The Person Your Child Sees Every Day
In most ABA programs, the person delivering direct therapy to a child is a Registered Behavior Technician — an RBT. Understanding what an RBT is, how they are trained, and how they are supervised helps families know what to expect and how to evaluate the quality of their child's program.
What Is an RBT?
An RBT is a paraprofessional who implements ABA therapy under the close supervision of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). The RBT credential, issued by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB), requires:
- A minimum of a high school diploma
- Completion of a 40-hour training curriculum covering ABA fundamentals
- Passing a competency assessment conducted by a BCBA
- Passing the RBT national examination
- Ongoing monthly supervision by a BCBA (minimum 5% of direct service hours)
RBTs are not licensed to design treatment programs or conduct assessments — those responsibilities belong to the supervising BCBA. RBTs implement the programs the BCBA designs, collect data on every session, and report to their supervisor regularly.
What to Expect From Your Child's RBT
A well-trained RBT will:
- Run structured skill acquisition programs as written in the treatment plan
- Use consistent prompting strategies across sessions
- Collect accurate, legible data on every trial
- Respond to challenging behavior using the behavior intervention plan
- Communicate regularly with parents about session events
The BCBA-RBT Partnership
The quality of a child's ABA program depends heavily on both the RBT and the BCBA supervisor. A skilled RBT who implements programs with high fidelity is essential — but so is a BCBA who designs individualized programs, reviews data regularly, and adjusts programming based on what the data shows.
At PBS Midwest, every client has a named BCBA responsible for their program, and RBTs receive weekly supervision and ongoing training.