Speechlover619

I had two-ish years of ABA experience and was admitted to UT Austin's graduate program (the only program I applied to). I had a good GPA (high 3.8), average GRE scores, strong letters of rec, and ABA experience. I don't know if my experience gave me any sort of advantage in the decision process, but I can tell you that the graduate committee looks to include individuals from all settings and backgrounds. Only one other person in my cohort had an ABA background, while others had anywhere from no relevant experience to being SLPAs. My position as an ABA therapist gave me different examples to write about for my SOP and how working with developmental disabilities such as ASD is my passion. I feel like my experience is helping me out in clinic, as I already had knowledge and experience on reinforcement, behavior management, and recording data. Also, I came into clinic knowing how to manipulate different toys or activities to evoke speech and incorporate client specific goals. You have to consider too that a good portion of people in your cohort will not have ABA experience, let alone exposure to those on the spectrum, so you will have valuable insight and can provide a lot of help to many. One of the clinic directors at UT Austin has both her CCC-SLP and BCBA, she teachers courses and clinical practicum with emphasis on ASD. If you're really interested in pursuing the ASD population, I would say to look into programs that have a clinical director with both credentials or emphasis on ASD.

I need some help, I'm applying for 5 grad schools in Texas (UT Austin, UT Dallas, Baylor, Texas State, and Texas Christian University) and was wondering if anyone had any advice/ insight/ recommendations regarding these schools. Should I get into contact with these schools for more information since I'm out of state? And should I improve any of my stats before apps are due? GPA: 3.83/4.0 SLP GPA: 4.0 GRE- (i'm planning on taking it again) 157V 145Q 4.0AWA EXPERIENCE- 1 1/2 years as an ABA therapist, 1/2 year as a literacy tutor, 1 year as a research assistant for a neuroscience and language laboratory, 20 hours observing and job shadowing a elementary school SLP, 100+ hours volunteering and observing in a private practice setting LOR- I was thinking of asking the director of the neuroscience laboratory (I worked directly for her and got an A in her class), another former professor that I visited in office hours a bit (hopefully she remembers me and agrees to write me a letter), and the owners of the private practice already agreed to write me a letter. Any feedback helps!

I'm a BI (behavior interventionist, not RBT certified yet) but to me the RBT certification only matters if you plan on doing this job long-term. I would highly recommend this job because personally, I get tons of experience working with different kids and families of different ages (and different goals to work on) and I feel confident that this experience will give me lots to write about in my SOP. From my understanding (ABA companies in California), Behavior Intervention/ABA intervention is sort of entry level and requires a Bachelors Degree or in route of one, courses related to psychology or social sciences, and past experience with ASD is highly preferred. I went through a 40 hour online training and a 10 hour in person training that consisted of "overlapping"/ observing sessions, and hands on training. Most of the cases in my area are through the regional center which doesn't require the RBT certification, but if a case in my area did and I had availability to work it, I would be offered the RBT credential. The pay is anywhere from 12-20 dollars an hour (based on education and experience). Hours are very flexible, my company worked with my schedule when I was a senior in college and now offered me more hours after graduation. I don't plan on doing this forever but I truly do believe it's great related experience to the SLP field. With some of my kiddos, we practice verbal imitation, recognizing emotions, turn taking, sustaining conversations and keeping on topic, full sentences, PECs (picture exchange communication), and many other programs related to speech and communication. Also, It can serve as a back up plan in case you don't get into programs first hand or change your mind about the SLP field because most companies (like mine) offer career advancement and training for higher positions ( ABA supervisor, training, office management ). All of my supervisors started off as BI's and some office management did as well.