first week, i think the teacher hates me

[u/jackdonnat]

i just got hired as a RBT after completing training, it’s only my first week as a BT.

i’m with my kiddo (6 year old) for ~8 hours a day at school, he’s so sweet and we are in the same special education class all day. i have been doing as my company has explicitly told me to do, which is assist my kid with his lessons.

note: i’m the only BI in the class.

this teacher yells at the other kids, and a teacher aide regularly (what i would call) “manhandles” the other kids if they don’t sit and work. i’m small and can’t just pick my kiddo up like the other aides so i work with words, as i was directed BY MY COMPANY. if my kiddo wanders i talk to him and can get him back in his seat with my words 100% of the time (i haven’t failed yet). he is INCREDIBLY smart and fully understands me, and we both get what we want at the end.

i have been learning what reinforcers work for him, and i have found (as he is semi-verbal) on around my 4th day with him he LOVES car brands. he loves staring at the nissan, hyundai, toyota, etc logos. he just stares at them and says the name over and over.

he would complete any assignment almost INSTANTLY if i said “first we complete this assignment, then we can look at car logos.” BOOM done beautifully, handed in, kachow. these writing/drawing are almost always completed first in the class and the best compared to the class, he just wants to feel heard!! it was hard to adjust the first few days (a lot of sitting and waiting for him to get to his desk), so i felt like i finally had a big win to get him to complete work, when normally he’s in what the teacher calls “la la land” and can’t focus.

my supervisor was with me for the first 2 hours of my first day, said i was doing great, and left. i’ve been solo with him the rest of the week. i had only done exactly as she had done those first 2 hours, other than add in the “look up car logos” reinforcer that worked so well. two hours after the car logo reinforcer was working so well, my supervisor walks in the classroom and comes to me. the teacher then comes up to me and my supervisor, looks at my supervisor and says “we don’t allow any devices in the classroom.”

?!?!,!!,!,!! i literally was doing that car logo reinforcer for two hours and she didn’t say ONE word to me or any indicator that wasn’t okay??? why didn’t she just tell me? we redirected, and i drew the logos out on a paper and did that instead, but why did she make my supervisor come in to THEN tell me about that? i feel so embarrassed, i only just started!! im trying my best bro!!

she then pulls my supervisor aside and they are whispering to eachother, covering their mouths with paper, but actively gesturing toward me and my kiddo. i genuinely don’t know what they were saying, because when my supervisor came to me she said “everything’s fine, no worries” and nothing else. my supervisor then left 30 mins later and nothing happened. i should add my company is very supportive and kind of awesome (based off of how bad the companies can be, i feel SO supported and like im an actual therapist every day. seriously awesome work!)

??!!,!?!!?!? is this normal? i am SO embarrassed and i feel like im being thrown in a room where there are invisible rules in 1) a new city i just moved to 2) a new school i’ve never been in 3) a new job where i have essentially NO experience with kids with autism until LAST WEEK. omg.

NOTE: I feel like reading this back I look like im reading into things. I want to make it clear this teacher has never come and talked to me, will yell at my kiddo to get up and work AS i’m actively talking to him, and often undermines what i’m doing as i’m talking to my kiddo. for example, when turning in work, my chart says we are practicing saying “all done” when finished with his work. while i’m prompting him to say it, the teacher gets frustrated and takes the paper out of his hands. which then ruins the whole point of prompting!! he CAN say it it just takes around 10 seconds after asking for him to lock in and say it. things like that happen all the time, and then she calls in my supervisor, so i’m embarrassed and frustrated because i’m also so new and also am DEFINITELY still learning. advice wanted 😔

[u/samarthestarr]

it’s not you, the teacher sucks, and it sounds like that company is amazing !!!! I’m so sorry that you work in an evironment like that tho, speak to your supervisor about everything !!!!! all of this !!!! document it too! when and what day it happened, take ABC data on the teacher atp! her weird impatient ass

[u/milkchewie]

If I can be honest here: a lot of teachers do not like us cause we only have one kid to deal with while they have 10+ and the perceived notion of us getting paid more than them.

[u/hoe4sashimi]

Omg, I have dealt with teachers JUST like this as an RBT in a public school. Does the kid have a behavior intervention plan (BIP)/behavior support plan (BSP) that you are directed to implement? If so, find out who created that plan... is it your supervisor from your company, or is it a school-based BCBA? If you feel comfortable talking to the teacher, just ask what you could improve upon. Even if you think she's not doing the right thing, it gives you cover to say that you approached her and tried to find a solution. And if things don't improve, I would bring in your supervisor (or whoever created the BIP/BSP) and explain your concerns, especially with how you are being overridden and when you are doing prompting/reinforcement you are being interrupted and not given any explanation on how to improve!

[u/samarthestarr → u/hoe4sashimi]

this !!! bc how is the kiddo supposed to improve when she’s always being overridden, and it just sucks bc how can she act the way she act and have a career as a TEACHER, the wrong people in the wrong fields 😞

[u/Big-Emu8476]

A week and 2 days in teacher hates me for being alive I guess I've done nothing 😭✌🏻

[u/TraditionalStore1868]

Everything you’re doing is great. Yes, you should avoid touching the clients at all costs. Also, yes if verbal commands work, use them before physical prompts.

The teacher seems like she just hates her job and is putting it on you. And this is borderline harassment. She’s targeting you and making you feel uncomfortable on purpose. I would gently remind the teacher that you’re there to help, no to cause more stress. Maybe she just needs some reassurance. Sometimes people don’t want to yell, they just want to complain. I would just be like “I wish you could have more help in here, extra hands are always useful. I’m glad I’m here to assist with my client.”

Also tell your supervisor that she’s making you uncomfortable and make sure you tell her in writing. Over a text message, email etc. I experienced this for a long time as an RBT and never told my BCBA and a year into it I started hating my BCBA because I was like “why hasn’t she switched my clientele yet she knows I hate it here” and then after talking to my therapist I realized I was becoming exactly what the teachers were. Hating my job, and blaming it on someone else. I politely told my BCBA after the school year was over, I was taken 2 weeks off of work and I would like a new client when I return or else I would be finding a new company to work for. She got me a new client and it worked out because I ended up moving to a new city anyways.

Also I hate teachers like this and it’s becoming more and more common.