Pros
Working with the kids and seeing them grow is the only good part. At best it’s an ok job for college students to gain experience in the field. This job taught me that I don’t want to work in ABA.
Cons
It was uncomfortable. I sometimes felt like programs were training kids to appear non-autistic or “normal” and just to repeat robotic phrases. Being brand new I always felt uncomfortable around my BCBA and felt like I was a burden if I asked questions. My BCBA also constantly talked down on other therapists and even parents. I felt thrown into therapy sessions with little training except for watching tons of long videos. The hours were unpredictable. I was given a client outside my preferred driving radius but I had to accept or only work 5-6 hours a week. There was only a short window to submit milage and the form was sometimes sent at random times and this easily gets lost in an email inbox. At my first session the client hit me unexpectedly and I felt totally unprepared for what to do. I worked here for less than a year and overall the experience was unorganized and anxiety inducing from beginning to end.
