What Is A BCBA?

BCBA? What is a BCBA? What does that even stand for?

I can help answer that question. To help you understand exactly what a BCBA is, let’s refer to the corporation that brings applied behavior analysis together as one; the BACB. BCBA stands for Board Certified Behavior Analyst. According to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB), A BCBA is a graduate-level certification in applied behavior analysis.

BCBA’s are independent practitioners who provide applied behavior analysis services and can also work alongside a multidisciplinary team of providers. BCBA’s also have the duty of supervising the work of Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts (BCaBA), Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs), and any other professional that implements applied behavior-analytic interventions. BCBAs range in a three-tier level of distinction. Obtaining a Bachelor’s level education qualifies an individual to become a BCaBA. Obtaining a Master’s degree level of education associates with becoming a BCBA. And finally, obtaining a doctoral level of education allows one to become a BCBA-D. The process of obtaining this level of distinction requires individuals to first become certified and, in some states, also obtain a license. I hope this helped you understand what a BCBA is. Let’s keep reading to see how BCBAs are beneficial in your child’s daily life at Blue Bird Day! 

You may think to yourself, what exactly does a BCBA do at Blue Bird Day?

I can help answer this question for you! At Blue Bird Day, our BCBA’s are here to manage, supervise, provide and create your child’s applied behavior analysis services. BBD BCBA’s keep in mind that goals created will apply to the BBD curriculum in group rotations and individual sessions implemented by BCBA’s/RBT’s/BT’s. ABA evaluations completed during the onboarding process for BBD allow you to get to know your child’s provider and give you a chance to express your concerns and behaviors observed by your child in your everyday life. In addition to the questionnaire, BCBA’s evaluate your child’s developmental milestones (including but not limited to: functional communication/requesting, receptive and expressive language, visual-motor skills, social and play skills, pre-academic skills, etc.) by using an assessment entitled the VB-MAPP. From there, based on your child’s scores from the VB-MAPP assessment, BCBA’s are able to create goals and build new ones once mastery criteria are achieved. In addition to creating and managing ABA goals, you are able to stay up to date with your child’s progress by attending caregiver training! Caregiver training is recommended and needed for a progress overview, update you on new goals, and allow your child’s BCBA to train you on certain strategies to implement within the home and community for continuity of treatment across settings, to promote generalization, and provide more opportunities for learning. By collecting data daily this helps BCBA’s to track and analyze the progression made by your child and if goals should be tweaked to fit your child’s needs.  

Hopefully, this blog has helped you understand what a BCBA is and how they can contribute to your child’s progress at Blue Bird Day. For more information on ABA services and to see if your child qualifies, feel free to ask your child’s team of providers!