ABA Collaborative

You’ve spent years getting ready for this moment. You study day and night for months and then finally the exam day comes. You take it and pass and feel exhilarated! But then you start thinking about what’s next. Do you stay at your current job who will maybe now promote you and give you a raise for your new professional status? Do you embark on a new journey to find the right job that makes all your BCBA dreams come true? Or do you enroll in a PhD program and begin more schooling? These are all common thoughts after finally reaching this milestone. Below I have compiled a list of recommendations and resources to help make your life after the Big Test a little easier. 

Recommendation 1: Connect and Consult Regularly

Get connected with other BCBAs in your area. This is especially helpful if your current position does not already have a team of awesome BCBAs to connect with.  If you live in a more remote location then join virtual groups that focus on BCBA collaboration.  When cases get tough it is essential to have a few close contacts to consult with.  We are not meant to operate alone. We will be more likely to thrive if we are surrounded by a supportive team of people who can help us when things get tough. Some resources for various collaborative groups include: Defy Community, The ABA Collaborative FB Group, Applied Behavior Analysis FB Group, and BCBA Share FB Group.

Recommendation 2: Join an ABA Organization 

If you don’t already belong to your local ABA organization, look into and evaluate which ones might benefit you the best. Some great national organizations include: ABAI, APBA and OBM network. Each state also has their own associate chapter of ABAI that can be very helpful in navigating being a new BCBA within the state you live in. You can find the list linked here. There are also multiple special interest groups(SIGs)/organizations that are teaming with exceptional professionals with experience in specific branches ABA.  Some examples include: SexABA, Open Educational Resources SIG and Behavior Gerontology SIG.  A list of many different SIGs can be found here.

Recommendation 3: Explore the Benefits of Your Certification 

Take time to explore the BACB website and take note of all the wonderful resources available through their website. Not only do they have your guidebook to maintaining your certification, but they also provide access to search engines containing an abundance of current and past research for free! They also have an entire list of every provider that is approved for continuing education units all in one place.  

Recommendation 4: Plan Out Your CEUs Now

The recertification cycle is only 2 years long and will go by fast, trust me! The best way to get the most bang for your buck with CEUs is to attend a conference. Most conferences that are more than a day long can provide you with a good chunk of units toward your required amount (which is currently 32). Also, make sure you plan for the ethics required units (4) and supervision units (2-8) if you choose to go that route.  Another great cost effective option are the sites that offer a yearly membership to their entire CEU library.  Some examples of CEU Libraries with memberships are: Special Learning, Cite Pro, and Relias Academy.  To round out your unit requirement I suggest looking into sites that offer the CEU courses a la carte.  Some of the cheapest sites I’ve come across are: CEUey, Foxy Learning and Behavior Live. These sites offer CEUs starting at $10-$15 per unit. Whatever you decide make sure you don’t put it off too long, it will be impossible to squeeze 32 hours of units into a few days before your re-cert deadline.

Recommendation 5: Keep Learning 

Always keep learning because our field is constantly evolving. The main way to do this is to do a combination of the following: read the research, read books, read posts/blogs, attend conferences regularly and/or listen to podcasts.  Overall, continue to expand your knowledge each and everyday both in and outside the field of ABA.  Often times an article can spark an interest in a subfield of ABA that we may have never known existed.  ABA is so much more than just working to improve the lives of children.  ABA has multiple branches that help people and animals in all stages of life with or without disabilities.  

Recommendation 6: Collaborate With Other Service Providers

We should always continue to grow within our science while also striving to understand the fields that operate around us supporting our same clients.  These fields of study often provide valuable information that allows for our science to continue to thrive.  It is also common for our clients to need more than one type of service and by collaborating with other professionals we can help make their treatment more effective and efficient.   Some of the professionals that concurrently work with many clients who receive any form of ABA services include SLPs, OTs, PTs, and MFTs. These professionals, like us, are deemed the experts in their fields and we should honor that just as we hope for them to honor our expertise.

This list of recommendations is in no way exhaustive and you might find there are other strategies or paths you follow that help you successfully move down your path as a BCBA. All in all my advice as someone who has traveled 13 years down the BCBA road is to never stop seeking information and always approach the unknown with a humble and open mind.

Note: None of the links in this post are sponsored. This post is simply me passing along knowledge and resources acquired from my experience over the past 13 years.