Registered Behaviour Technician Certificate Overview

A Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) is a paraprofessional certified in behavior analysis. RBTs assist in delivering behavior analysis services and practice under the direction and close supervision of an RBT. Supervisor and/or an RBT Requirements Coordinator, who are responsible for all work RBTs perform. Registered Behavior Technician certification was originally designed for settings in which a BCBA or BCaBA is already providing behavior analysis services. Thus, applying to become an RBT is most likely to occur after the applicant has been employed by the organization in which they will continue their work assisting qualified BCBAs and/or BCaBAs in their service-delivery activities.

There are many benefits to obtaining RBT certification:

• It shows that you have met certain requirements that are critical in delivering behavior analysis services
• It provides increased consumer protection since you must meet certain eligibility such as passing a background check and meeting certain knowledge requirements as well as maintenance requirements such as receiving ongoing supervision and adhering to an ethics code
• It makes it easier for employers, funders and consumers to verify that you have certain knowledge, skills, and abilities, have the appropriate oversight and are not under disciplinary sanctions
• It is a widely recognized and respected credential since it is offered by the BACB, the nation’s first organization to certify behavior analysis professionals

Topics Covered/Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this RBT course, students will have increased knowledge of:

Measurement

• Prepare for data collection
• Implement continuous measurement procedures such as frequency or duration
• Implement discontinuous measurement procedures such as partial and whole interval or momentary time sampling
• Implement permanent-product recording procedures, enter data and update graphs
• Describe behavior and environment in observable and measurable terms.

Assessment

• Conduct preference assessments
• Assist with individualized assessment procedures such as curriculum-based, developmental and social skills
• Assist with functional assessment procedures

Skill Acquisition

• Identify the essential components of a written skill acquisition plan
• Prepare for the session as required by the skill acquisition plan
• Use contingencies of reinforcement such as conditioned or unconditioned reinforcement and continuous or intermittent schedules
• Implement discrete-trial teaching procedures
• Implement naturalistic teaching procedures such as incidental teaching
• Implement task analyzed chaining procedures, discrimination training, stimulus control transfer procedures, prompt and prompt fading procedures, generalization and maintenance procedures, shaping procedures, and token economy procedures

Behavior Reduction

• Identify the essential components of a written behavior reduction plan
• Describe common functions of behavior
• Implement interventions based on the modification of January 2021 antecedents such as motivating operations and discriminative stimuli
• Implement differential reinforcement procedures such as DRA or DRO
• Implement extinction procedures and crisis or emergency procedures according to protocol

Documentation and Reporting

• Effectively communicate with a supervisor in an ongoing manner
• Actively seek clinical direction from a supervisor in a timely manner
• Report other variables that might affect the client in a timely manner
• Generate objective session notes for service verification by describing what occurred during the sessions, in accordance with applicable legal, regulatory, and workplace requirements
• Comply with applicable legal, regulatory, and workplace data collection, storage, transportation, and documentation requirements

Ethics, Professional Conduct and Scope of Practice

• Describe the BACB’s RBT supervision requirements and the role of RBTs in the service-delivery system
• Respond appropriately to feedback and maintain or improve performance accordingly
• Communicate with stakeholders such as family, caregivers or other professionals as authorized
• Maintain professional boundaries by avoiding dual relationships, conflicts of interest or social media contact
• Maintain client dignity
• Review the RBT Ethics Code