How To Become A Behavior Technician in Orange County, California
Are you looking for a career that combines mental health, psychology, and unique experiences on a day to day to basis?
Then you should consider becoming a Behavior Technician!
Behavior Technicians work with clients and their families to help make them functional, contributing members of society. They go into to client’s homes and help them work through challenging behaviors, social situations, and many other aspects of day to day life. Guiding the Behavior Technician are the principles of ABA.
What is ABA?
The study and application of principles of behavior discovered through the experimental analysis of behavior to socially significant behaviors in the natural environment. The ideas of ABA have been with us for many years.
The field of psychology has always been concerned with what is happening inside human beings and their inner experiences. B.F. Skinner developed the theory of Operant Conditioning which examines how behaviors are changed due to a person's experiences after a certain behavior.
In the 1960s, Ole’ Ivar Lovaas developed the Lovaas Method also known as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). His feeling was that what Skinner had proposed with Operant Conditioning might be effective to help people with Autism.
Here are 4 steps one needs to follow should they be interested in a career in Applied Behavior Analysis. Another thing to consider is that becoming a Behavior Technician is actually the first step in what can be a long and varied career. From there, one can become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), QBA, QASP S, psychologist, occupational therapist, PhD and more.
The study and application of principles of behavior discovered through the experimental analysis of behavior to socially significant behaviors in the natural environment. The ideas of ABA have been with us for many years.
The field of psychology has always been concerned with what is happening inside human beings and their inner experiences. B.F. Skinner developed the theory of Operant Conditioning which examines how behaviors are changed due to a person's experiences after a certain behavior.
In the 1960s, Ole’ Ivar Lovaas developed the Lovaas Method also known as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). His feeling was that what Skinner had proposed with Operant Conditioning might be effective to help people with Autism.
Here are 4 steps one needs to follow should they be interested in a career in Applied Behavior Analysis. Another thing to consider is that becoming a Behavior Technician is actually the first step in what can be a long and varied career. From there, one can become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), QBA, QASP S, psychologist, occupational therapist, PhD and more.
Step 1 - Applying
There are many service providers that offer ABA services to families and individuals. Most of the
time they are looking for Behavior Therapists so your skills are in high demand.
What are the skills one needs to become a behavior technician?
- For starters a desire/passion to help people.
- A flexible mindset because during your sessions with clients things can change on a moment to
moment basis. - Having a curiosity about people is also extremely helpful. Why do they act or feel a certain way? What motivates them?
- Lastly (and this isn’t a comprehensive list), empathy for others is also highly important. The ability to understand that a client’s behaviors aren’t personal and somehow an indictment of you or your skills, will go a long way towards your success should you apply and get hired by an ABA service provider.
Step 2 - Going Through Training
While all ABA service providers are different, the training to work with clients deals with understanding Applied Behavior Analysis concepts. While there are many concepts that go into effective application of ABA, ultimately the focus is on things in a person’s environment that impact behavior. These are commonly called antecedents (the thing that causes a behavior), the behavior itself, and the consequences of those behaviors (how is the behavior reacted to that either increases it or decreases it?). A person looking to become a behavior technician will work a lot trying to stay one step ahead of an antecedent, so that if the behavior does occur, they can implement their client’s ABA plan so that the client learns from the situation.
Step 3 - Overlapping
Once the setting of Behavior Technician training is complete, the candidate overlaps with another Behavior Technician or their supervisor (BCBA) in Orange County California. At the start, a potential Behavior Technician will observe the relationship between the client and the ABA service provider. The goal for the Behavior Technician candidate will be to model this relationship when they work with the client to the best of their ability. In ABA, consistency is key and it’s why a lot of success is seen (and a client is able to generalize what they’ve learned) across environments. Again, everyone is different. Bringing unique aspects of your personality to your work with clients in the field is encouraged. However, when employing aspects of an ABA behavior plan, consistency is very important for a client to learn whatever concept is being worked on.
Step 4 - ABAT - RBT Certification and Entering the Field
After going through your training you will be given a caseload of clients to work with in Orange County California. However, you aren’t just sent out into the field alone. Oftentimes, you will be overlapping for a period of time with your new clients, so that they and their family can get adjusted to a new person. Also, your supervisor (BCBA) will be checking in with you routinely, as well as visiting during sessions to see how things are going. You will have a support system of co-workers, BCBA’s and others that you can draw on should you have any questions about employing aspects of a client’s ABA program, dealing with family, and other things that come up.