Registered Behavior Technician (RBT)

To be an RBT is to be an encourager, supporter, and guide for children who are at a crucial point in their lives. This is one of the most gratifying positions available to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) professionals.

RBTs often reflect on the impact they made in their clients’ lives, but even more so, the impact that the children made on theirs.

Current RBTs talk about feeling inspired and encouraged to keep going, taking the next step in becoming a certified assistant behavior analyst or BCBA to help children grow into self-sufficient, capable individuals who feel that they can thrive.

The Perfect Fit

Current students and recent graduates are encouraged to apply for this position, but anyone with relevant training, experience, or interest may apply. If you enjoy working with children in a hands-on environment and helping improve lives, this position may be a good fit.

ABA professionals should possess certain qualities to best serve their clients. Successful RBTs are compassionate and empathetic, playful and energetic, and can see how each small improvement impacts a client’s development.

RBTs should be calm under pressure and have strong adaptability skills. The environment, client responses and site needs are constantly shifting, and you need to be able to stay level-headed in fast paced or difficult situations.

Already earned your RBT certification? If so, you won’t need to go through intensive training. You will, however, need to go through the standard 40-hour training if you are hired as a Behavior Technician. Therapeutic Pathways is proud to offer BCBA-endorsed training to our BTs, free of charge.

Requirements

Unlike many other professions, you don’t need a college degree to become an RBT. We help individuals who have the potential to develop necessary skills, so it’s a bonus if you went to college, not a requirement. Therapeutic Pathways will provide training for you at no cost.

We consider applicants who:

• Are at least 18 years old
• Have received a high school diploma
• Meet pre-employment requirements
  • Background check
  • Physical and drug screen
  • Proof of vaccinations
• Eager, energetic and compassionate!

The Role

Registered Behavior Technicians are paraprofessionals, meaning they implement ABA intervention plans but don’t design or assess them. At Therapeutic Pathways, RBTs work under the close supervision of a BCaBA, BCBA, or BCBA-D to provide one-on-one care in a variety of settings depending on the client’s needs. An RBT should be comfortable working with clients in home, center, and group settings.

RBTs may not be responsible for assessing intervention plans, but they are expected to collect, measure, and deliver data to the appropriate supervisor. Read more about the responsibilities and day-to-day tasks of an RBT here.

Above all else, the RBT will uphold the values, code of ethics, and core principles of behavior analysis, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB), and Therapeutic Pathways, Inc. to deliver the highest-quality services to clients.

We are proud to offer a generous total rewards package that includes industry-competitive compensation, family-friendly medical coverage plans, and development opportunities to help you grow both personally and professionally. We also provide educational assistance for those still in school. Other benefits include:

• Opportunities for career advancement
• Performance and promotion raises
• Paid mileage and drive time
• Paid training for RBT certification
• Maintenance of RBT certification including supervision and associated renewal fees

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapy

ABA therapy is at the heart of both the RBT role and Therapeutic Pathways as an organization. A therapeutic treatment consisting of techniques for understanding and changing behavior, ABA focuses on developing certain life skills in people with autism.

This type of treatment can help clients learn, speak and communicate their thoughts and emotions, and build the skills to help them get a job, make friends, take care of their personal finances, and much more. On a more granular level, ABA therapy can help improve clients’ attention, focus, and memory, and can even help reduce behavior problems.

Because this type of therapy is personalized for individual needs, RBTs must be able to carry out therapeutic strategies in a range of environments. Especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, professionals should be comfortable traveling to the client’s home or utilizing remote methods to implement ABA therapy.

Below is a list of some teaching strategies that RBT’s must be fluent with:

Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT)

Also known as discrete trial training or learning, DTT is a form of ABA therapy that helps children learn complex concepts by breaking down a task into smaller, more manageable parts.

The DTT process can be broken down into five steps. First, there is a discriminative stimulus – providing a brief, clear instruction, such as ‘touch the red card’. Next is prompting. Prompts are not always necessary, but when present, the RBT guides the child’s behavior by showing them the correct response. This leads to the child’s response, which is the behavior, either correct or incorrect, that the child exhibits when presented with the discriminative stimulus.

The response initiates the consequence. Consequences will vary depending on whether the child’s behavior was correct or incorrect as the “consequence” is either positive reinforcement or simple correction. Finally, we have the inter-trial interval, a short period of time, usually no more than five seconds, indicating the end of one trial and the beginning of another.

Naturalistic Teaching

Commonly regarded as a more holistic and adaptive method than DTT, naturalistic teaching emphasizes contextual learning by taking into account the specific client and their lived experience.

Through relaxed, situational methods like Incidental Teaching (IT) or the Mand-Model Approach (MMA), children learn skills and skill sets and are encouraged to apply them in a variety of situations instead of in a limited space.

Token Economy

Token economies rely on positive reinforcement to be effective and feature three main components: the behavior that the child needs to exhibit, the token or reward earned after the child engages in the behavior, and the exchange of tokens or rewards for choices.

Tokens can take many forms, such as a sticker, a point, or a marble. When the child exhibits the desired behavior, they earn a token; when they collect enough tokens, they can exchange them for an item or choice (choose to play with the ball for an extra 10 minutes).

Each of these methods plays an integral role in an effective ABA strategy. RBTs should be familiar with and comfortable implementing these strategies.

Help Children Develop Invaluable Skills: Become an RBT

The Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) is one of the most rewarding positions in the industry. These ABA professionals work hands-on with children every day, providing them with necessary life skills and ways to cope with stressful situations.

Therapeutic Pathways provides many opportunities for RBTs to excel. Visit our open positions page to apply for a job at one of our Kendall or Behavior Centers.

Apply Now