Registered Behavior Technician- the 411

[speech97]

Hi! I see a lot of people on forums talk about RBT’s so I was wondering if anyone can talk about their experience working as one. How do you get this kind of job? Does it give you any insight on speech pathology in any way? Is it good to have on your resume for grad school? Any information is appreciated! I haven’t heard of it prior and I’m intrigued. 

[aaaslp]

I’m not an RBT but I do have almost two years experience as a Behavior Therapist working with kids with Autism and other developmental disabilities. For my company, you need to have a BA or pursuing a BA related to psychology, communicative disorders, child development, etc.

I think it’s about as close as you can get to the field without being a SLPA. It definitely gives you insight because you’ll be working with populations that also go to speech therapy (most if not all of my clients receive speech services too). My clients all have receptive and expressive target goals which are often targeted in speech too. With that, you are likely to get more challenging behaviors and it can be exhausting but totally worth it. I was able to weave my experience into my LOR and talked a lot about it in my interviews!

[speech97]

2 hours ago, aaaslp said:

I’m not an RBT but I do have almost two years experience as a Behavior Therapist working with kids with Autism and other developmental disabilities. For my company, you need to have a BA or pursuing a BA related to psychology, communicative disorders, child development, etc.

I think it’s about as close as you can get to the field without being a SLPA. It definitely gives you insight because you’ll be working with populations that also go to speech therapy (most if not all of my clients receive speech services too). My clients all have receptive and expressive target goals which are often targeted in speech too. With that, you are likely to get more challenging behaviors and it can be exhausting but totally worth it. I was able to weave my experience into my LOR and talked a lot about it in my interviews!

That's awesome! Thank you so much for your post! 

[catslp93]

I have been working as a behavior therapist in ABA services for children with autism for close to three years. I have been an RBT for over a year. ABA is about increasing positive behaviors and reducing or redirecting interfering behaviors. With that we work on a lot of different types of programs such as fine motor, gross motor, language skills, self-help skills, academic skills. It's been a super interesting and overall positive experience. I have gained experience in time management, working with and talking with families, working with and talking with follow therapists, and  writing reports and updating graphs. However, this field  is known for burning a lot of people out. It's a lot of hard work in dealing with maladaptive behaviors. However, like I said I gained amazing experience and learned a lot about clinical setting that I know I will be able to use in the SLP field. 

Feel free to message me if you have specific questions.

 

[aokanlawon]

I have been working as a behaviour technician in ABA services for children with autism for about three and a half years. I work for The children's Center in Michigan and they are pretty amazing and supportive especially in a job with high burnout rate. You can find jobs on indeed.com and there are many companies I see on there. I would be careful though and make sure you check out the company. You want to make sure they are providing ethical and high standard services. The experience is definitely life changing and you learn alot that you can use both at work and outside of work. I cannot speak to how good this looks on your resume but I do know that alot of companies that  provide ABA services also have SLPs that you can shadow to get hours. 

[mel16j]

I just recently trained for a job as an RBT. I started with my first two clients just this month - and I have been loving it so far. Before working I had to complete a 40-hour training course ($100 online), submit background checks/fingerprints , complete an oral exam with my supervising BCBA and pass a written mandated exam (I live in Florida). This entire process took about three months before I could actually start working in the field. I also have a B.S. in psychology. I paid out of pocket for everything except the insurance credentialing - $60 - which will be taken out of my first three paychecks. It was A LOT to get started and I doubted it at first, but I am so thankful I followed through!! I can definitely tell already that a lot of the RBT skills will come in handy as an SLP/SLPA/professional. 

I met my supervising BCBA at the elementary school I was working in - I actually introduced myself because I'd been looking for an RBT position - you could probably find job listings for your area online! Luckily the woman I met is expanding her company to my city and was willing to guide me through training and other newbie-RBT stuff, but other employers may want you to have it all completed beforehand. She also is aware that I am going to school for SLP, so she lets me hoard the clients with communication challenges / functional communication skills.  

[katy26did]

Also going on three year ABA therapist here ?. It's certainly challenging at times, but totally worth it. I would agree to make sure your company is ethical! As an RBT, five percent of your hours need to be supervised by a BCBA. If you are not meeting this, your liscense can be revoked. Also, I would recommend to look for another company if they are asking you to sign a non compete clause (speaking from experience). The experience is invaluable, as I have seen several SLP's come through who have no idea how to manage behaviors. 

Good Luck!

[speech97]

Thank you all so much for your replies! It’s definitely something I would consider looking into if I decide to take a gap year.