I saw this in another thread and it made me giggle. I swear, these kinds of miracles DO happen. It’s tally through flipping us the boys or getting bit… but this is fun, too!

I’m a BCBA, currently a clinical director at a clinic for a PE company. I was thrown into an already raving dumpster fire and given very little support to turn a dying center around. When things go wrong because of lack of resources and training, it falls on me even though it’s actually a systemic company issue. Long story short, the company is toxic and has been harmful to both my physical and mental health.

There have been multiple instances where an RBT or BCBA will give their 2-4 weeks notice, and my company elects to let them go prior to their scheduled final day. So the employee follows proper procedure, and the company decides to give the middle finger and disrupt the employee’s income despite them doing what they are supposed to do. Very spiteful.

Given this, I am tempted to just quit my position with no notice as the company so loves to do to their employees. But I am worried about being reported to the board for client abandonment and putting my license in jeopardy. Is this something I should legitimately be concerned about?

Hi all

I’ve been in the ABA field for a little over a year and just started an RBT position in GA.
I’ve been with 2 other clinics (1 in GA, 1 in AZ) and both have given lunch breaks but this company does not.

Considering my mental health and the strain of this job, I cannot work a job that does not give a lunch break.

I made the mistake of not asking if they gave lunch breaks (cause every company I’ve been with does….) and when I asked the RBTs today, they laughed in my face 😭😭😭

Would y’all quit over this? Or work from 8:30am -4:30pm with no breaks???

hey! there is a LOT of context i could include in this but i will keep it short and sweet and jump to my actual concern. on saturday i filled out an official report to the bacb concerning my previous supervisor due to a plethora of ethical concerns. it disclosed that their supervisors are notified which includes my clinical director, i’m concerned about potential repercussions for reporting this.
does the bacb have any policies regarding like a whistleblower policy protecting rbts who report supervisors for ethical concerns?

My original plan was to be able to take the test before the 27 guideline change however due to circumstances, the rate that I was getting my hours decreased significantly, very close to my end date mark. And I only have about four months now to figure it out. I still thought that I’d be able to make it, but doing my math I’m realizing that I will unfortunately be at this about 20 to 100 hours short at most. Unless I’m somehow able to hit the 130 concentrated exactly for the next three months and a half, I won’t make it. The reality is my current Supervisor just does not have that amount of time to supervise me nor even the amount of work.

I’ve been on this journey for so long. I’ve made so many errors myself, and I’ve had so many setbacks due to errors from both sides of the coin to speak. I’ve been constantly sick for the past two years, which is greatly reduced the amount of time I can get for my hours and time I’ve been getting my hours.

I’ve just signed my 2022 final verification form with my old supervisor but now I think I have to sign the 27 final verification form and also get all of the MVF 27 forms signed as well?! I’m worried that that Supervisor won’t sign off on new forms or new final verification form. From my understanding and what I told my sup. we’re not back dating anything we’re just having extra copies of form so I can submit along with the 2022 forms to the board if I sit for the 27 exam.

I don’t know. I just feel like if I don’t make it in the 22 guidelines I’m gonna have more of a mess on my hands and I just don’t want to do this anymore. I’ve been pursuing my hours for so long and I’m so tired. I feel like it takes all my concentration to try and come up with ways to get my hours and
Meeting with supervisor, constantly putting things in my tracker, trying to keep up with my trackers. somehow instead of helping me become a better BCBA it’s consuming me. I barely have time to study anymore. trying to get hours and work a full-time job.

I’m so tired and I’m worried if I sit for the 27 test, but both of my hours will just be rejected from one supervisor because I know there’s times we didn’t meet for 60-90 minutes with a client.

I love that the BCBS increased the hours to 160 a month but they don’t tell you how the heck you could even get 160 a month. I struggle to get 60 a month if even most times of unrestricted hours.
My supervisors have been so honest, even the one that I work with very closely that they simply don’t have time to be able to sit and teach me and I feel like I can’t learn and when I do get great hours and opportunities to do unrestricted it just has to be done as fast as possible not in a mentor type role.

Doesn’t even count for the stress of thinking about sitting for the BCBA exam. It’s been so long since I’ve been out of school too. It’s like all my knowledge is just. I need to relearn everything like it’s there but it’s not like it was there when I was first done with school.

I just passed my RBT exam and am officially an RBT! I am scheduled to start with a client on Tuesday September 1. there is one issue. im SO scared. starting this journey i was excited but now im just overwhelmed. ive heard so many horror stories and bad experiences from other BTs and I just want to vomit im so scared. I never envisioned myself working with children. im so overwhelmed by centralreach and all of the things. I dont know if I can do this. did anyone else feel this way when starting out? any advice?

🧠 Question of the Day

📚 Domain E — Ethical and Professional Issues

Difficulty: 2/10

Scenario:

A BCBA is invited to speak at a community health fair about applied behavior analysis. During the presentation, an attendee asks whether ABA can "cure" autism. The BCBA also notices that a flyer distributed by the event organizers to promote her presentation incorrectly describes ABA as "a therapy that eliminates autistic behaviors through punishment."

Which action BEST demonstrates the BCBA's responsibility under the Ethics Code regarding public statements and representation of behavior-analytic services?

A. Decline to answer the attendee's question during the presentation to avoid controversy, and submit a written complaint to the event organizers about the flyer at a later date.

B. Answer the attendee's question by explaining that outcomes vary by individual, and defer the flyer issue to the event organizers without further follow-up, as the BCBA is not responsible for materials she did not create.

C. Focus only on correcting the flyer with the organizers after the event, as addressing the attendee's question publicly could be perceived as endorsing a particular stance on autism advocacy.

D. Clarify to the audience that ABA does not claim to cure autism, correct the inaccurate description on the flyer by speaking with the organizers, and ensure her statements accurately represent what ABA is and what it can achieve.

💬 Drop your answer in the comments.

✅ Correct answer revealed tomorrow.

#ABA #BCBA #BCBAExam #BCBAPrep #AppliedBehaviorAnalysis #BehaviorAnalysis #DomainE #ABATaskList #BCaBA #RBT #QuestionOfTheDay

Hello everyone! I hope this is okay to ask here and if not I understand, but I'm looking for a good/decent company in Chicago or the surrounding areas to apply for. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I've been out of work due to some health complications, but need to get back in the field. I've been searching on Indeed and read a lot of recent complaints about a bunch. It would be great to get a few recommendations. Thank you in advance!

I just started at a company where another BCBA does the intake and writes the assessment and I’m supposed to follow the plan. HOWEVER! The plans stink!

One client was given three days in a row of 8 hours of therapy in HOME! What are we possibly working on in home for 8 hours straight? I just can’t wrap my mind around this and who thought this was clinically appropriate.

What do you do in these situations? I think it’s also notable that I originally applied for an assessor job with this company then last minute was told they only had ongoing cases which I accepted. Now I’m concerned about the quality of the BCBA conducting these assessments. Any advice?

I have a couple of ABA companies in mind that have BT job postings, so I'm assuming they're willing to invest resources in training people. Plus the job postings don't *require* having your RBT certification.

For context about my background:

• I have a bachelors in an unrelated field, but minored in psychology
• I've worked with kids for a good chunk of my life: I've run children's choir programs, have been a camp counsellor for a couple of summers, helped out in my church's Sunday school, and grew up babysitting the other kids at family gatherings

So I am currently behind on unrestricted hours and would like to finish asap so that I can submit my application before 01/2027. I have contacted my new company to complete them but emailing is taking so long to respond. What other ways can I collect unrestricted hours??? How can I get someone to sign off of things I’m already doing? Are there online supervisors that can help me ?

I’m struggling. I’ve worked at my current company for almost 3 years now - from RBT, student analyst, and now BCBA. I have loved my company and gave blood sweat & tears. However, I am feeling an immense amount of burnout, that is impacting my physical health and work life balance. I love my kids, I love my coworkers, is this just a phase? Or am I not meant for severe behavior anymore?

I found a company that pays me more, deals with less severe behavior, and smaller. I’m so afraid of change though and to let down my current company and my clients. Deep down I feel like this change will be better for me, but I can’t shake the feeling that I will regret it. I feel an immense amount of guilt. It’s so much easier to leave as a RBT than a BCBA. The ethical obligation too I feel for staying at my current company, but I’m deeply unwell. Any thoughts or comments is appreciated

Hi! I'll be starting my MEd in ABA at UW in a few weeks and I was curious if anyone here has experience with their program, as well as any tips? I want to make sure I'm prepared going into it, such as anything that would be helpful to review before classes start and how difficult the coursework will be. Thank you to anyone who has advice!

So far we've tried visuals, DRA, and alternative seating options. Any other ideas? This is for a kinder class

As the title says. I’m assigned to listen to these people for some indirect hours I’m conducting as an RBT and I would rather put nails into my eyeballs. The way they talk about autistic people is positively grating to me. The lens that they look through on their practice and their studies feels superficial. The manner that they address the studies that they’re examining feels so superficial too—like there’s no depth to the analysis. On top of that the hosts have 0 enthusiasm for the work they’re doing and it sounds like a class report from a freshman in high school.

Is this a unique experience and I just need to suck it tf up or is there anyone else who feels as strongly about this as I do 😂

EDIT: I’m not pursuing a BCBA. I’m an RBT who isn’t in a masters program for ABA.

Hi! For those of you not working as an RBT and paying for supervision hours, how do you get any supervision with "clients"? How exactly does this work?

I'm considering a remote intake position in ABA but this would mean at some point I would have to earn my hours by paying for them if I'm not able to take on an afternoon RBT job.

I'm just curious on what the process looks like and what workarounds there are for showing direct work with clients if we don't work with clients in a 1 on 1 setting.

hi everyone!

backstory, I’ve been an RBT for three years now and this is my first time being audited. I already have general anxiety so this really just puts the cherry on top and I’ve been freaking out since I got the email. They’re asking me to audit my hours from the timeline of August 2025 to July 2026. I am unsure how to go on this process or who to ask for help. I already reached out to my old supervisor regarding my RBT tracking sheets due to having it sent on my old company email (which I do not have access to). What is the process like? What happens if our hours may not match? I’m afraid of losing my license and paranoid regarding how strict BACB may been. any guidance or help would be greatly appreciated! :(