ABA Therapy Glossaryfor Parents

All terms

RBT (behavior technician)

An RBT (Registered Behavior Technician) is a certified paraprofessional who delivers day-to-day ABA sessions under close supervision from a BCBA or BCaBA.

What it means

A Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) works with your child in applied behavior analysis (ABA) sessions. RBTs are certified, and they always work under close supervision. Their supervisor decides which tasks they do. That can include running teaching programs, taking data and writing session notes.

"Behavior technician" is the job, and RBT is the credential. Not every technician is certified, so the title alone doesn't tell you. To become an RBT, a person must be at least 18 and have a high school diploma. They also have to pass background checks, finish 40 hours of training and a competency assessment, and pass an exam.

What it looks like for your child

Your child's RBT carries out the plan in sessions, such as short teaching trials, and takes data as they go. Per the certifying board's rules, supervision covers at least 5% of the RBT's service hours each month. That includes two or more live check-ins a month, and the supervisor must watch the RBT work with a client at least once a month. If you raise a concern, RBTs pass it on to their supervisor.

What to ask your BCBA

  • Their certification: As part of choosing the right therapist, ask whether your child's technician is an RBT, and look them up in the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) Certificant Registry.
  • Who supervises: Ask which Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) or Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) supervises your child's RBT and how often they watch sessions.
  • Where concerns go: Ask who you should contact when something about a session worries you.

Want to know who will be working with your child each week?

A BCBA leads the plan and supervises the RBT who runs your child's sessions.

Get matched with a BCBA
A parent watching their young child play on the floor at home

Sources

Reviewed by
Samantha Ridout, M.Phil., BCBA

Related terms

How the bcba, bcaba and rbt roles fit together. Labels: BCBA, independent practitioner, BCaBA, under the / supervision of a / BCBA, RBT, assists in delivering / services, supervision, all three appear in the BACB Certificant Registry

BCBA

A BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) holds a graduate-level certification and designs and oversees ABA programs, including supervising behavior technicians.

Definition →
One trial in discrete trial training. Labels: 1, instruction, 2, child's response, 3, planned / consequence, 4, pause, repeated trials, data on every trial

Discrete trial training (DTT)

Discrete trial training (DTT) is a structured ABA teaching style that breaks a skill into small parts and practices them in short, repeated trials.

Definition →
Focused and comprehensive aba. Labels: Focused, a limited number of / behavioral targets, Comprehensive, multiple affected / developmental / domains, weekly direct hours: set for the child, reviewed on / a schedule

Treatment plan (comprehensive vs focused ABA)

An ABA treatment plan is the written, individualized plan your BCBA builds before services start, setting goals, methods, weekly hours and a review schedule.

Definition →
The ways aba sessions are recorded. Labels: frequency, duration, graphed and reviewed by / the BCBA, session note: date, time, / goals, response

Data collection and session notes

In ABA, data collection is the steady, measurable record of what happens each session, and a session note is the written record of that session.

Definition →