|
Behavior Analyst is a Graduate Level Profession
 “Behavior Therapist, Behavior Analyst, Behavior Specialist, Autism Specialist”, there are many titles that individuals will go by to describe their professional credentials. Some titles, such as “Psychologist” are protected by licensing boards. A person cannot claim to be a psychologist in the state of Texas without a license from the Texas State Board of Psychologists. Unfortunately there is no such licensing board to restrict the use of the many behavior expert titles being used today.
There is a national certification board for Behavior Analysts (see www.bacb.com). The Behavior Analyst Certification Board credentials practitioners at two levels, as Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) and as Board Certified Associate Behavior Analysts (BCABA). Recognizing the confusion that the similar titles have caused to consumers, the board is changing the associate behavior analysts to Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts effective in 2009 and requiring that the BCABA’s document by name the BCBA under whose supervision they are practicing.
Because autism treatment most often requires large numbers of intense one on one hours of training, there is always a need for more skilled staff. The BTTC Day Treatment program has a BCBA assigned full-time to the position of staff training and monitoring. The BTTC also provides a limited amount of training in ABA techniques to individuals and organizations.
Behavior Technician or Behavior Analyst?
A Behavior Technician is trained in specific skills. They must be very skilled at implementing the ABA techniques. A Behavior Analyst is trained in the science of behavior and knows how to assess behavior to determine the most effective ABA techniques to implement.
It is very important that a qualified Behavior Analyst direct and supervise the activities of a Behavior Technician. The professional organization for behavior analysts is the International Association for Behavior Analysis (IABA). The IABA Autism Special Interest Group has a published set of guidelines for the minimum qualifications for a person to supervise an ABA treatment program for an individual with ASD. The Behavior Analyst Certification Board also has specific guidelines for the appropriate activities for BCBA’s and BCABA’s which consumers should be aware of.
Qualifications for Employment at the BTTC Day Treatment Program
At the Texana BTTC Day Treatment Program children are provided with 6.5 hours of daily one on one ABA treatment. The treatment programs and their implementation are supervised daily by several on-site BCBA’s includinjg the Program BCBA who works directly with the children developing their individualized treatment program, the Implementation BCBA who monitors staff performance daily, the Generalization BCBA who is working with the children daily on their generalization and maintenance of skills, and the BTTC Community Programs Director BCBA who has a video monitor in her office showing all cameras throughout the day. There are three levels of staff providing the direct student intervention training. The Classroom trainers are individuals with specific formal ABA training through graduate level courses and/or professional workshops, and have experience conducting ABA with children with autism under the supervision of a BCBA. The Classroom Trainers working with the children ages 3-8 all have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree.
Classroom Anchors are individuals with a minimum of a Bachelor’s college degree.
The Individual Trainers are staff with experience working with children with developmental disabilities and some basic formal ABA training, typically in the form of public school sponsored or other local workshops. These are individuals who show a great deal of interest and potential for learning the ABA training skills. Applicants without adequate experience are required to volunteer at the Day Treatment program prior to consideration for employment.
The BTTC Day Treatment Program has a standard set of training techniques which are used. All staff are trained to proficiency in these techniques before they are left alone with a student. Staff receive close supervision because of the size of the program, the need for the BCBA to constantly be reviewing and updating the individual programs and training objectives for the students, and the three viewing areas for the camera monitors.
Behavior Analysts At the Day Treatment Program:
 |
Christie Enzinna
Managing Director
M.A., LPA, BCBA
Christie has a Master’s Degree in Psychology from Drake University, with 345 instructional hours of graduate level ABA courses. She is a Licensed Psychological Associate and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She has worked in the Houston Area as a Behavior Analyst for individuals with developmental disabilities since 1979.
Her career history includes working as a unit psychologist and then a unit director at Richmond State School, helping to establish the Behavior Treatment and Training Center as the Associate Director, and then working as a residential behavior analyst at the BTTC, and then developing the BTTC Outreach Program as a Behavior Analyst. She wrote and received a 5 year grant from TCDD to teach others the procedures of Positive Behavioral Supports. She is the chairperson for the southern chapter of the Texas Association for Behavior Analysis Autism Special Interest Group. She established the BTTC Day Treatment program in January 2004.
She wrote and received a 17 month, $1.25 million dollar grant from the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services to provide treatment for children ages 3-8, which started April 1, 2008. In 2007 she was elected to sit on the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.
|
|
Kelly Bivens
Lead Clinical BCBA
M.Ed, Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Kelly graduated with a Masters degree in Special Education through the Educational Psychology program at the University of Houston in 2004. She is a certified teacher in the state of Texas, and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Kelly worked in various in-home ABA programs under the supervision of Dr. Vince Carbone, Christie Enzinna, and other strong Behavior Analysts for 6 years before becoming a PPCD teacher for Spring Branch ISD, which she did for 3 years. She was recruited to be the daily supervisor of the BTTC Day Treatment program in June 2004.
|
 |
|
Jillian Bain
Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst:
B.A., BCABA
Jillian has been with the BTTC Day Treatment program since February 2004. She graduated with honors from the University of Houston in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Psychology and English. She worked with the Texas Young Autism Project from 2001 to 2003 as an in-home trainer and, while there, became board certified as an Associate Behavior Analyst. Jillian is currently working on her masters degree in special education at the University of Houston – Victoria. |
|
|
Thu Lu
Implementation BCBA
M.A., Board Crtified Behavior Analyst
Thu graduated from the University of Houston in 2002 with a Bachelor’s degree in Education. She is Certified in teaching Pre-K through 6th grade. She graduated from the University of Houston – Victoria in 2006 with a Master’s in Counseling, and a member of the National Honor Counseling Society. She took the required coursework in ABA from University of North Texas and completed her supervision hours while working for 2 years in the classrooms at the BTTC Day Treatment program. She taught in a private school for one year and has now returned to the intense ABA program at the BTTC Day Treatment where she provides the daily supervision of the staff implementing programs, recruits and hires new staff, provides on-going staff training and evaluation, and manages the volunteer program for individuals who want to learn the skills of ABA. |
|
|
Lona Robert
Classroom Trainer for Age 9+ Children
Lona Robert previously attended Dillard University in New Orleans, LA for 2.5 years to study education while working as a teacher of record through the New Orleans School Board in Special Education. Lona worked in special education first as a Parent Trainer in the Parenting Skills Programs, as a Paraprofessional in a Behavior Disorder class for two years, then as a Para in ECI, NCP and Pre-K Autism classes before becoming a teacher of record in a class for EDBD (Education/Behavior Disorder) children. Lona also worked as an advocate for special needs and senior citizens and as a manager of 4 community group homes for adolescents and adults of MHMR and OHI clients prior to working in the school system. Lona has received a Certificate of Achievement for completing the PBS Training at Texana. She plans to pursue further studies in education or psychology in the near future with a continuation in ABA studies. |
|
|
Laura Harper
Eligible to sit for the next Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst Exam
B.A.
Laura is currently a student in the ABA Master’s program at University of Houston Clear Lake Campus. She has a Bachelor’s double degree in psychology and biology from the University of Texas at Arlington. In her “previous life” Laura lived in DFW area for 10 years prior to pursuing her Masters at University of Houston at Clear Lake. She was a field IT technician for a major banking firm and facilities/IT project manager for state lottery contractors. She found her love for ABA and ASD kids while finishing her Bachelor’s and decided to change career paths. She looks forward to finishing her Master’s degree within the next two years and sitting for the BCBA exam. |
|
|
Phat Ma
Classroom Trainer 3-8 year olds
B.S.
Phat has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Houston and an Associate’s degree in Electronics Engineering from ITT Technical Institute. He worked as a Senior Behavioral Therapist at the Texas Young Autism Project. He spent 4 additional months working as an Individual Trainer at the BTTC Day Treatment Program and was promoted into a Classroom Trainer position. Unsure of his career plans when he first came to the BTTC, Phat has decided to pursue further education in a graduate program for ABA. |
|
|
Angela
Clinical BCBA 3-8 year olds
|
|
|
Ellen Catoe
Generalization BCBA 3-8 Year Olds
Ellen came to work at the BTTC as the BCBA for the Positive Behavior Supports (PBS) Training Program. She has a master’s degree from Auburn University. She has spent the past years assisting Christie Enzinna in teaching the skills of ABA for positive behavior support programs to school staff and staff of other developmental disabilities/autism programs. Ellen has conducted hours of role-play practices with the course participants and hours of observation for the practicum component of the training, in the school and other training settings. As the PBS grant draws to a close, Ellen will be spending an increasing percent of her time working with the children ages 3-8 in the BTTC Day Treatment program, testing their skills for generalization and maintenance, and working with the families to get generalization of functional skills in the home and community settings. |
|
|
David Whitecher
Clinical BCBA for children age 9+
M.A., Board Certified Behavior Analyst
David has been employed in the BTTC Outreach Program, providing intensive ABA treatment to individuals of all ages with a variety of developmental disabilities. He works directly with the individual while coaching the parents and other identified program persons in therapeutic ABA interventions. He has experience working within the clinic setting, as a school consultant, in the family home, in a variety of community settings, and in the day treatment setting. He is officed just outside the older children’s training area at the BTTC and provides daily consultation and supervision of program implementation. |
|
|
| Training Staff at the BTTC Day Treatment Program:
Classroom Trainers are staff with demonstrated proficiencies in implementing ABA with children with autism spectrum disorders. Their responsibilities include coordinating the treatment team of individual trainers assigned to a classroom of students, making certain staff rotations occur, students training programs are implemented correctly, summarizing data, and providing daily communications to the families. Classroom trainers typically have 5 students for whom they are responsible and 4 Individual Trainers.
|
|
To apply for employment:
The program hires staff as new students are enrolled. To help expedite getting students enrolled we keep an Individual Trainer position posted at all times and review the applications. We do require that applicants schedule a time to come observe the program before scheduling an interview. The interview includes answering questions verbally and in writing and brief role-play demonstrations.
Highly motivated applicants who do not meet the experience qualifications for employment can gain the necessary experience through the supervised skill acquisition volunteer program at the Day Treatment Program. Volunteering does not guarantee employment but will qualify a person to apply for employment.
References are required and will definitely be checked. Texana requires all employees to be cleared through a criminal background check and to submit to a drug test.
Positions available and the application process are posted on the Texana website, www.texanacenter.com
Look for ABA Individual Trainer listing, ABA Classroom Trainer, ABA Anchor, Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst.
|
