Job Description

 The place where I will be working is a center that offers ABA to children with autism. The therapy is overseen by a therapist with a master’s degree. My title will be “Behavioral Technician.”  I will be in training for about one month to six weeks. Then after I complete their training, I become a Registered Behavioral Technician and get a raise. I implement the one on one treatment plan developed by the master’s level therapists. The required education level for my position is a high school diploma. My college degree made no difference in me getting this job. There is a shortage of RBT’s nationwide, so if you have a high school diploma and can locate a center near you that offered the on the job training required to do this, they will hire anyone  

ABA is something I’ve been studying on my own for a couple of years now. I started listening to an audiobook about it in 2023 and then following some online discussions where many people talked about centers like this one that offered the RBT certification on the job. At the time, I tried applying to some centers on indeed, but was automatically rejected due to not having the certification already. So I just let it go. At the time, I had applied to about a dozen places. This time, I just so happened to find a center that offered it and that didn’t care that I didn’t have it. 

I do know the controversies surrounding this therapy. I think that while there may have been some therapists in the past that were abusive or at least controversial, this place isn’t like that.  The young adults that speak up about their experiences are still valid. If I’m wrong and this place is “like that” (which I highly highly doubt) then I know how to pick up the phone.  

When I went to the University of Houston starting in 2011, I was told that if I got “any degree” from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences or CLASS, then I would be able to get any office 9-5 job in a nonprofit. When that didn’t happen, most of my extended family members made me into this laughing stock and told me I had “failed” at my career goals to help children. 

It has taken me this long to realize I had not failed. I didn’t fail any actual child, just at some arbitrary path made up by older family members and the academic staff. My current therapist agrees, my husband agrees, and my entire history agrees. So I set out again. I’m unlearning what failure is, which ironically will help me implement this therapy with these kids  

Yesterday, I went to Walmart and got me some better walking shoes.  They said to “dress comfortably.”  I saw some other techs wearing scrubs or scrub pants with t shirts. I got some scrub pants and valentine, st Patrick’s, and even Easter themed t shirts that match each color scrub pants I got  I would also like to find some appropriate character t shirts but haven’t found any. The job is 25 miles away, and I am soooo looking forward to it!