Who is an ABA therapist
At BMI we started intensive ABA training in 2010, to develop a resource pool of trainers in India. So far BMI has trained nearly 180 graduates, post graduates from various fields including special education & psychology. Training provided included basic knowledge in running programs designed by BCBA under the direct supervision of ABA educated supervisors or BCBA’s.
Due to the high demand of ABA tutors some of these people who had no ABA education left BMI finding other job opportunities. BMI would like to clarify its position to stakeholders (parent, schools & other special needs centers) to ensure they are making educated decisions when hiring or seeking services from such people.
Our position: Anyone who is not studying “ABA” as a subject, can be called an ABA therapist only if they continue to work under the supervision of a Behavior Analyst certified by BACB Board. As most of these people have added the training received at BMI on their CV’s or facebook page, and seek jobs on that qualification, BMI does not endorse such practice or take responsibility for their work. They are deemed para professionals whose adherence to ethical standards and high quality technical teaching service would be suspect if they do not continue to be supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. All individuals who mention to recruiters that they are BMI trained, need to be asked if they continue to work under supervision of a BCBA / BCaBA.
As we at BMI follow science (ABA) based interventions to design programs for our clients, and BACB regulates that all board certified individuals study 35 Continuing Education Units before they re-certify every 3 years. We are in a dynamic state of learning at all times. Our interventions are research based and we have discussions internally to ensure they are individualized and suitable for each student enrolled at BMI.