behavior technician

registered behavior technician

board certified behavior analyst

speech language pathologist

occupational therapist

BY YOUR SIDE Autism Therapy Services

If you are thinking about applying here please read the whole thing. I was employed here for over 2 years so I know what I’m talking about. First of all, if you are not comfortable with working with clients who bite, kick, pinch, hit/punch, scratch, and pull hair, don’t apply here. Not all of the kids do that but you better hope that the clients that you get don't do those things or you will get burnt out fast. Even if you have BCBA support, it will be exhausting and trust me, you will not get paid enough based on the work that you are doing. If you tell management that you are burnt out and would like to be taken off of a client’s team, they will most likely still make you work with them, even if your mental health is being affected in a negative way and you will be miserable everyday. Your work schedule will also be unpredictable. After you have been fully trained, you will start getting “one time moves” if you have room on your schedule. Basically this means that when a therapist calls off, you will cover their session with their client, even if you have never worked with that client. This is a very bad idea in my opinion because the client won’t be familiar with you which could result in the client engaging in challenging behaviors. (I know from experience). Also, just a heads up, you could also be in direct therapy for up to 5 hours straight and it is a nightmare. My advice would be to ask for as many bathroom breaks as you can. It's the only way you’ll survive. The environment is very toxic. People gossip and talk about each other all the time. I have actually heard a BCBA talking negatively about an RBT. It's honestly like high school and I hated it. Do not trust any RBT’s that are close with management. There are work snitches who act friendly to your face but if you do or say anything that they feel is “inappropriate”, they will run and tell management instead of just talking to you about it. And guess what. You will either get  a “coaching” a write up or be suspended in the worst case scenario. Even if you try to explain what happened, they don’t care and they are very quick to discipline. New hires get disciplined the most so you better be on your best behavior until you’ve been there for a while. Oh and btw almost everyone there is passive aggressive. If a BCBA walks by and it looks like you’re not paying attention to your client or if you forget to clean a room that you and a client left, expect a passive aggressive message about it in GroupMe. Also, be prepared to get sick especially during the winter time if you plan to work here. I have gotten sick many times even though I’m fully vaccinated. They do not send clients home if they don’t have more than 2 symptoms. Kids are allowed to be there even if they have runny noses or just a cough. It's not fair to therapists to keep having to wipe clients’ noses every 5 seconds. What BYS fails to realize is that Even though clients only have one symptom such as a cough, they are still spreading germs!! Finally, the pay sucks. I was getting paid less than new hires as an INTERN which isn’t fair. I’m honestly so glad I left because I was miserable.  If you made it this far, listen to me, keep looking for other jobs. You can do much better than this. If you don’t, at least I warned you. Good luck either way. 


A typical day at work was repeatedly asking my coworkers to remain productive back when we still got paid for multiple admin hours a day, only to watch them read books, play cards, and build legos at their desks while insisting they had "so many" sessions to convert (the paperwork is easier here than at any other ABA company--trust). A typical day at work was watching coworkers get snappy and shrill with young autistic children for throwing foam blocks or swinging higher than 4 feet. A typical day was getting on teams to see that, yes, the TV in the break room has to stay on at all times, and yes--it WILL be playing the same 9 songs over and over like we work in retail. A typical day at work was getting written up for confronting a BCBA about withholding a child's food from the child because "it's inappropriate to eat spaghettios in the morning, and it's causing huge issues at home."

What I learned working at BYS was that high school doesn't end for many people. All the reviews saying that are spot-on. The extra fun thing is that, at BYS, people don't just act like they're in high school, they dress like it too!

The management here are generally people who felt disadvantaged or mistreated earlier in their lives, but excelled at rule-following and particulars. Then, rather than build themselves up to become well-rounded, they worked to achieve a small degree of power and now cause other people to suffer, all to sate their wounded, inner children.

The workplace culture is pretending it's hard to write 4-8 sentences to summarize a session, talking about your personal life with every chance you get, lying about people who focus on the kids and the sessions, and being told by the few people who treat you with respect that they're going out for food and drinks with people who are blatantly aggressive and rude to you.

The hardest part of the job seems like they don't pay for admin time anymore. Of course, when I was there--and in charge of assigning cleaning tasks, as per my lead position--only a few people did what needed to be done, while many sat in the staff office for 2-5 hours a day and did nothing productive. Many shortcomings at BYS are the fault of management, but to those currently employed--you can thank previous employees for nuking paid office time. The frequency and volume of schedule changes are also alarming: every day, it's like "Okay, why do we even pretend there's a schedule or regular caseloads?"

The most enjoyable part of the job is confronting people who mistreat you and walking out the door in the middle of your shift, never to return. The pay is above average for the industry...well, the hours you do get paid for, anyway. RIP admin time lol.

Your typical work day is 8-7 ( open to close ) and you will have absolutely no work/life balance so get rid of that idea immediately if you are applying for this very reason. On top of that, your caseload is going to overwhelm you after a single week. You will either have an abundance of hours with 2-3 clients or an hour or two with 6-8 clients. The company also partakes in something they all “one time moves” aka they are going to throw you with a random client that you have never worked with before just so they won’t lost out on money if the client’s team member cancels. It’s so untherapeutic. behavior techs turnover is literally like a revolving door, there is rarely a week without some last minute changes in your schedule. All that while some therapists next to you are having a whole day of plan time with no therapy. 

Management, specifically the top ones, are only interested in expanding ( micromanaging at its best) but at a cost of quality therapy. The CEO has a goal of having 25 centers by the year 2025 and he is not letting anything get in the way of that not even quality therapy for children he knows nothing about. I know that no one is interested in 3 more new centers opening up and would much rather be fairly compensated for the work they do instead. 

The front desk and a couple of other friends were known to have a GroupMe private text group in which they picked on a few coworkers ( outfits, looks, etc) especially the new hires. It was very disheartening to watch. Upper management also has a high turnover rate and you will have a new manager every other month. The training specialist is very condescending and has a superiority complex and will make you seem like a complete idiot any chance she gets. She is not a bcba but will definitely act like one. 

This center ( Darien ) is the only one I can talk about. Typical day at work is between 9-11 hours for a pay equal to fast food restaurant and expectations that are almost impossible to fulfill. You will be trained by super condescending ABA instructor that will make sure you feel inadequate in everything you do. After that you will be trained on the floor by your colleagues , some of which are great, and some also very stand-offish and condescending.You will learn the most during your observations and training. Seems that management is only interested in expanding ( micromanaging at its best) but at a cost of quality therapy and since behavior techs turnover is literally like a revolving door, there is rarely a week without some last minute changes in your schedule and you ending up with a client you don’t know. All that while some therapists next to you are having a whole day of plan time with no therapy. I can only assume it’s either very bad scheduling job or mutual favors.
 “Paid CPR and CPI training” is a big hoax. They stall it for “ COVID safety” but yet meetings are held in the same space… Some Behavior Techs have aggressive clients, get hurt or need to use unsafe restraints and after over a year still have not been trained. Not very ethical and everyone pretends that is not happening.
But on a brighter note , if you enjoy high school cliques this is just the place for you. The front desk and a couple of other friends were known to have a GroupMe private text group in which they picked on a few coworkers ( outfits, looks, etc) especially the new hires. It was very disheartening to watch.


This part center ( Darien ) is the only one I can talk about. Typical day at work is between 9-11 hours for a pay equal to fast food restaurant and expectations that are almost impossible to fulfill. You will be trained by super condescending ABA instructor that will make sure you feel inadequate in everything you do. After that you will be trained on the floor by your colleagues , some of which are great, and some also very stand-offish. You will learn the most , during your observations and training. Seems that management is only interested in expanding ( micromanaging at its best) but at a cost of quality therapy and since behavior techs turnover is literally like a revolving door, there is rarely a week without some last minute changes in your schedule and you ending up with a client you don’t know. All that while some therapists next to you are having a whole day of plan time with no therapy. I can only assume it’s either very bad scheduling job or mutual favors.
On that note, if you enjoy high school cliques this is just the place for you. The front desk and a couple of other friends were known to have a GroupMe private text group in which they picked on a few coworkers ( outfits, looks, etc) especially the new hires. It was very disheartening to watch.

Very welcoming at first, but looks are deceiving. The clinic is comprised of BCBA students only, very young staff members. Being youthful and playful with clients is appreciated, but there is a fine line. Many therapists would gossip at this office. I realize this happens in office settings, but if you’re searching for a high school atmosphere full of teen-like attitudes, you’ve found the right spot. The lead BCBA at the time was so petty and actually spread rumors about other therapists education scores and demographics, putting down the therapists and damaging reputations. This caused much tension within the clinic, and unnecessary drama. Items would be missing if not completely stolen from my cubicle as well, non-trustworthy staff members. 
Some good points of the clinic are their resources. They do have impressive tools and a nice playground for the clients. When it came to the balance of clients, the behaviors of this Lead BCBA and the majority of the staff, it wasn’t worth my time. 
Overall, if you enjoy high school pettiness and cruel staff members, this is your place. I do recommend to search elsewhere as this location doesn’t provide a good balance or solid training. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Employees having there own area, each person having there own little space was helpful between clients. Also local in the office staff was very helpful, genuine & kind 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Local staff of the company is genuine & works hard, but felt that the company executives from a far with policies sometimes didnt listen as quickly and the revolving doors of BT's & even BCBA's was not good for the Kiddos. The changes in mid management happening too often did not help. Also just some of BTs from the beginning & some already in the center (a small %) were not of the best demeanor or personality type to be patient with some of the behavior of the kiddos when they would have episodes. Majority of the staff was energetic, bubbly & made it worthwhile for these children to enjoy coming to therapy.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Answered a bit in question 3 above.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Working full time eventually can load up majority of your day working with kiddo clients (which is 22$ an hour), plan time etc is like 15$ although I think they said it would be 19$.

At first this was a great place to work. They supported you and the work culture was rewarding but recently management has made moves to make this just like any other money hungry ABA company. They treat their clients like money makers, often keeping children in center who are sick and falling asleep. While some BCBAs are amazing others are terrible keeping the same programs in for over a year with no change. The most recent thing that management has done is to “restructure” everyone’s pay when you were hired you were told your pay is your pay but now you get $22 to work directly with the clients $19 to take PTO and $15 for any indirect work even if it’s the client who cancels or if they happen to decide to send a sick kid home you get paid $15 to sit with them until they get picked up which in some cases can be 2-4 hours. The training at BYS used to be top tier but with the restructure it is now subpar at best and no one is being helped or encouraged to get their RBT certification. It is truly the worst place to work now and the amount of long term experienced staff that is leaving shows that.

Typical day at work is being watched and micromanaged by a BCBA and implementing behavioral plans for your clients. I was at the Tinley Park location and it felt segregated because most of the BTs/RBTs are black or colored and the BCBAs are mostly white. The workplace culture is very messy at this location. They make you pay for the RBT course ($400)if you decide to leave sooner than 4 months I believe… some clients are worth staying for and some will drive you insane especially if they are physically aggressive.  The job is “Full Time” but its really contractual because if a client cancels, then you don’t get the base pay:$23.50 , you get PLAN:$15.00. You only get the 23.50 after passing the RBT exam. U start at $19.00 for 2-3 weeks then get 22.00. PTO and holiday is $19.00. The BCBAs baby the really aggressive kids but don’t have to constantly deal with them. This job is NOT worth it unless you want to be a BCBA. 

I worked at this company for over a year as a first time RBT and I cannot express how unethical the environment became. The company had a good training process when I was first hired, but with recent changes there is little-to-no training. It was clear that their priority was billing to insurance rather than the wellbeing of the client. I was FORCED to keep 2-4 year olds awake through an 8 hour day even when they were falling asleep standing up or crying hysterically for hours. The management could not be any less supportive, and even demeaning at times. There could not have been a bigger separation between BCBAs and RBTs, the staff was cliquey and often looked down on their RBTs. I expressed ethical concerns regarding clients multiple times and it was either not addressed  or I was reprimanded for speaking up. Please save yourself the heartache and find another clinic or school district who cares truly cares about the wellbeing of the kids.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Behavior technician 8 salaries reported	$22.13 per hour
Registered behavior technician 8 salaries reported	$21.41 per hour
Board certified behavior analyst 46 salaries reported	$88,402 per year
Speech language pathologist 18 salaries reported	$74,917 per year
Occupational therapist 12 salaries reported	$79,750 per year

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