interventionist

registered behavior technician

board certified behavior analyst

behavior technician

aba therapist

Butterfly Effects, LLC

I started as a brand new BCBA with the company and stayed there for 4 years. There is a fairly strong "work as much as you can" culture there. If you are a new BCBA and don't mind the hours, it is a great way to get your feet in the fire without having to be solely accountable. There is a pretty solid support structure in place for BCBAs and the company allows for a higher level of independence than most. Corporate also has a number of offices meant to handle certain aspects of the job that can be very annoying but it can occasionally slows things down if someone is out or if other people need to be added in.

My work environment varied greatly along with my caseload. Over the course of the 4 years, I worked in home, school, aftercare, and clinic settings. I had clients as young as 2 and as old as 21. Caseload size can vary but I averaged around 14 clients most of the time. The pay is average for the area but bonus structure is not the best.

The biggest down side for me was that there was no work/life balance. I didn't mind it in the beginning because I had more freedom to do what I wanted when I wanted and I didn't mind working the late hours or the occasional Saturday. Burnout in ABA therapy is a real thing though and it gets everyone at some point or another. The caseloads can seem unmanageable at times especially if you have more than 1 client with severe behaviors. It was also my experience that most technicians did not get enough training to handle the more severe clients that we had. This made things more difficult because a brand new technician may not understand what they are supposed to do in a given situation. At most I was able to see some of my kids twice a week which was not enough to help brand new techs out. 

I never felt like I wasn't heard by upper management. There is a chain of command that needs to be followed but most are quick to respond and resolve whatever issues need to be handled. It is a large corporation so it can be hard to move up but there are a lot of opportunities present if you are willing to relocate or put in the extra time.

Overall, it was a good experience with more ups than downs.

They do not compensate you the way they advertise it. You’re ruining your vehicle by the mileage you put on it and the amount of gas it takes to go from client to client. You’re not compensated for gas the way they say they do. You are not able to work full time. You’re not able to move up. You make literally no money doing this job. NO BENEFITS. You’re not supported in your roles at all and it has a veryyyyy high turn over rate. So many people quit or move around to the point where one child could have 3 or 4 RBTs on a case in a month because people drop like flies here. Your gas is not compensated for the way they say it is. BCBAS hardly show up every month, and if they do, it’s in the comfort of their own home while you had to drive there and theyre on zoom. The families are frustrated with this company and blame you as the RBT. The RBT is the backbone of this company and you can’t move up and aren’t paid enough to live and let alone you cannot pay your bills with this job. I stayed way too long. There’s hardly any training, you are thrown right in with little to no information prior on your cases. Some cases and households should have CPS called on them. BCBAs are stressed and highly unorganized and do not give you the support as promised. The kids are not learning things like they should be. Your schedule is never guaranteed and you can never work full time hardly. The most you will get is 3 hours a day. Maybe 5 if you’re lucky. You’re ruining your own vehicle and wasting your time with this company and job, do not do it. They use you until you have nothing left. You have to use your own devices, and often your own cellular data usage for Wi-Fi! They will get mad at you if you won’t use your hotspot. Literally run. The clients and people can be great but also sketchy too. Behavior problems with children are glossed over and feels like your expected to babysit rather than actually try and improve their behaviors. BCBAS don’t keep track of anything and it’s very unpredictable and unorganized. You will never get benefits and cancellations are a guarantee making you unable to pay for your minimal bills. 

I have worked for Butterfly Effects for a while now in multiple markets as a RBT and now as a BCBA. Each market is run slightly different based on state and insurance regulations, and culture. I absolutely attest my overall success as a BCBA to the superior training I received in Texas! I love the team and regional directors there. They are supportive, kind, and have a genuine interest in your success and personal goals. The Sacramento region and New England regions are  awesome as well. They are newer markets to Butterfly Effects, so there’s definitely a learning curve but the Regional directors are also understanding and encouraging. In the recent year, during COVID-19 efforts were made to keep clients and staff safe. While I personally would have done a few things differently, I understand there is more to running a company than meets the eye (big focus on meeting billable hour requirements than in the past, more admin work w/excel sheets proving hours worked vs. projected hours). My only constructive criticism is that training is not comprehensive to BCBAs across markets and that newer regional directors are not trained enough on Central Reach to fill in those gaps that are missed during BCBA orientation given that most of our function is via central reach. The same could be said for RBT training as well. I have contemplated leaving several times due to the market I’m currently working in but my loyalty to the company as a whole over rides my disappointment here. Grievances were heard and interventions were put in place but I think the relationship is too far gone and that I may need to leave. 

This company provides little to no proper training, especially on the administrative side of the job. I was never adequately trained on essential tasks such as scheduling families and technicians, managing cancellations, or completing company-specific documentation. Instead, I was expected to “shadow” someone briefly and then somehow know how to complete everything independently the very next day. You’re thrown an overwhelming amount of information at once and expected to remember and execute it perfectly with no guidance.

Case transitions were handled terribly. I was simply handed a caseload with minimal to no background information, leaving me to piece things together on my own. I was never shown how to properly write reports according to company standards—supervisors would verbally explain something once and then expect it to be completed correctly the next day. There was no hands-on training, examples.

I constantly felt lost, unsupported, and set up to fail. There was no clear communication or structure, and when I did exactly what I was told, it somehow still came back on me. For example, when I had a cancellation and no remaining appointments for the day, I was never informed that I needed to notify supervisors. Instead of being coached or informed of expectations, I was told I had to take unpaid time off—despite being new and never being trained on this policy.

Overall, this was a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE experience. Do not work here unless you want to be overwhelmed with administrative responsibilities on top of clinical duties, without being properly trained or supported in how to complete them. This company sets new employees up to fail and offers very little guidance or understanding in return.

I was really happy with my team, but the admin workload and workaholic company culture was the nail in the coffin for me. Butterfly Effects also had some of the worst training I've ever seen even though higher ups boasted about how other companies would poach our BTs because of how great our training was. Techs are expected to watch all these videos unsupervised and are then thrown out into the field which leaves a lot of basic training up to the BCBAs. Whoever is in charge of hiring is also clearly just hiring anyone with a pulse, because most of the BTs seemed uninterested and had no idea how to even interact with kids, let alone those with autism. I felt bad for the the awesome techs who seemed burnt out and accepting of how the company was run. They were still assigning BCBAs to do initial assessments even though we had no BTs to staff them with which left these poor families hanging for months on end. I'm grateful for everything I learned in regards to insurance and working with great LPAs, but I'm glad I'm gone. 



It's great if you need the hours working towards a higher goal in school.
Outside of need, there are better more consistent jobs out there for the same pay. Onboarding is at least a month to 2 months between training, exam taking (if you aren't a RBT), and shadowing. You hop from person to person over video call for the first few weeks before actually meeting people in your region.
 I'm personally not comfortable with entering individual families houses alone without any sort of consistent recording or observation by a device or another partner after training. It's a huge problem cases are worked with only one individual at hand with no surveillance until the once a month or so BCBA checkup. This can be dangerous and a serious problem with kids in need, especially given you are alone during most cases. Any neighborhood can be dangerous especially if you're alone with a small child who is autistic that isn't your child or is still getting accustom to you.  

 BCBAs don't really follow the training protocol. There is no uniform and the BTs are dressed in leggings and T-shirts. They look a mess and stressed; exactly what the training opposed. Nobody oversees the BCBAs engagement and there is no surveillance so they don't have accountability in terms of keeping the Butterfly Effects standards for their RBTs from what I observed. 

If you are in it for hours and experience, it's a good temporary fit.

I want to start this off by saying I have a full time job that pays well but am working towards becoming a BCBA. I have been with Butterfly Effects for less than 6 months and the job has been rewarding. I enjoy working with clients and watching them progress in their goals, while also enjoying the process. The company offers a 40 hour training course to work towards becoming an RBT. However, the training is very “bare bones”, as are more of the 40 hour courses. In regards to learning and understanding the concepts and principles, the training touches on it but a great BCBA will help assist you. 

In addition, the training on session notes is substantial. They do have high expectations for session notes as if we mess them up, the company may be required to pay back to the insurance companies. I believe session notes should be thorough and well thought out but the training they provide us on notes is not beneficial. There is little to no daily oversight on notes so RBT’s are left to question if their note is “correct” or not.  

However, the pay is not great. I have noticed most RBT’s are receiving an average pay but the pay is not as good as it should be. The company does offer drive time or many benefits. If they do offer benefits, I have not been made aware of them. If someone were to get into this position expecting it to cover everyday bills and provide stability, I would recommend getting a second job or leave the field. However, this would be a great job for someone experimenting in this field or a college student. This job does may much more than being a fast food worker will but it requires a lot more. 

Overall, the company has a solid foundation and good potential. However, it lacks essential employee benefits and places a significant amount of administrative work on staff, which can lead to a feeling of micromanagement.

The Georgia branch has notable issues. While there’s an initial “honeymoon phase” where you may feel welcomed and supported, this quickly fades. In my experience, it takes about 7-8 months to have a full caseload, which makes it difficult to reach your billables that you are expected to meet and frequently asked about. Then you’re suddenly given more and more cases (no body asks whether you can take them, you are just being assigned) as there are BCBAs frequently resigning and you are expected to take on their cases. Over the course of a year I have witnessed several BCBAs resign. Many employees experience high levels of burnout due to poor work-life balance and a lack of meaningful support. Staff concerns are often dismissed rather than addressed, and there is ongoing dissatisfaction among both RBTs and families regarding leadership and communication.

There were also concerns regarding accountability. At times, upper management appeared to misrepresent the actions or decisions of BCBAs in ways that made it difficult to maintain transparency and trust. These factors combined to create a work environment that felt unsustainable for many.

In order to succeed at this company, you have to be a HIGHLY self sufficient individual.  There is virtually no training or preparation outside of a 40 hour video course for incoming RLTs before they start working with clients.  New hires rarely receive a tour of the building or an introduction to the team, and current management will go MONTHS without saying so much as a hello to new employees.  The work that you will do is incredibly meaningful and there are some wonderful technicians at this company, but much of your experience will depend on the BCBA you get assigned.  There are one or two BCBA's who are incredibly supportive and passionate about ABA therapy, but most BCBA's at this company seem burned out and wait until technicians are struggling and miserable before offering help.  Additionally, communication between management and technicians is TERRIBLE.  Changes are made to center policies and client/technician assignments all the time without an email or in person explanation offered to technicians.  You may have built a strong relationship with your client and have an investment in their treatment, and suddenly you will be assigned a new client for no apparent reason.  Morale is perpetually low, and most technicians complain about feeling expendable and undervalued.  Overall, the clients are the ONLY thing that makes working as an RBT at this particular company worthwhile.  Keep focus on your client, don't expect any support from management, pray that you get assigned a good BCBA, and you will have a decent experience. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
This is a good position for someone starting out with no options or simply in need of a part time job. However, if you need a consistent flow of income, this is not the company for you. Working with the clients was actually very rewarding! But, most weeks, you will not accumulate 35 to 40 hours. If your client does not show, you do not get paid, instead you are sent home. Appointment cancelation policy is not enforced, so your clients can miss appointments for weeks. This means you won't get those hours for weeks. I actually enjoyed the job. I just wish corporate cared enough about the employees to understand, when you apply for a full-time job, you need full time hours, and full time pay. There has be a more efficient way to provide services, and provide employees the hours needed for a consistent 35 to 40 hour work week. But, I guess you have to care in order for the livelihood of your employees to even be considered. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Lack of professionalism and not getting at least 35 hours a week. Employee turn over or therapist being continously rotated, effects the clients due to no rapport or connection being formed.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Management lacks empathy for employees. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
You never know if you are going to show up for work and be sent home because of a no show appointment. There is no accountability for no show appointments. Even if several appointments are missed back to back.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Interventionist 268 salaries reported	$21.88 per hour
Registered behavior technician 669 salaries reported	$23.84 per hour
Board certified behavior analyst 887 salaries reported	$95,995 per year
Behavior technician 241 salaries reported	$23.53 per hour
Aba therapist 107 salaries reported	$24.07 per hour

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