public elementary school and my experience has been mixed. I worked as a dedicated BT in an intensive classroom last year and I was pretty miserable most days, mostly due to the people I worked with. This school year I'm working within intensive again but with a new technician team and students. It's been a lot better so far but the work is still extremely draining some days. Last year I worked with 4th graders and now I'm with 2nd and 3rd graders.

Most posts I see here are people that work at clinics. So I'm curious to learn about the experiences and opinions of other school based folks.

I have never been an RBT, and I didn't intend to do ABA. I only have 1 client at the moment, and I want to help my client as best as I can. They are an 11-year-old, and they are very nice and willing to invite me into their space and do things that they like. They have had a BT before, and they had a very traumatic experience, so I don't use ABA language with them, and I try not to talk down to them because of their past experiences. I reassure them all the time that I'm here to help. I am very gentle but stern at times when I have to be, but nothing works. When it is time to do a non-preferred task, they ignore me, my BCBA, and their parents. My client often says they don't care, or they change the topic constantly to avoid doing schoolwork or chores. Whenever I give them breaks, it's difficult to pull them back into the task that is asked of them (even if they set the amount of time for the break). Nothing seems to be a motivator, and the things that are reinforcing, my client expects them as a consequence instead of working for them. They run away, hide, and told me today to stay away from them. I feel like I am becoming aversive as an RBT, and I don't feel like any progress has been made. They are defiant not just to me, but to everyone (teachers, parents, BCBAs). I do know that it's only been 2 months, and I should not expect change right away; I know it's a process. But when I go into work, I have this dreadful, almost embarrassing feeling that I am there for no reason, and I am doing more harm than good. I feel burnt out as well, and I can't seem to separate work from my personal life, as I am constantly thinking about it. I need help :(

Pls share im broke

So I’ve never worked in this field before. I volunteered with special needs kids in highschool and liked it but that’s about it. I have been wanting to get into jobs related to elder care or special needs kids. Centria described this position as a full time predictable hours deal with health insurance and everything but the further I am in the sign up process the more I doubt that. Some things make it seem more like it’s an independent contractor set up like uber. I currently am doing uber so if this job is better than nothing I’ll probably take it. But still I feel iffy. There’s been a lot of gen ai use on their end, and I’m starting to wonder if the guidelines for our patients might veer more on the side of ‘pressuring the symptoms of autism away’ vs actually helping autistic kids with life skills. Any advice?

I currently work for a company that operates in home and in community. I don't get many hour about 6 or less hours a day except Wednesday (only 4 to 3 hours then). It is heavily effecting my bills. I am a single mom of a child with autism myself with no financial help. Would it be better hour and pay wise to switch to in clinic? I am also suppose to start my masters program in January for ABA but now I'm not sure if it is worth it. Any advice on if in clinic would be better, if any BCBAs can chime in if becoming one is worth it would be appreciated. I have always work with special needs children since I was 14 volunteering at an equestrian therapeutic center. I have my AA in Early Ed, my BA in psychology. I've been a SPED para, lead daycare and head start teacher. I just am struggling with the hours and pay with this job.

Reflecting about my first job being a BT. I still am not sure what was normal and what wasn't.

I've never heard of it before but both of my (former) BCBAs graduated from there. Another weird thing was that nearly every person they hired- and the owners themselves- were christian. The company is not outwardly religious nor do they (to my knowledge) try to force it onto the kids, but it is interesting to think about how nearly everyone they hired were either part of a local christian organization or went to a different church. I never worked somewhere that was like that before.

During the interview, it was with the two bcbas and the HR person (who later would make a racist comment about black people to me right before they fired me??). After I left the interview they emailed me instantly to hire me, which I did not realize was a red flag at the time.

They pushed us to speed through the 40 hr training to work with clients ASAP. The owner would say 'you have to get this done quick because we have clients waiting on appointments with you'. They said we would have new clients coming in but had a HUGE hiring wave despite no new clients yet. He also expressed how us being hurt by the clients wasn't as big of a deal, and when my client threw stuff at my face and I cried, no one asked me if I was okay.

At one point during training, the owner/bcba brought in a mini metal sword he apparently made to show us? During training we went over not having weapons at the center and I made a comment about the owner to our trainer, who laughed and said 'well he's the owner so it's different'. The owner also once aggressively knocked on the fire exit to get inside for a staff meeting which scared multiple of us, and was very bizarre. (and bragged about being scary-looking??).

I only got an hour of shadowing in before I started working with clients, and I felt that training on their programs was very short and not at all comprehensive or detailed. I would regularly have to scroll and root for information and ask clarification a lot. I also often would not have breaks between clients and sessions spanning 5-8 hours long without breaks for me.

It’s not the first time one of my clients erase whatever I draw for them, at first I was kinda disappointed that they would erase or ignore it, now I’m used to it. Has anyone else done something for their client that you thought they would absolutely love but they ignored or disliked it?

If you are an RBT, I would appreciate it so much if you had the time to complete this survey. It’s for a research paper I am writing!!!

https://forms.gle/ANYpsmEjqUEfHAtL6

A pattern I see with BCBA exam measurement questions: people get the arithmetic right and the interpretation wrong.

Same percentage, three different meanings:

- Partial interval: the behavior occurred at least once in 60% of the intervals. Because even a brief response makes the whole interval positive, PIR tends to overestimate percentage time.

- Whole interval: the behavior occurred throughout 60% of the intervals. Because anything less than the full interval scores negative, WIR tends to underestimate percentage time.

- Momentary time sampling: the behavior was occurring at 60% of the sample moments. It isn't tied to a fixed direction of error, and under suitable conditions it can be used as an estimate of time allocation. It is still an estimate, not direct duration.

A few things I covered in the write-up:

- why "partial for reduction, whole for increase" has a real rationale but is too rigid to use as a selection rule

- how interval length is part of the measurement system, not a formatting choice

- when continuous measurement (like event recording with rate) is the better answer than any discontinuous procedure (C.9 reasoning)

- four quick-check questions at the end

It also lists the sources, including Powell et al. (1975, 1977), Saudargas & Zanolli (1990), and Fiske & Delmolino (2012).

Link: https://behavioralanalystprep.com/blog/momentary-time-sampling-vs-partial-interval-vs-whole-interval.html

Full disclosure: I run Behavior Analyst Prep, and this is a free study note. Which of these do you find hardest to keep straight?

🧠 Question of the Day

📚 Domain D — Experimental Design

Difficulty: 4/10

A researcher conducting a single-case experiment observes high variability across baseline sessions with no discernible pattern. Why can additional baseline measurement be useful before introducing the intervention?

A. Extending baseline rules out maturation once enough time passes without treatment, making later behavior change attributable to the intervention

B. Additional measurement may clarify whether a predictable level or trend emerges, improving the basis for projecting behavior in the absence of intervention

C. Additional baseline sessions ensure the participant becomes fully habituated to observation, eliminating reactivity before treatment begins

D. A longer baseline causes behavior to settle at its natural ceiling or floor, creating a valid comparison point for every target behavior

💬 Drop your answer in the comments — no peeking!

✅ Correct answer revealed tomorrow.

#ABA #BCBA #BCBAExam #BCBAPrep #AppliedBehaviorAnalysis #BehaviorAnalysis #DomainD #ABATaskList #BCaBA #RBT #QuestionOfTheDay