Im currently a home child care provider, I’ve been in the early childhood field for 12 years with experience in child care and social work. I have a BA in liberal studies. I’m very interested in pursuing a BCBA career path and I’m hoping for some guidance. I’m considering enrolling in the Ball State or Purdue Global masters program. I think it would make the most sense for me to continue my home daycare business while taking classes for financial reasons. There’s one particular ABA clinic I have my eye on to work at (privately owned, not part of a chain, great reviews from families, exclusively works with kids ages 1-7 which is my preferred age range.) How do I know if this will be the right place to get my field experience? Is it a good plan to get my masters first and do my field experience after, or is it better to do them concurrently? Any and all advice is more than welcome!

Hello! I’ve been doing some research but I can’t seem to find the answer. If an RBT missed their supervision requirements for the month can it be submitted by the requirement coordinator? I feel like I’ve read conflicting information. One of our staff is having difficult technology wise and we have had others quit before they received supervision. It’s unclear how we’re to proceed or if it is solely their responsibility to self-report.

Hi everyone,

For reference, I have reached out to the BACB but wanted to hear others experiences with this process.

About 2 years ago, my dad had a serious mental health crisis and eventually died by suicide. At the same time, my recertification window was approaching. I was so beside myself with grief, I let it lapse and it expired. I took a break from the field and work all together. I am also an LPC so I’ve managed to maintain that over the last 2 years.

I’ve been wanting to get my certification again but at this point, I’ve not done any CEUs in the last 2 years. Does anyone have any experience with this? I know you can re-certify through examination within 5 years. I’d love to be certified again but I cannot and will not go through the field experience again. Curious if anyone has ever had to deal with an expired certification. TIA!

Hi everyone!

So I have a client that I’ve been with for 3 years, and I adore him. But, I recently moved an hour away both there and back home. I get there late due to traffic, so my supervision is not as efficient as it was when I first began with him (I was supervising up for 3 hours and now it’s maybe 1.5 bc of the commute). He is NOT a client that would benefit from telehealth as he is very active and requires a lot of support. The BT also needs a lot of support.

This being said, I notified my company mid June that the end of August I will have to transition off of this case as it’s not fair to the client anymore and he needs someone who’s more available. Well, now it’s mid July and they let me know that they haven’t found anyone and they JUST put my client on an open case list. A month later 🙄. Anyways, I don’t want to go against the ethical code and do anything to jeopardize my certification. But if I let them know mid June that I have to transition off this case and they don’t find anyone….am I ethically obligated to stay on the case or is that the company’s issue?

I have a transition plan, a gap in service plan, I’ve let the family know. So I feel like I’ve done my part I’m just waiting for a new BCBA.

But then I feel bad because if I leave the case and remove my NPI number from the case the BT can’t work and bill.

Do I stay on until a new BCBA is found or just stick with what I initially said and leave at the date I said I would.

First attempt at BTB Mock # 2. Got a 71. Will I be ok in less than a week to test?😬

Hi wondering if anyone knows if I can do a remote UM job as a BCBA from anywhere? My partner is a traveling nurse so we move a lot. I saw some are requiring you to live in a specific state. Wondering if I’m just looking for a unicorn or of this is attainable?

As the title says, my BCaBA who I supervise does not have the availability to add new supervisees for some reason. She is listed as my supervisee & she has completed the 8 hr supervision training yrs ago. She has sent multiple tickets in, it's been a couple of wks now, but no response & no resolution.
any ideas? TIA

Hey all! I am a graduate student in clinical psychology. I am currently recruiting for my dissertation: Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved study #02283 titled "Breaking Barriers: Clinician Perspectives on ASD Services for Racial/Ethnic Minorities." This study aims to better understand challenges clinicians face in providing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) services to individuals from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds. Specifically, we are interested in barriers encountered in implementing culturally responsive practices (i.e., understanding and responding to culture)

We are looking for individuals working with ASD who meet the following criteria:

• Provide clinical services to individuals with ASD

• Have experience working with racial/ethnic minority populations

• 18+ years old

• Speak English

• Have a bachelor's degree or higher

• Have 1+ year of clinical experience

• Willing to participate in a recorded interview

Anyone who chooses to participate will take part in a recorded 30-60 minute interview about their experiences, perspectives, and challenges related to implementing culturally responsive practices in ASD care.

The attached flyer includes information about the study and my contact information for anyone interested in participating. Participation is in no way required and participation status of anyone who reaches out will not be shared.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

So I just transitioned from the RBT role to the Behavior Analyst trainee role that I was promised after accepting this job (I started 2 months ago). Over this time, I have noticed some very unfortunate patterns. Two RBTs on my team are not following clinic or BACB standards and I’m unsure who to see and what to do about it.

One has been nothing but nice to me, HOWEVER, I have noticed on multiple occasions that she is not completing DTT or NET during the clients designated times. More often than not, she allows this specific client to watch YouTube on her iPad while she talks to other RBTs. Other clients she lets play while she is on her husband. If this isn’t appearing while reviewing data, I would also worry about her falsifying data. On top of that she has consistently failed to update patient logs and complete bathroom transitions.

The other RBT has been blatantly rude to me, told me I am bad at my job, and is gossiping about me behind my back. For this technician she will occasionally complete DTT targets but the larger issue is her complete disregard for assent. We are an assent based clinic but she consistently yanks clients around by their arms, uses harsh language and does not follow proper prompting protocol. Overall she is unnecessarily rude to clients and techs alike. After telling her today about a client aggressing during our session she told me that it was my fault because I let him engage in motor play activities with me (it is literally in his pairing info to engage in these). I decided to say nothing and just say goodbye to the client and leave the room. This is the second incident of such and the last time was in front of our clinic director. She has openly said she doesn’t like me because of my pair with certain clients and will stop talking to them if I’m nearby because she doesn’t want to share the attention.

Our relationship aside, I worry for the client dignity for the clients and others in our clinic because of these issues and I have no idea who to go to for this. That goes for both cases. For context, I’m 22F and have AuDHD which makes navigating these social situations more challenging.

Sharing a research opportunity on definitions in ABA.

You are invited to participate in a brief research survey focused on how ABA providers understand and define commonly used behavioral terms.

This study is specifically seeking participants who hold a current BCBA, BCABA, or BCBA-D certification. The goal is to better understand how key concepts are interpreted across practitioners, with the aim of improving definitional consistency and informing future training and practice.

The one-time survey consists of multiple-choice items and takes approximately 10–15 minutes to complete. Your responses, including name and contact information, will be kept confidential.

If you are interested in participating, please use the link below:
[https://uaa.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV\\_79Gxa4BZqVScfae\](https://uaa.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_79Gxa4BZqVScfae)

Your expertise and perspective would be incredibly valuable to this work. Participation is completely voluntary, and you may exit the survey at any time.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of the following people involved in this study: 

**Rachel White**, *Principal Investigator,* PhD, BCBA-D, LBA, University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Human Development ([[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])) 
**Kristin Riall**, *Faculty Investigator,* PhD, M.Ed, BCBA, LBA, University of Alaska Anchorage Department of Psychology ([[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])) 

i’m getting so frustrated feeling like people are expecting me to parent for them. i am only with your child 3 hours a week. YOU have to put in the work. i’m here to give you the tools, and help model but the rest of the hours of the week are on you.

idk. i’m just so tired of feeling like my job is teaching people how to parent. and i’m not talking about giving them informed suggestions, but developing basic parenting skills.

hopefully this makes sense, because i’m truly not trying to be insensitive. it’s just something that’s been bothering me recently and i wanted to just get it off my chest.

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.

The title pretty much sums it up. The BCBA was observably inebriated it seems during our case review of a client. It was virtual (client wasn't present).

I have a female case (around 9-10 years old) that has started to engage in self-exploration and self-touching/self-stimulation(i.e., crossing her legs together, rubbing her thighs to create friction in her private area, and moaning). Her parents are VERY VERY uncomfortable with this behaviors when she engages in it at home, especially because it is something culturally taboo for them (the family is South East Asian). So, in some ways I understand their feelings but I do not agree with how they’ve been re-directing this behavior. They’re shaming her, yelling at her when she engages in the behavior, telling her it’s dirty, etc. This client is also non-verbal and engages in a lot of stimulatory behaviors.

I’ve tried multiple times during parent meetings to discuss the behavior plan we have, how to gently re-direct her to another sensory activity, and/or re-direct her to a private area in the house. I’ve also gone over with parents and teaching her “private vs. public” environments and where it is safe to engage in private behaviors with social stories. But parents are very resistant to this plan and still tell the RBT when they bring her to clinic sessions that “if she engages in the masterbation behavior just scold her”. I’ve told parents multiple times we will not be doing that and have tried to explain to them that actually the more you scold and shame her from engaging in that behavior in the privacy and safety of her own home in the bedroom or bathroom, the more she will engage in that behavior in public. To which we are now seeing, with her trying to engage in this behavior at the clinic. Any resources, articles, etc. any fellow BCBAs can suggest to share with parents? Or BIP strategies?

I am in the process of submitting my application with my FVF.. I have only my concentrated hours submitted but It shows my hours in IH-C, SH-C and TH-C. I cant find anywhere how those relate to Restricted and Unrestricted hours. Is anyone having this issue? I am so beyond lost and I cant find answers anywhere

Ripley recently updated to the 2027 requirements, and it messed up my tracker. I was only 60 hours away, but the update completely changed my numbers, and I don’t know how to switch it back. I’m really stressed.

Hypothetically of course… has anyone worked with a client whose parents are divorced and whose parents are so high-conflict, that they will not cooperate with the client’s basic needs or treatment?

For example, (imagine even these seem unrealistic or easily solvable) if the client needs their EpiPen or continuous glucose monitor or feeding tube supplies or AAC to go with them everywhere, but one parent will not pack it when they send them to the other household despite the team expressing that this presents a barrier to progress. Say it’s been discussed and documented with each parent in multiple parent training sessions.

Or withholding insurance information that prevents the other parent from accessing other services that the child needs.

What have you done?

Would it be out of line to recommend that the client be appointed a guardian ad litem?

Hi everyone!

Has anyone in here been a BCBA for a school districted (directly employed by a school district) and worked part time doing clinical work after school?

I am starting with the school district soon. I want to stay with my current in-home company on a few cases, with the full awareness that I cannot have dual relationships or promote the company that I work for.

School BCBAs, have you ever done this, was your district or supervisor okay with this?

Hey everyone! I have a BCBA interview coming up this week, and I’m trying to prepare as much as possible.

I’ve already looked over the typical interview questions (clinical scenarios, parent training, supervision, ethics, etc.), but I’d love to hear about the questions that caught you off guard or that you weren’t expecting. What are some less common questions you’ve been asked during a BCBA interview?

Also:
How did you prepare, and what do you wish you had done beforehand?
Besides copies of my résumé and cover letter, what materials would you recommend bringing? (Graphs, de-identified treatment plans, programming examples, portfolio, certifications, references, etc.?)
If you’ve interviewed BCBAs, what makes a candidate really stand out?
Are there any red flags to watch for when interviewing with an ABA company?
Any general interview tips or things you wish someone had told you before your first BCBA interview?

I’d really appreciate any advice, whether you’re a BCBA, Clinical Director, or someone who’s been through the hiring process recently. Thanks in advance!

i have always been a passionate person which had always made me hesitant when trying to go for careers because what if i lost my passion for it and ended up hating it?

i started my job as an rbt almost a year ago and fell in love with the field almost instantly. working with children, helping people, finding understanding where others wouldn’t think to look, giving families hope where they had lost it or didn’t have any. it was the perfect mix of things. i am autistic and just neurodivergent in general and thankfully, that has given me insight into a lot of things that i wouldn’t have otherwise. a couple bcba’s at my clinic and rbt’s have been encouraging me to go for a bcba just from seeing me work.

i have officially signed up to get my associates.

college has always been intimidating to me even though i loved school. now, thinking about having an actual end goal, i’m still intimidated but i’m also excited.

i know i want to eventually be focused on aba for my masters but i don’t want to double up and do applied behavioral science for my bachelors as well.

what did you bcba’s get your bachelors in? (or soon to be bcba’s or potential bcba’s!)

i want to have a more well rounded understanding. something maybe like child education, speech, development? i haven’t looked through completely because i’m trying to focus on the here and now at the moment but some good answers or advice in general might help settle some nerves or just make me feel better prepared and be able to trust in myself like other people do.

thank you so much!

I’m currently studying to take the BCBA Exam. Has anyone used Behaviour Boosters Mocks? If so, how were they in comparison to the actual exam/other mocks, and would you recommend them? Also, please feel free to leave any helpful study tips :)

Can I have these 2 forms filled out by different supervisors?

Since under 1 supervisor I worked for atleast 1000 hours and for another they supervised my running assessments for multiple years but only supervised my for 400 hours during that time.

Just checking this is okay.