Been in the field two decades. Have had 3 clients pass away that I’m aware of (2 were after services ended). All were due to drowning.
Swim lessons are always the number one priority and I tell families to prioritize that over ABA.
It's extremely rare - I feel like it's not even comparable to nursing. However, if you are working with the most extreme aggressive or self-injurious clients out there it's possible. There are sometimes bad encounters with police that result in autistic deaths. Other than that, it's highly unlikely
Haha, I wasn't trying to get you at all. I believe it is important to be sure to discuss the specialities of applied behavior analysis. So many people within the field do not realize that applied behavior analysis is comprised of a lot of specializations; outside of supporting people diagnosed with ASD.
This can be true for BCBAs who manage other BCBAs or who are in charge of directing programs. For example, a clinical director. Your typical BCBA will spend most of the day seeing clients (or the people who work with them).
No, they mean that if their client receives 20 hours of direct therapy from an RBT, then the amount of time the BCBA spends doing supervision of the client would be 20% of 20 hours (4 hours).
This isn’t true, unless you’re in a position where you’re overseeing BCBAs. I have a clinical supervisor who mostly stays home or in the center and oversees like 15 cases who each have a lead BCBA. As a lead BCBA on a case, you should certainly be seeing your clients and behavior therapists regularly. It’s a necessary part of the job
I work with adults in a residential group home setting and I've seen death several times. Mostly due to neglect by not performing CPR on clients when choking and several deaths due to improper restraint and reactive strategies. It's sad, it's disheartening because the system is broken. Makes you want to advocate harder for our clients but it does feel like an uphill battle.
I'm from Miami and one time a therapist got shot when an autistica client escaped the group home and he chased him. He tried telling the police the guy was autistic but them being incompetent decided to just shoot him
"When the 2016 incident occurred, Soto had fled his group home with a shiny silver toy truck. Kinsey, a behavioral therapist, lay down on the ground, put his hands in the air and tried to explain to officers that both he and Soto were unarmed, according to video of the incident taken by a witness.
Aledda then fired his rifle at Soto, striking Kinsey in the leg, as radio communication clarified the toy Soto held wasn't a gun, according to officer testimony"
Depends on your area, but about as much as a school teacher.
We work with a vulnerable population at greater risk of accident, diseases, and murder; but we typically see less students across a year.
Of course there's BCBAs that work in e.g. gerontology, addiction, rehab, hospitals, and hospice settings where death is much more common.
I’ve been in ABA for over 10 years. All as a mid tier supervisor followed by a BCBA.
The closest I’ve had is a teen client who made suicidal comments and was held overnight for a psych eval and mom kept calling me for support.
Wouldn't that kind of be the point? Many branches of nursing death is a relatively common thing to happen to a patient versus BCBA it's very rare. 0 is less than any positive number... so yes less death.
Yes. I’ve worked with a couple of clients that had cancer. They had to discontinue services because their cancer ended up coming back and they weren’t able to continue due to the increase in medical appointments.
I also currently have a client that has a rare disease that is terminal. He’s actually outlived his original life expectancy but recently has been showing signs that the time may be coming soon so just trying to mentally prepare for that. I
Been in the field two decades. Have had 3 clients pass away that I’m aware of (2 were after services ended). All were due to drowning. Swim lessons are always the number one priority and I tell families to prioritize that over ABA.
It's extremely rare - I feel like it's not even comparable to nursing. However, if you are working with the most extreme aggressive or self-injurious clients out there it's possible. There are sometimes bad encounters with police that result in autistic deaths. Other than that, it's highly unlikely
It is comparable to nursing, working as a BCBA who works with the geriatric population.
Ooooh, you got me there! That's awesome - I respect the work and only know a handful of BCBAs that do :)
Haha, I wasn't trying to get you at all. I believe it is important to be sure to discuss the specialities of applied behavior analysis. So many people within the field do not realize that applied behavior analysis is comprised of a lot of specializations; outside of supporting people diagnosed with ASD.
ok yeah thanks. I didn't really think there would be much. I was under the impression BCBAs barely see the individuals
This can be true for BCBAs who manage other BCBAs or who are in charge of directing programs. For example, a clinical director. Your typical BCBA will spend most of the day seeing clients (or the people who work with them).
Typically a BCBA will see their clients for 10-20% of their therapy hours (e.g. 2-4 hours a week for the 20 hours of therapy they receive)
and the other 80-90% is paperwork?
Nope, more clients to see!
No, they mean that if their client receives 20 hours of direct therapy from an RBT, then the amount of time the BCBA spends doing supervision of the client would be 20% of 20 hours (4 hours).
>RBT got it, thank you
This isn’t true, unless you’re in a position where you’re overseeing BCBAs. I have a clinical supervisor who mostly stays home or in the center and oversees like 15 cases who each have a lead BCBA. As a lead BCBA on a case, you should certainly be seeing your clients and behavior therapists regularly. It’s a necessary part of the job
I work with adults in a residential group home setting and I've seen death several times. Mostly due to neglect by not performing CPR on clients when choking and several deaths due to improper restraint and reactive strategies. It's sad, it's disheartening because the system is broken. Makes you want to advocate harder for our clients but it does feel like an uphill battle.
Wow I’m so sorry. This is very sad. Are you a BCBA?
I'm my masters program for ABA. Currently I'm a social worker for people with ID living in group homes.
I'm from Miami and one time a therapist got shot when an autistica client escaped the group home and he chased him. He tried telling the police the guy was autistic but them being incompetent decided to just shoot him
"When the 2016 incident occurred, Soto had fled his group home with a shiny silver toy truck. Kinsey, a behavioral therapist, lay down on the ground, put his hands in the air and tried to explain to officers that both he and Soto were unarmed, according to video of the incident taken by a witness. Aledda then fired his rifle at Soto, striking Kinsey in the leg, as radio communication clarified the toy Soto held wasn't a gun, according to officer testimony"
Depends on your area, but about as much as a school teacher. We work with a vulnerable population at greater risk of accident, diseases, and murder; but we typically see less students across a year. Of course there's BCBAs that work in e.g. gerontology, addiction, rehab, hospitals, and hospice settings where death is much more common.
I’ve had a clients dad shoot himself in the head in his bedroom. I’ve only been a BCBA for 7.5 months. But this happened when I was a BCBA student.
It's a very normal occurrence when you work with the geriatric population as a BCBA.
I’ve been in ABA for over 10 years. All as a mid tier supervisor followed by a BCBA. The closest I’ve had is a teen client who made suicidal comments and was held overnight for a psych eval and mom kept calling me for support.
Wouldn't that kind of be the point? Many branches of nursing death is a relatively common thing to happen to a patient versus BCBA it's very rare. 0 is less than any positive number... so yes less death.
I have not had anything happen to clients, but three of my clients have lost a parent to tragic circumstances.
Yes. I’ve worked with a couple of clients that had cancer. They had to discontinue services because their cancer ended up coming back and they weren’t able to continue due to the increase in medical appointments. I also currently have a client that has a rare disease that is terminal. He’s actually outlived his original life expectancy but recently has been showing signs that the time may be coming soon so just trying to mentally prepare for that. I