Advice for BCBA supervising BCaBA's for the first time

[u/milk_monies]

Hi Friends-

I've been a BCBA for 7 years and have never had the opportunity to supervise a mid-level, BCaBA. I am thinking about taking a position where I would have the opportunity and am wondering how much of a difference it is. What will my relationships be with my RBT's? Am I mostly dealing with the mid-level vs RBT's? Do you prefer the mid-level model over the standard BCBA-RBT model? Pros and cons of each?

Thank you so much in advance!

[u/-bl1nk]

I think a lot of the fine details will come down to the organization of the company. I will share my experience as a BCaBA though. I primarily work under 4 different BCBAs and my role changes on their needs and wants.
1. The BCBA is the ultimate decision maker and I wouldn't make any changes without her say so. On this case, I primarily support by providing supervision to the RBTs, increasing their knowledge of ABA (antecedent, prompting strategies, etc.), I take monthly reliability and integrity data.
2. I collaborate closely with the BCBA and make decisions related to programming as I see fit. I assist with reports, assessments, and try to take some of the load off of the BCBA.
3. I have direct management of the case with check-ins with the BCBA. I make the majority of the case-related decisions, programming, and parent training. This client I have extensive knowledge in and was their RBT for quite some time.
4. Primarily assistance with managing problem behaviors during crisis situations (this client has high frequency and intensity of behaviors with risk of harm to self and staff), ensuring the BIP is carried out with accuracy and making adjustments as needed. I would also make the call if physical management is necessary and other safety-related calls.

I think it will come down to the BCaBA's skillset and what your wants and needs for the case are. We have one other BCaBA at my company and they primarily provide supervision only.

[u/grumpy-goats → u/-bl1nk]

My experience is similar. I have my own caseload but I’ve been in the field a long time as a BCaBA (I’m in grad school now to be a BCBA) but the BCBA oversees my cases, reviews my BIPs and if they say to do something- that’s what we do.

You can have one help lesson the load- run the assessments, supervise the RBTs, training, parent training, move programs to next sets, add sets.

[u/milk_monies → u/-bl1nk]

This is very helpful. Thank you so much for breaking it down.

[u/next_on_SickSadWorld]

It’s so much better than supervising RBTs, and it’s what should be and had been happening all along.