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If your child is in ABA therapy, you’ve probably heard the term “BCBA” to describe your child’s ABA supervisor. You may be wondering what the “BCBA” label actually means and how they’re different from other professionals involved in your child’s care. Let’s dive in and take a closer look together. As a BCBA myself, I’ll be your guide.

What qualifications do BCBAs have?

The term “BCBA” stands for “Board Certified Behavior Analyst.” BCBAs are also sometimes called “behavior analysts.”  A BCBA is a behavior analyst who is certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). To become certified, they must complete graduate degree coursework (master’s or doctorate) in applied behavior analysis, psychology, education, or another related field.

In addition to their coursework, behavior analysts must complete a specific course sequence covering ethics and professionalism, behavior change procedures, data collection and analysis, and research methods, among other areas of focus.

Before earning the BCBA certification, behavior analysts must also complete supervised fieldwork through internships, practicums, and on-the-job training. After they’ve completed these requirements, they must pass the certification examination administered by the BACB.

How is a BCBA different from other therapists or teachers?

It’s important to understand that while some BCBAs have a background in special education or other caring professions, they are not inherently “autism experts” but rather “behavior experts.”

In the field of ABA, a “behavior” is anything a person does that can be objectively observed and measured. Using this definition, behavior includes things like how many words a child speaks within a three-hour session or how long a child engages in a tantrum. A BCBA works to identify the skills and behaviors that will help improve a child’s everyday life, making daily routines, communication, learning, and social interactions more successful. 

While most BCBAs work with clients with autism, some work in other fields with a common goal – behavior change. For example, some BCBAs work in behavioral sports psychology, focusing on teaching new skills related to the athlete’s sport, reducing errors, and decreasing ineffective behavior to improve sports performance. Other BCBAs may work in organizational behavior management (OBM). Rather than focusing on the individual, BCBAs who work in OBM focus on overall employee performance and satisfaction. To achieve organizational goals, BCBAs (yet again!) focus on measurable behavior change, this time for an entire organization.

The ABA Difference

By now, you may have noticed common themes across the very different areas in which BCBAs work: goal setting, behavior change, and objective measurement through data collection. You’ll notice similar concepts come up again and again during your child’s ABA session.

The focus on directly measuring behavior helps explain the need for accurate data collection during sessions. Without objective data showing that behavior change is occurring, it’s difficult to know whether the intervention your BCBA selected is actually working. Because of the focus on behavior measurement, BCBAs sometimes ask parents to collect data outside of sessions to show whether the programming is effective, even when the ABA therapists are not present in person.

Many children with autism see a variety of therapists, such as speech, occupational, or physical therapists. They may also receive support from special education teachers, counselors, social workers, psychologists, doctors, and other school personnel. Even though some of your child’s ABA goals may overlap on the surface with some of your child’s other therapy goals, BCBAs focus more on overall behavior change across many different areas of life, rather than a narrow focus on specific skills.

For example, both speech-language pathologists and BCBAs set goals for a child to use verbal language, but BCBAs focus more on the function of language. In other words, how is the child’s use of language working for them? Does it allow them to access what they want and need? Does increasing their functional communication reliably lead to a decrease in problem behavior?

Conclusion

BCBAs bring a unique perspective to your child’s therapy table. By focusing on behavior change across many different areas of your child’s life, they have the opportunity to profoundly impact your child’s developmental trajectory and quality of life. If you’d like to know more about how ABA can help your child, please get in touch with the caring and compassionate team at Golden Steps ABA today!