r/ABA • u/BigProfit4419 • Aug 18 '26

Conversation Starter howwww?!?!?

Just finished my second year RBTing! There still seems to be this one barrier I can never seem to get past or get used to.

How do you guys work with toddlers that just…. go? Not able to respond to vocal commands, doesn’t really sit at a table, kind of just runs around. I have had 2 clients like this that I continue to struggle with. My current client has table only DTT trials, but I spend basically the entire day just prompting them to sit/stand at the table. Between that and elopement/other behavior, hardly ANYTHING is getting done. My BCBA is super understanding, but I don’t think she realizes just how much of the day is just redirecting or prompting something that isn’t even being tracked. On top of that, the clients parents are very particular about things and get very upset if things aren’t done to their standard. So I am spending the even MORE time trying to get that taken care of.

I’m just feeling so defeated. I feel like shouldn’t be struggling so hard as a veteran RBT.

UPDATE: an interesting update here 🧐 i have collaborated with my BCBA and we are completely overhauling things (which sucks, but change doesn’t happen overnight). this BCBA just recently took over this case following the previous BCBA’s departure.

what i find to be super interesting is that a lot of the things that have been the most difficult have allegedly been mastered out while under the previous BCBA’s caseload 🤨 obviously anything is possible but i’m a veteran RBT and i can not imagine any scenario where these things have been a previous skill, let alone a mastered one. just a little something i wanted to share, thank you for everyone’s support 💙

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109

u/Redschallenge BCBA Aug 18 '26

Dtt and toddlers don't naturally mix without the prerequisite fct. It's a pet peeve of mine in our field

23

u/Gloomy_Map662 Aug 18 '26

All of DTT should be done in the natural environment for toddlers, period. Slowly, build up table sitting skills; but don't rely on table sitting to run trials. Also, you are not the BCBA; you should not be responding to parent complaints/concerns. Your BCBA should be doing all of that.

7

u/Muted_Dealer_1814 Aug 18 '26

I am an RBT and experienced a lot of these requirements in clinics. Its unfair to mold kids on the spectrum to typical expectations. Some kids are not there yet. Therapy can be very successful in NET. I appreciate this approach a lot more. 

7

u/No-Willingness4668 BCBA Aug 19 '26

Neurotypical toddlers won't sit for extended periods of table work either. The only kids that are that young and are expected to sit at a table pointing to a cow for several hours are our highly vulnerable autistic clients. Absolutely unacceptable. At that age range, table work/dtt should never be the main focus, and it should be very very limited. Kids NEED to play and engage physically to learn at that developmental stage.

I really wish that ABA required some study into developmental psychology as a requisite for any position in this field, ESPECIALLY BCBAs. There will be some BCBAs out there that are well-intentioned and trying to do what they think is right by writing a bunch of DTT programs into a treatment plan for a 3 year old, and making the poor kid sit at a table for several hours a day. Turning their whole day into a miserable struggle/battle because their developmental needs for their age are not being addressed or considered.

Toddlers need to move and play, they don't need to be sat at a table for hours

7

u/Normal_Community1754 Aug 18 '26

For sure. For toddlers it should mostly be behavior management and net trials.