There are unlike paths to condign a BCBA. Y'all will demand several years of higher education and piece of work experience before you can certify as a BCBA. The timeline ranges depending on i'due south course of study, but including the time it takes to complete an undergraduate degree and graduate degree, it can take a full of 6 to 10 years to become a BCBA.

Information technology generally takes almost four years to get a bachelor's caste, two years to get a master's degree, and and then, candidates must consummate 1,500 hours of supervised fieldwork in applied behavior analysis. The supervised fieldwork hours can be completed in about a year, though it takes many people longer than that, depending on their pace.

Starting the Process

If you want to get a lath certified behavior analyst (BCBA) and exercise applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy to help people on the autism spectrum, there are several qualifications yous must encounter. The Behavior Analyst Certification Lath (BACB) oversees the regulations that ascertain this of import clinical role, to maintain high standards of safety and ideals.

The BACB has several listed requirements to get a BCBA. Some of these requirements involve previous didactics and work feel.

The Foundation to Become an ABA Therapist

A BCBA typically requires a master's degree in a related field, similar education, psychology, or medicine. Before getting a main'due south, yous must consummate a bachelor'south caste, which takes four years on boilerplate. Chief'south degrees have 2 years, on average, to complete in the U.s.a..

If you have completed a bachelor's degree and know you want to become a BCBA, yous can search for main's programs that provide training that is certified or accredited toward the BACB's requirements. These programs may be in these fields, amidst others:

  • Behavior analysis

  • Psychology

  • Special education

  • Early childhood teaching

  • Nursing or medicine

Coursework focused on ABA therapy must include minimum hours studying sure topics.

  • 45 hours of ethical and professional carry

  • 45 hours of concepts and principles of behavior analysis

  • 45 hours of fundamental elements of behavior change and specific behavior change principles

  • 30 hours of discretionary beliefs-analytic content, depending on your preference and the school's course

  • 30 hours of identification and cess of client needs

  • twenty hours of experimental pattern

  • x hours each of intervention and beliefs change considerations; behavior modify systems; and implementation, management, and supervision

If y'all have a master'south caste already and want to switch careers to become a BCBA, you lot will need to find a graduate certificate or professional person evolution program that can supply the necessary training. Y'all might as well pursue a postdoctoral (PhD) plan that specializes in ABA therapy. It is also possible to come across the requirements if yous teach psychology, behavioral therapy, or special education at a university level and begin educational activity ABA therapy for at least iii years every bit a full-fourth dimension faculty member.

Supervised Fieldwork With an ABA Therapist

As you complete the required coursework, either through an accredited higher or university program, or a different verified course sequence, you must also consummate a specific amount of supervised experience with clients. This may take the course of:

  • 1,500 hours of supervised fieldwork. This is the baseline requirement for practical experience while you lot complete ABA therapy coursework. There are no restrictions on where this tin can be completed; it can be washed in a schoolhouse, medical office, clinic, or private ABA therapy practice. Your supervisor must be an active BCBA who meets the ongoing supervision requirements.

  • 1,000 hours of practicum work. This is one of the two more intensive training tracks provided through verified class sequences that are outside of university or college settings. Like the standard fieldwork component, your supervisor must be a qualified BCBA who meets the lath'southward supervision requirements.

  • 750 hours of intensive practicum work. The other rail taught through the verified course sequence, this practicum allows you to focus in-depth for a much shorter period of time.

  • 500 hours of intensive practicum work. This supervised experience track is only available to students in PhD programs who already accept about 10 years of experience working in a therapy, educational, or medical setting.

Once you have completed the study and practical requirements for ABA therapy certification, you can apply for the board test.

Lath Certification Test to Become an ABA Therapist

After you ready up an account with the BACB, you lot can consummate an application to take the lath certification examination online. This requires having all necessary paperwork, including supervisor reports, grade grades, and any professional information, ready to submit.

You must besides sign the Eligibility Affidavit at the end of the application, stating that you have read and are in compliance with the BACB requirements. In add-on, you must report any atmospheric condition, investigations, or situations that might affect your ability to complete the examination in a timely fashion or practice every bit an ABA therapist.

Subsequently you lot submit your application, yous have 90 days to submit your payment for information technology to be candy. You will then be notified if you qualify to take the exam and asked to schedule an exam appointment.

Information technology Takes Time to Become an ABA Therapist

The BACB lists three bones methods for becoming an ABA therapist: coursework, faculty teaching and research, or postdoctoral experience. Each of these tracks requires a significant corporeality of pedagogy — at least a bachelor'south degree and a master'due south degree, with the potential for supplementary graduate certification, professional person certification, or training provided past an employer — along with a significant amount of training in a applied setting.

It is helpful to work in a related field for at least a few years, as many degree programs, faculty positions, clinics, special education institutions, and other jobs will wait for practical work experience when hiring candidates. The total amount of fourth dimension it takes for you to go a certified ABA therapist tin can vary, but information technology could be between 6 and 10 years total.

Completing the teaching, grooming, and experience for this therapist position means you tin work safely, ethically, and thoroughly with children or adults on the autism spectrum who demand your support. In one case you consummate the education and preparation requirements, and you are certified, you lot tin can brainstorm helping people.

References

Acquire About Condign a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Indeed.

Lath Certified Beliefs Analyst (BCBA). Behavior Annotator Certification Board.

Board Certified Behavior Annotator Handbook. (2020). Behavior Analyst Certification Lath.