How to Become an ABA Behavior Technician
If you are looking for an exciting, fun, and rewarding career helping children and their families, look no further than the field of ABA therapy! Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) now affects 1 in 54 children, and the people on the front lines of helping these children are the Behavior Technicians who work with them one on one. If you have ever investigated a career in this field, you might feel understandably lost when trying to determine how to get started. Here is a helpful guide that will lay out the steps to your future career!
Firstly, there is the education component. Although education requirements vary by employer, it is safe to say that a high school diploma is the minimum required to become an ABA technician/therapist. However, most applicants have some sort of college education in psychology, special education or a related field of study. The good news is the position is very flexible with school schedules and companies will often hire college students completing their bachelor’s degrees.
The next hurdle is finding the position to fill. The good news is that the demand for ABA therapists is extremely high. The National Bureau of Labor Statistics combines ABA therapists with other specialty therapists in the “Therapists” category, labeling this category as high demand and increasing 24 percent by 2024. They estimate 830 new jobs will be created annually with a good chunk of those being ABA therapist jobs. The position could be called any number of things. At Behavior Frontiers, we call ABA Technicians “BTs,” or Behavior Technician. It could also be called a Behavior Therapist, an ABA Therapist, or even a Behavior Therapy Practitioner.
Once you find that perfect job, the next step is the training process. The amount of training depends on the employer. At Behavior Frontiers, we provide comprehensive and thorough training to all new technicians. To do this, we require our new Behavior Technicians to complete a series of trainings consisting of about 40 hours preceding an exam. Then, the new technician will begin field training by shadowing an experienced Behavior Technician in actual client homes.
If the field of ABA interests you, create a resume that highlights your strengths working with people with disabilities and start the online job search. We hope you find a promising career helping children to succeed!
If you are interested in employment with Behavior Frontiers, check out our open positions here.
Taylor Bernardez, M.A., BCBA
Associate Clinical Director, Ventura, CA
Tuesday, January 5, 2021