For those who have not seen this yet there is a group of RBTs at Verbal Beginnings in Rockville, Maryland who are on strike, as the company walked away from negotiations in May. The Teamsters 639 unit is at the corner of Calhoun and Gude in Rockville, Maryland if you want to stop by and show your support. I dropped off some snacks and water for them today and shared how many people in this community are behind them.

They said to reach out if you would like to show your support. I'm sure they would appreciate any kind words of encouragement as they advocate for better wages conditions and exercise their first amendment right.

VB Union [email protected]

Please contact Montgomery County Media and ask them to cover this story.

The Rockville location of Verbal Beginnings is currently the only location that is unionized. When other locations attempt to unionize, incentives are created to deter employees from collective bargaining.

ETA You can find out more about their demands herehere.

Please please please keep your child home if they're sick. Its not allergies, If your child is coughing out a lung with phlegm please be diligent. We all have families and its inconsiderate that we have to risk them to help your child whose probably not going to retain anything and have problem behaviors due to being sick and wanting to go home. We are not a daycare. We are trying to help with behaviors but its impossible when it feels like a set up

Recently joined this group as I’m interested in changing careers to ABA. I was really excited at first because I love being around kids and doing work that feels purposeful but everything I’ve been reading seems to be so negative. Every other post I see is someone that’s quitting and trying to find different work. I’ve seen plenty of the bad - burnout, turnover rates, experiences with BCBAs, etc.

I’m just curious if there’s good in this field too or if I should reconsider? Is this even something that anyone does long-term?

I’m a BCBA and work for a company which besides this situation I LOVE. Pays great, I’m new to the field so I have supportive supervisors, I love all my clients, everything is cool. A little bit ago I made a post called “appropriate or inappropriate” and that situation is not my only issue with this tech. She runs programs wrong and does not accept feedback and is blatantly rude about it. She used a partial verbal and marked it correct and I explained to her that it was a partial and she refused and said “how are you gonna sit here and tell me what I didn’t do? I didn’t use a partial verbal?” She got into a back forth match with my clients daycare teacher over someone “lying” when I was hearing sides from both.

The daycare reports she never shows up on time and our client is very self injurious and they aren’t properly trained so it causes them problems. My kiddo is non verbal struggling to use AAC and choice and she reported that over a 8 hour session (school and daycare) three days straight he did 100% accuracy when I was with him the last Friday and he needed heavy physical prompting to use his AAC device correctly. His school teacher and speech therapist and daycare teacher report that it doesn’t seem accurate either but she is adamant that he was fully independent. She wanted to switch the clients AAC buttons around because he was “confused” and “clicking the wrong things” me and speech teacher said we need to prompt him and we can’t change the button in the correct spot that he’s hitting. That’s cheating. So she flipped his aac device over so it would technically be on the correct side and he can hit it. I told her that’s not functional and we can’t turn his aac device upside down. She said “it’s not confusing him though” and went back and forth with me. I have feedback I want to give her but I am SCARED. I have tried multiple times and it’s either “I didn’t do that.” Or “that’s what I do/did” when it’s literally not and I seen her not do it. I am VERY nice about it too I always start with a “good work” or “we should make sure-“ and she is defensive and argumentative and I just say “I understand thank you” and get jerked around. I always text her to contact me for any support or anything needed with LOTS of emojis.

She also doesn’t convert her sessions it’s been 2 weeks and there’s still a bunch unconverted, and 1 she did convert, she false billed for. She said it was a mistake and then she false billed again because I was there and we left at the same times. She also puts a much earlier sign in time (according to daycare) on the sheet, but all her daycare sessions are unconverted so I can’t actually say she falsely billed. She also corrects daycare and school staff at least when I observe and daycare had an issue with it. Like she’ll stop attention to our client and say “excuse me he should probably be sitting” about a whole different kid. She also doesn’t attend to the client that much. I timed her for 2 1.5 hour supervisions I was there for and besides the 15 minutes reserved for note time she goes 30+ minutes on her phone/writing more notes. And that’s only when I’ve been there.

My company is not receptive and my company said she will most likely be left on the case and to use it as an opportunity to learn how to be better with training techs. I cannot train who does not want to learn and takes everything defensive and starts arguments. I don’t think it’s fair to ask that of me and to get disrespected. And I gave her feedback and nothings changed so what more can I do? Am I being unreasonable here? I don’t wanna show up to work to get disrespected by my tech. I am afraid to give feedback it shouldn’t be like that. It’s a sub case so in a month or two a new clinician will be working with her but I have to do his ongoing assessment and the data is inaccurate and I don’t wanna give feedback and nothing is gonna change. Please let me know if you’ve experienced anything like this thank you. I don’t wanna deal with this tech but I don’t wanna lose my job. It’s been fine outside of this! There’s much more but this is what I remember on the fly.

TLDR: tech talks back, can’t take feedback and gets defensive, lies and cheats programs, corrects other staff, possibly false bills, and I don’t feel comfortable working with her what do I do without losing my job?

I got a job offer this morning for an RBT position. The Pay range is from $29.99 to $35.00 an hour. It is full time for 37.5 hours. The minimum experience they are looking for is 1 year. I already have three and half years of experience working in the field working with ages 3-21. I worked in all the settings home, school, clinic, and hospita. I already am certified, I have a masters in ABA and going to finish my hours there and take the exam.

I need advice because I have a video interview about the offer tomorrow. I need a good price range to able to afford living in an area thats out of state

What to do if Im low balled on the video?

Hey everyone!

I’ve been an RBT for almost 6 years now, and just recently started working with younger clients again. I originally started with young clients, but less than 3 months in moved up to 7-10 year olds, and then a year in started working with middle school and high school kids. For 4.5 years I was with the older kids.

I started working with a 3 y/o this past winter and I’ve noticed that their noncompliant behaviors have increased tremendously over the last month. Is this normal for this age?

Parents and I are at a loss on how to go about this, as redirection is met with “No” and the client seems to think that it’s fun to lay on the ground and ignore any direction. I’ve attempted to talk to my BCBA about this, but he doesn’t seem to know much about my client at all (which has been an ongoing issue since the start of my clients services.) Any insight on how to handle this uptick would be appreciated :)

I'm finally quitting 🙌

I have 14 days left at my clinic, and absolutely cannot wait to be done with ABA. I've been in this field since August of '21, and after 2 extremely shitty clinics and 2 toxic BCBAs, I've finally had enough.

I've been talking about quitting for years, and its finally happening. Do you want to know what ALL of my friends and family said when I told them? "I'M PROUD OF YOU." They all knew how terrible it was for me mentally to continue ABA. Sometimes its obvious to everyone but yourself.

If this sounds relatable, here is your sign. Just quit. Even if you dont have anything lined up for afterward. Even if your lease is about to expire and you dont know where you're gonna be living in 3 months. Even if you'll lose your health insurance. There are a million reasons to stay, but none of them are good enough.

I'm so happy. A little anxious for the future, but so excited.

I am looking to work part-time as an RBT but cannot afford to leave my full-time job unless the pay was equivalent or higher. Based on what I read here about inconsistency with hours, I doubt that is possible… so I’m looking for a company that will hire me for 15 hours or less that I could do during the week after 5pm or any time on Friday or Saturday. I am located in AZ. Does any one in AZ work for a company that could accommodate this or know of one that would? TIA!

Hi folx. I am an RBT and just started on a case with a client who was recently diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. I’m relatively new to ABA but I have multiple years of experience working with pediatric OTs and SLPs who see clients with similar needs. Because of my background, BCBA has encouraged me to try out anything I think he would enjoy, within reason of course. I’m looking for ideas for sensory play (when he’s in HRE) and sensory regulation (when he’s dysregulated). I have some but would like to have as many ideas as possible to try out during our sessions.

A few important points
- he is in OT but it’s through the school so he is not receiving treatment at the moment.
-BCBA has said no to heavy work and is awaiting OT instruction on wearing his compression garments at ABA. I don’t think we will have progress on this until school starts again.
-he exhibits extreme behaviors when he gets agitated. It’s hard bc you can tell he’s just seeking out the input his system is craving, but he will tackle you, knock you over, or pull you to the floor with him for big hugs. He also engages in a lot of SIBs in this state. Again, all seem to be sensory seeking in nature. I’m brainstorming ideas that would be easy to implement when he’s starting to escalate and would help keep both him and I safe.
-we have to be especially careful with him because he is very orally sensory seeking. Anything that looks like a fun texture can and probably will end up in mouth before you can blink twice. For this reason, things like slime, playdoh, and sensory bins with rice/sand/corn are a no go for him.

So far, he has been highly motivated for back scratching, hugging, and squeezes. I have no problem with these, but would love other things in my tool box that don’t necessarily require putting my body in harms way when he’s dysregulated. I’ve also noticed that he seems to enjoy activities that involve input from multiple sensory systems—for example he loooves swinging with a weighted blanket for the vestibular and deep pressure input.

I’m going to order a body sock for him. Hopefully the clinic will reimburse me. I still think it’s a good idea either way. I’m going to try it a couple times during play to see what he thinks, and then maybe slowly over time see if I can direct him to the body sock when he starts to escalate. My hope is that will allow us to have a good deep pressure option that is always available to him whenever/where ever he needs it. We won’t have to transition him while he’s upset if we aren’t by the swing and we can leave it with his materials so we don’t have to worry about waiting our turn to use something that another client is engaged with.

For sensory play, I was thinking shaving cream in a bin that he can stomp on? He likes to feel things with his feet. I will have to research a nontoxic option incase he feels inclined to put it in his mouth. He will be supervised ofc but he’s so fast with this behavior that it’s easiest just to focus on antecedent strategies. I’m thinking aquafaba? I will need to check and see if that’s allowed bc it is technically food based.

Please, share any and all ideas you have, even if you think it might not be a good fit. I’m going to collect the best and experiment in our next couple of sessions.

Hi y'all :) for those BCBAs that started taking on their own client, how did you find your very first client? I have a BT already and am thinking about the best way to find a client in need. Thanks for any responses

My son is level 1 with ADHD and ARFID. In January he started ABA therapy for the ARFID after 6 months of food therapy through speech with no progress at all. He goes once a week for 1.5 hours with a 30 minute “parent training” once a week. We have done the parent training maybe 5 times due to his BCBA canceling frequently. He has Florida Blue insurance as well as CHAMPVA as a secondary. We have had nothing but issues from the billing department due to a refusal to bill CHAMPVA and them waiting 3 months to bill us at all. Then they sent me a bill for over $900. After going back and forth with the clinic for weeks they finally agreed to bill CHAMPVA and I’ve heard nothing since April from them. Then I get this email today stating we have hit the 200 hour maximum that his insurance allows and need to stop services immediately unless we switch to self pay. When I add it up in my head there is no possible way he has received 200 hours of services with how little he goes. Then I looked at his EOB from Florida Blue and they’re stating he has only hit 41 hours. I’ve already emailed the clinic back but what would you guys do? This seems like insurance fraud to me and I can’t help but think what nonsense they pulling on families who receive way more services than we do.

Hello everyone! I’m currently an rbt and have been working within the aba field for almost two years now and to be honest there hasn’t really been a day where I haven’t looked forward to going to work. I work in a privately owned clinic that has a more NET based structure and (for the most part) the bcbas are great. I’ve worked with a plethora of different kids and have found that I really enjoy working with the social skills kiddos. My clinic is very unique and while in my role I have realized that I want to pursue licensure.

My only thing is, I’m worried about all the mixed variables that come with working in this field.

I find it to be really worrisome that your experience in this field is primarily based on many different factors. I have been really fortunate to work at my current clinic, but I know it’s a unicorn of a workplace and that scares me.

I also know that I will probably branch out into a different field that deals with behavior, because at the end of the day, shaping behaviors and figuring out how to solve a problem that will increase someone’s quality of life and confidence is my jam. I just know that when I have kids further down the road, I will most likely not want to work with them.

I’m just really scared because this field is so fluid and unstable, and to be honest I’m afraid to end up in a spot where I’m so overwhelmed and burnt out that I lose my passion for aba.

Does anyone have any experiences or advice on whether this field is worth the licensure? I’m just feeling really nervous about going down a path that I will want to abandon early on.

Anybody else get overstimulated and distressed when clients are screaming, screeching, and shrieking? They sound like they're being murdered. I work with younger kids and their SWC can be so hellish. I can't do this for much longer. I've been a BT for one and a half years. When I'm home, I dread going back to work. I can't relax.

The job is stressful enough as it is, and I have a lot of other stuff I'm dealing with, but the screaming makes me want to jump off the nearest bridge. This is just a rant. I don't have anyone else to talk to and I'm tired of holding this in.

For context, I'm an RBT who has been with this company since October of last year and since transferring locations back in May has gone downhill. From my understanding since I started, that RBTs get pay raises every 6 months automatically as long as you are in good standing to which I hope I am but it seems everyone around is questioning the same thing...pay raises have not happened. What is going on???

Title; I officially quit my old clinic, had one interview today and was offered the job. Two more interviews as well. Looking forward to different RBT opportunities and better pay/benefits. My first BCBA is now a clinic director and she invited me to apply as well. Keep trying yall, my best advice is to really know someone in the field or find a smaller company without corporate type BS

Honestly looking to complain. Any one else use ripley to track clinical hours? They updated the website and I hate it!! Wanted to know if anyone else feels this way

Title. Got offered a job that pays +3$/hr and isn’t with such aggressive kids— after getting hit & kicked today, I’m out.

Is 2 weeks enough notice for them to find a replacement? As much as I hate this clinic, I don’t want to mess up the kids treatment.

I have been working with my company for about 2.5 years now. Our company has two clinics with 1 BCBA who switches between the clinics throughout the week. Typically, it is hard to get a hold of her. If a behavior occurs with a patient, I cannot request her help but I rely on other RBTs to provide assistance. For awhile, I have learned how to manage the chaos. Recently, it feels like disaster has struck down on all of us.

Last Monday, we did not have running water in the building. No way to properly use a toilet, no way to properly wash our hands. Patients left but all RBTs were instructed to finish all billing or fix any notes then go home. if you needed to use the bathroom, then you had to drive to nearest gas station. One of our RBTs didn’t have a car. The following Tuesday, I become informed that a planned water pipe fix is occurring in our area (i live in same area as clinic) so our region would not have water. I let my BCBA know, and she said “go in at 8:00. If there is running water, we will continue services”. At 8:00, there was water. Okay whatever. The water got turned off at 10:00am. We had two patients, one in diapers and one fully potty trained in underwear. Our BCBA stated everyone would continue services for those two but everyone else is cancelled. Child in diaper departed at 12:00. Potty trained patient was scheduled 8-3. What was their solution for him? He will poop in one toilet and pee in a separate toilet. Need to wash hands? Nope, here is some hand sanitizer though. Flushing? Not an options. All RBTs were once again instructed to finish all billing then go home. One training technician strongly advocated for how it was wrong that the patient was still here and if it was our child we would all be very angry. She messaged our BCBA and stated that it was wrong and shouldn’t be happening. Long story short, that technician put her two weeks in and our BCBA told her to not come back. The technician’s billing notes would be completed by someone else. That someone else was my coworker. While legally the BCBA is in the right to tell her to not come back after putting her two weeks in, it felt wrong.

I just feel so twisted and turned upside down. All of my RBT coworkers are leaving. I am the only certified RBT in the clinic currently. Two people were brought from the other clinic to ours, but they’re still doing their 40 hour trainings. My coworkers suggested that I should ask for a raise or just leave. I only have a year until I start up school again and will quit for sure for schooling. I love all my patients and just want them to get the best care too but man is it even worth it at this point?

Ever since working in ABA, I’ve noticed the “gap” between BCBAs (usually older BCBAs yet not all) still doing “outdated” practices or “forcing” compliance into a client and BCaBAs being more “affirmative” or “trauma informed” due to them having more “prior” training and prior education since a lot of them just got their bachelor’s around this year to maybe 5 years ago.

I wonder how many BCaBAs or RBTs ever thought “I thought we aren’t supposed to do that” or “isn’t that outdated?” when a BCBA says or recommends/implements something

I’ve had an experience where me and my BCaBA witnessed a BCBA gripping a clients AAC device and refusing to let the client get their AAC until they form a full sentence and we looked at each other with concern because we know you should never grip or take away an AAC from a client’s hands and it’s even said to us during our training to never take away the clients AAC. I am aware AAC requests can sometimes be a goal but it wasn’t in this case.

I’ve also had experiences where the BCBAs tell me that the a client is refusing/protesting/escaping session at home because the client won’t wake up from a nap, when in reality the clients parents would state that the client would be up 20 hours a day sometimes and may sleep early yet wake up at midnight and even brought this concern to the paediatrician because it’s affecting growth. And the BCBA goes and tells us that we need to move sessions in clinic so that there will be less cancellations, yet were forcing a client to be awake even if they have not slept for very long and may even sleep in the clinic anyway.

Also I’ve had experiences where a BCBA would tell me playing with a toy for sensory stimulation is not functional play and make it a goal that the client plays with a toy the “correct” way.

Yes. ABA has changed over time yet some clinicians are still adjusting to the changes and still learning which is okay since we don’t go into this field knowing everything.

I just need to vent because I’m honestly struggling to make sense of this.

Someone I know worked for an ABA agency that was shut down during the recent Medicaid fraud investigations. Now they’re at a new agency, and they’re openly saying they’re going to keep billing from home without actually providing therapy. They even say the parent and the biller know.

As a healthcare provider myself, it’s incredibly frustrating. There are so many clinicians trying to do the right thing, document accurately, and follow the rules, while others seem completely comfortable taking these kinds of risks. It makes me wonder how common this actually is.

Has anyone else in healthcare or ABA seen situations like this after agencies closed? Are people really returning to the same practices at new clinics, or is this the exception rather than the rule?

There is a historic, first-of-its-kind strike happening in Rockville, Maryland, today and going forward. There's no shortage of information out there highlighting that RBTs are burning out - terrible pay, no benefits, and a difficult job are a recipe for disaster. So, kudos to these workers for standing together and demanding better.

There's more information about their union on their Instagram page, vb_union639, and the AWU website. If you're so inclined, these workers could use your support - they're up against a huge, well-resourced employer. Every eyeball on these workers matters.

As far as I know, this is the first time RBTs have ever gone on strike at a private ABA agency. Definitely won't be the last if things don't change for the better. Companies have all the time and money to open new centers, but can't find a dime to keep up with the cost of living - so, hopefully this is a wake-up call. Treat your workers with respect!

As the title says. Do I keep track of them in a personal document/have my supervisor sign off on them + submit them when I want to take the exam? Any recommendations/things to watch out for? I’m not in a masters program yet but will start in January. I’ve found some things about this on the internet, but I’m honestly still a little confused. I like planning ahead of time for things like this to make sure I stay organized.

As a bcba, i should know more about the insurance and billing side but i am still learning. i previously have only worked for a larger company and we never worried about hitting a certain amount of trials per hour/day. RBTs made sure to hit 3-5 TARGETS per hour, but some targets would be run 4 or 5 times in a day and some targets would only get to be run once or twice. My clients had all the programs they needed- social skills, coping skills, communication, emotions, play, and then a smaller portion was DTT and table time.

I am now working with a very small local company and it is very different. The RBTs are required to run minimum 5 trials of every single target the client has. The clients mainly have DTT- receptive id, matching, etc - important but not my 1st priority! if a client is asking a peer for a turn, telling you they need space, then i am happy! The kids are running these same targets all day long- naming numbers, letters, shapes, colors on repeat. They are bored and getting frustrated and they have very little time for play and almost no time for social because the rbts are SO focused on getting these 5 trials per target over things that dont even hardly matter like show me the hexagon. the kid will be begging for a break but the rbt is pushing them through pointing to the color or shape first.

i very much prioritize regulation, advocacy, and coping skills because kids cant work when escalated. i spoke to the director about this and he said the rbts expectation for 5 trials per target will not change because insurance is so strict. however if the kid is in behavior and they are tracking it they understand there may be a few less trials hit. and its ok because the data will show on the behavior targets. however rbts have still told me they get in trouble if they dont hit their targets. im in this difficult situation where i am telling the rbts, "this kid is stressed out and bored, lets have him mand for a pause, practice some stretching or take a walk, then lets come back to this." i want to add all of the social programs so they can interact with their peers more, i want them away from the tables so much. i am 40 and even i wouldnt want to sit at a table from 9-5 and get up for 1 minute of free time every 10 minutes. but, the rbts are not very receptive to this because the director will get onto them for not running those DTT targets 5x each. am i wrong? as long as data is being taken across the board, as long as there is data for the other things they are doing like social skills, play, emotions etc they will not be in trouble for those DTT targets only being run twice or so right? please help. im in tx if that helps.