The Importance of Professional Discourse for the Continual Advancement of Practice Standards: The RBT\xae as a Case in Point

Justin B Leaf,Robert K Ross,Megan Miller,B J Freeman,John Eshleman,Peter F Gerhardt ,Sigrid S Glenn,Ronnie Detrich,Ronald Leaf,Tracee Parker,Melissa S Saunders ,John Mceachin,Julia L Ferguson,Richard M Foxx,Joseph H Cihon,Joshua K Pritchard ,Toby Mountjoy,Andy Bondy,Christine Milne ,Todd Streff

doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04631-z

Abstract

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB®) created a third level of certification, the Registered Behavior Technician™ (RBT®) in 2014. The RBT® was created based upon the requests of stakeholders who wanted to credential those individuals who make direct contact with clients under the supervision of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst®. There has been tremendous growth in the number of RBTs® with over 60,000 individuals certified to date. The BACB® recently sent out a newsletter outlining changes to the RBT® certification, including the processes of training, supervising, and becoming an RBT®. These changes represent a number of potential concerns. The purpose of this paper is to highlight these concerns and to propose solutions to improve the RBT® certification.

Highlights

1 not all certified behavior analysts provide direct interven‐ tion or work in the field of autism intervention, recent numbers sug‐ gest the majority of certified behavior analysts do work within autism and autism intervention (Behavior Analyst Certification Board® n.d.). 2 The RBT® credential, perhaps, more closely aligns to those who provide direct intervention for individuals diagnosed with ASD
Twenty members of the field of behavior analysis have col‐ lectively contributed to this commentary because we are concerned about the impact of the RBT® credential on our field
Our concerns stemmed, in part, from RBT® requirements determined by means other than objective data, and revisions curtailing training require‐ ments

Summary

Introduction

It should be noted that while the RBT® credential is not autism specific, based on the large number of BCBAs® that work in autism related fields (Behavior Analyst Certification Board n.d) it is likely that the majority of RBTs® do as well. The addition of an ethical code for RBTs® is important given anyone providing intervention for individuals diagnosed with ASD must adhere to ethical standards to ensure the safety and welfare of the clients with whom they work.

Objectives

Results

Conclusion