The field of behavior analysis is growing. This is due in part to:
- International Board Certification in Behavior Analysis (www.bacb.com)
- Increased insurance legislation mandating coverage of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) (http://www.autismspeaks.org/advocacy/states)
- Increased behavioral needs of all children
Demand
Because of these, and other reasons (e.g., CT has a law requiring BCBA {or similar} supervision of some school programs), BCBAs are hot commodities. Check out Craig’s List in your area and count how many companies are hiring behavior therapists and/or behavior analysts. Agencies will pay top dollar for a highly qualified and experienced BCBA. In fact, a recent email went out to certain BCBAs advertising up to $125,000 annually for a BCBA on the east coast.
Overworked?
Recently the Behavior Analysis Certification Board, produced two important documents. You can read more about them here and here. Essentially, the Board described expectations for supervisors regarding case loads and professional duties. Supervising the provision of ABA services requires on-going and regular contact with the client and therapists on the team. To do this well, BCBAs should maintain a small case load. If the BCBA has a BCaBA to assist with some duties then additional clients may be served. The bottom line is that clients need regular contact and supervision of the program.
In some instances, an agency may hire a BCBA and expect the BCBA to provide all the services for the clients or students within the agencies. For example, numerous school districts hire one BCBA to cover the entire caseload of special education students. The end result is poorly supervised ABA programs and a BCBA who is unable to fulfill his/her job duties effectively.
Important Personal Duties
In addition to all the professional duties required, BCBAs must also tend to multiple personal duties. These include:
- maintaining certification
- completing continuing education credits
- registering for and attending conferences
- reading and keeping up with the professional literature
During the course of the continuing education webinars provided by Applied Behavioral Strategies, LLC (an approved BACB provider), BCBAs seem to be so busy that they:
- don’t have time to check their email
- forget to include important documentation such as BACB certification number
- forget to come to the webinar
Yes, BCBAs are so busy that they forget to come to a webinar that they have paid for and one that they need in order to maintain their certification.
So, slow down, organize yourself, make priorities, and do not overextend yourself. You owe it to your clients and you owe it to yourself.
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