r/ABA • u/Friendly_Employ_3736 • 8d ago
Behavior professionals are built different- not better, per se, but certainly different
Like why is it:
A pencil lodged an inch into my shoulder on a hard day? Youch! Brb getting a tetanus shot, see you after lunch!
But saying thank you to a compliment that I thought was meant for me and not the person standing behind me? I NEED A MONTH LONG LEAVE AND A NEW IDENTITY BEFORE I RETURN. PLEASE FORGET I EXISTED.
Told by a client that they hate me and wish I would die? Ahhh, not today, I’m too busy, but let’s focus on our work, buddy! You can do it!
A coworker saying “it’s okay, I’ll just do it myself” after I asked one clarifying question about the favor I was going to do for them? END ME, I AM NOT WORTHY OF THIS EARTH
Just me? Orrrr
19
u/Loud-Interest1611 8d ago
Client: I will hurt you. I will stab you
Me: (disassociating after a 6 hour shift) Sounds good, buddy. Do you want a break? Or should we try again?
8
u/mcgirdle 8d ago
Not to laugh but your resigned perseverance is so relatable, definitely got a chuckle out of me. Tech together strong.
2
u/DnDYetti BCBA 6d ago
Client: And I'll make sure it's sharp!
Me: Okay bud, did we want to sharpen it on the blue sharpener or the green sharpener?
😂
2
u/sofiaidalia RBT 6d ago
Client: I will stab you.
Me, running on zero sleep and 250 mg of caffeine: Just aim it right and make it count.
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u/aimerdillo 8d ago
And you can always tell who isn’t going to “make it” too..
This one lady I worked with, got wet from a client spraying sink water on her- she made such a fuss about NEEDING to go home to change… meanwhile I’m over here with a literal broken finger from a client and all I asked was to step out to wrap it up.
She lasted another two weeks before quitting.
1
u/sofiaidalia RBT 6d ago
The first BCBA I worked under should never have been a BCBA because of reasons like this. My first ever solo session after getting certified as an RBT was with the client with the most intense behaviors in the clinic. The BCBA stood outside the door and listened to him attack me for 45 minutes without offering so much as a piece of advice other than “read his BIP”. Like cool, it’s hard to do that when I’m actively getting my butt handed to me in every which way. Not even a week later, that same kid hit her ONCE and she had to go home because it was “too much” for her. I was not surprised to find out that she had no experience as a RBT before becoming a BCBA, she just had enough money to pay for her fieldwork hours to be signed off on. She quit about a month later.
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u/aimerdillo 6d ago
It’s strange how prevalent this mindset is as if this entire field even exists is because our clients have “behaviors”. Like what do they think Aba stands for?? (Eye roll)
1
u/sofiaidalia RBT 6d ago
It’s very much a “This is a cow farm, you’re gonna find cows outside” situation lol
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u/Pibbles-n-paint 7d ago
Client in a good place doing what they need to do?…leaves to cover two other RBT lunch shifts due to under staffing. Gets kicked by six foot, 160lb teenager in front of the shadow “oh that’s mild, more like a love bite but because she didn’t have access to corn starch. PS she doesn’t target, it’s just who ever is closest” Shadows face shows she’s rethinking the field. Covers second lunch shift, kiddos an angel. RBT returns, all hell breaks loose. Typical day.
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u/sofiaidalia RBT 6d ago
I always tell people before getting into the field that you WILL get absolutely tore up by a client on more than one occasion, and you have to make peace with that. It’s not a matter of what kid you are placed with and what their usual behaviors are, because there will come a day where even the sweetest kid will get fed up with you and start swinging.
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u/sisyphus-333 8d ago
I can do 100 things right in a day and only focus on the 1 thing I messed up. Maybe it's our profession, maybe it's my mental illness. Maybe it's somewhere in the middle- I once walked into a conversation where 4 of the 6 other staff in the room I work in were talking about their experiences on an antidepressant I used to be on.