The Role of the Registered Behavior Technician
Translate the behavior. Start learning. When I hear any professional say that a child has “challenging’” behaviors I get angry. I get angry because the behaviors are addressed and not understood. Instead of listening and understanding, they use strategies guised as “positive” but really just put the blame on the child to make everyone but the child feel better. There is a reason why children have “challenging” behaviors, they are not being heard nor understood.
Children become frustrated and literally scream to be heard because they have been taught no other way to communicate. As parents, when we have a child in this situation sending them to school becomes a big mess really fast. However, there is something we can do. A board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA) works with a registered behavior technician (RBT) to find the “function” of your child’s behavior. This is all good, but again what happens when your child is at school with no one to teach them how to generalize their new skills in different school settings?
The RBT can accompany your child to school. They can spend the school day with your child, navigate the bus, arrival, the classroom, lunch, recess, gym, music, art, field trips, substitute teachers, fire drills… all the different settings that a child faces in a day at school. Imagine the reduction in your child’s anxiety just knowing that there is one person with them who will listen to them and offer guidance.
Also, the RBT will be collecting data and looking for clues to understand your child’s behavior in each different setting they face. The RBT will communicate the information to the BCBA and YOU!!! They will be part of the team that you will use to get your child’s educational needs met appropriately.
Source:
How to Become a Registered Behavior Technician (appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org)