behavior technician

board certified behavior analyst

registered behavior technician

scheduler

clinical director

Caravel Autism Health

I started at the Franklin location and loved every second of it. The management and supervisors all work together seamlessly. They worked hard to keep programs and materials up to date with the clients current goals. Promotions were rewarded with hard work and consistency. Goals were given by supervisors to help staff grow as a BT/RBT. As well as management, other staff were supportive and kind. Scheduling was a dream, they were completed in advance and if there were any changes the scheduling specialist would let you know of them. Not only that, but the schedules were done in a block form, which made taking off for appointments easy. Using PTO and time off was encouraged to make sure staff stayed active and gave the most affective therapy they could. The Franklin team works hard to give families the progress they are looking for and keep professionalism and care in mind.   

After moving and transferring to a new clinic location(Janesville), I was surprised by the difference in districts/clinics. The standards at the new clinic were less of the ones I was held to at the previous location. Staff continuously called out or did not show as well as complain nonstop about the clinic/job. Staff did not follow programs given to clients: client based schedules, behavior plans, etc. Supervisors were very close with certain BTs/RBTs in a nonprofessional manner, they had clear favoritism for certain  individuals. Coming from another clinic I was told to voice ideas I had when working, but when giving those ideas I was either shut down or ignored by my supervisors. Understanding that hours can not be promised because of cancelations etc, when asking for 40 hours, being told I will NOT be promised 30 hours a week is unreal. Therapy to the clients was inconsistent and resembled that of a day care. 


Overall, being at Caravel was one of my favorite jobs. I learned so much about myself and grew so much as a person. I’ve made so many amazing memories with my clients and co-workers. It is so rewarding to see the clients grow with the therapy you are delivering. Even through the bad days, if you keep showing up for those kids they will remember it and show you how amazing they truly are. As I’ve learned over and over progress is not linear. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The children. End of story! It is never about the people you work with but it was about watching the kids grow and form words and be able to feed themselves. You got to watch them gain friends and socialize when normally they don't. Hearing from the parents that they are seeing improvements at home or it was the first time they said "mama" in front of you with the parents. Thats what the best part is.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part about the job was the lack of support the rbts got. Your higher ups would help but then they just did it on their time, or when they weren't indirect and doing notes or meeting with the families.  I have seen rbts struggle and the higher ups just sit there and watch and get up when they want too. Over the last few months we didnt get any recognition or even like the support i feel one should receive. I watched so many people quit that didn't want to leave but they couldn't do it anymore. We do so much and get so little and all we wanted was a team dinner or something along those lines. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Maybe at some places it is better enviroment but where I worked, the air constantly felt thick. Like something happened and no one knows what or something will  happen. You always felt on your toes and on edge. There were a lot of days where it felt vibrant and cheerful but over awhile it was just tense all around. If you weren't in the circle you had no idea what was happening (towards the end of my employment). 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Normally you would start off with your schedule and it would either change a bunch or yours stayed the same. You get the client back to the room and get their day started. Usually we had a daily craft and theres snack time, cooperative plau, circle time, lunch and recesses. It was a literal blast i enjoyed everyday (sometimes) and had fun with the clients. Then it seemed as though we were carrying more about numbers and keeping there LO's up, even if they werent feeling good. Then we stopped crafts and it just seemed like numbers and keeping certain clients happier than others. Which some clients needed and others could have gained from less attention. Hopefully they will get back to it

I worked at caravel autism health from October 2023- August 2024. Starting out with the positive the friends I made there will last a lifetime and the clients I worked with have forever made an impact on my heart. I am incredibly proud of the work I did there and the children I got to help. If you are looking to send your child here they will be cared for extremely well I can ensure that! Each staff member cares so much for the clients and their growth. With that being said I didn’t get the hours I was told I would get and the staff are incredibly underpaid for the work they are expected to do. When you start/ interview you are told you get 10 days of pto a year, what they don’t tell you if you actually only get 1 hour pto for every 40 hours you work expect you never work 40 hours in a week. Multiple times a week I would be told (not asked) I would be leaving early or coming in late due to not having enough clients (known as overstaffing). Occasionally going home early is nice but not when it starts really affecting your paycheck. We are suppose to use pto for this so it’s technically paid but no one works enough to have enough pto to make it paid. While working there after about 4 months I got my RBT certification which I was very excited about, what I didn’t realize is after this their is very little opportunities for advancement and raises  and they come with lots of stipulations. My last 4 months working there 4 (very well liked) supervisors left the company, and multiple bts/rbts. There is no support from upper management and many scheduling frustrations. Leaving was not an easy decisions because of my love for my coworkers and the care I have for the clients but lack of support, burnout and repeated scheduling  Frustrations that were voiced by multiple staff members but were ignored made the decision easier. If you chose to work here know you will do incredibly meaningful work but their are a lot of negatives.

I’ve been with Caravel for over a year and initially I really enjoyed the work environment and clients. The Clinical Director was communicative and really made sure you’d get all your hours if a client cancelled. Since the new Clinical coordinator and director have taken place the entire branch is like a nightmare circus. 
-No more safety care training for new BTS
-those with prior experience or that have been working there for years still making the base pay
-Minimal opportunities to make up for missed hours
-Supervision MAYBE 1 per month if you get lucky because they’re so understaffed but keep intaking new cases
- Tech and client pairing is completely out the window, if you ask to be paired with a client assume the answer is no, even if it’s clear it would be a good match
-Repetitive, robotic, and unhelpful programs for clients with not many helpful changes over time. There is hardly personalization for developing each clients individual skills and needs. 

-Future changes: The company is completely money hungry with no regard for its employees or families. They plan to no longer accept “aggressive” clients (those who need help with communication and skills), no longer will be offering in-home services, and if you for any reason need to call out you might as well be the worst person ever in their eyes.

The company sucks and if you’re thinking of working here I can say from personal experience most of the Techs here want to quit and are tired of being mistreated and not being able to provide the best treatment for our clients. Save your time and energy to work somewhere else.

Pros: great BT’s and passion for clients, diversity among clients and staff, great intro level field 

Cons: Management sucks, unfair pay, PTO hard to obtain, lack of individual client treatment plans and needs 

   I fell in love working with the Autism community in 2017 working for a different company. This company is way more structured and I can see the progress that the clients make at way faster rate. Seeing kids talk for the first time is pretty amazing. They are so much more intelligent then we realize. 
       Complaints are that they are picky on who gets promoted to higher up roles. Rightfully so, but I feel like I have to prove myself extra hard then some of the other employees. Another hard thing is the high turnover rate. People come in thinking they will be playing with kids all day. (We do a lot of play but we also do ABA therapy which can cause maladaptive behaviors. ) You deal with fun stuff but also hard things and many people don't know what they're getting into so a ton of staff come and go quickly.  One other complaint is when I first started I was driving all over the place and it was 2022 so the gas prices were high. They gave me temporary extra pay for the drive but then removed it and gas lit me about it afterward and that still irks me to this day especially because they wouldnt change my schedule so I was forced to keep driving all over without enough compensation. The clinic is working on being more cleanly which is good because I legit had a cough that lasted 6 weeks and my first bout of bronchitis because of this job. 
     I do love the supervisors that work at the Kenosha location. They are really great and supportive and help you out when you need it, provided they aren't over the top busy themselves due to being understaffed in filling in on 1 on 1s. 

During my time at Caravel, I had the opportunity to work with some truly amazing children, and I’m proud of the progress I made in my role as a Behavior Technician. The work itself was incredibly rewarding, and I witnessed firsthand the positive impact we made in the lives of the kids. It was inspiring to be part of a team focused on helping children with autism reach their potential.

However, there were some challenges that I feel need to be addressed. Unfortunately, I found that the supervision and support from management was often lacking. Supervisors were not as attentive or helpful as needed, which made it difficult to feel confident in my work and to grow in my role. There were times when I needed guidance, feedback, or resources, and I didn’t always receive the support I was hoping for.

Additionally, the work environment itself could be quite toxic at times. There was a lack of communication and a feeling of disorganization, which affected team morale and made it difficult to foster a positive, collaborative atmosphere. It’s unfortunate, because I truly believe that with stronger leadership and a more supportive environment, the center could thrive in providing even better services for the children and staff.

That being said, the experience still contributed to my professional growth, and I’m thankful for the skills I gained while working there. I hope that the center takes this feedback to heart and makes improvements in how they support both their staff and the children they serve

Hiring process was relatively easy. My main complaint of the interviews was that I had interviews with 2 different people (that I didn't mind), and was told 2 different things about the job. At first I was told I would be working with older children in a clinic setting, and the zoom interview stated it would be with 2-4 year olds and it is run like a daycare. The second interview was mainly scenario questions, and it ended without any information regarding whether or not I got the job. Later that evening I got an email asking when a good time to have a phone call would be, and was told at 5pm that evening that I had gotten the job. I had to wait 2 weeks before starting, and during those 2 weeks I never heard from the company. I was informed the Friday before my first shift I would receive all the information needed for the job/my first day. I NEVER received the email, and it wasn't until Sunday evening that I was able to get access to the materials, and that was because i had called the lady who had called telling me i was hired. I was up until 3am printing off materials needed for my first day, setting up multiple accounts needed to be made PRIOR to my first day, and essentially reading an entire 100+ page handbook that was required to be read before my start date. My first day I was excited, despite all of the red flags, but was met with coworkers who seemed annoyed at their job, and attitudes with me, the children, and each other. The job itself is HIGHLY rewarding, but my experience made it more stressful and anxiety-driven than anything. 

One of the most unethical places I have ever worked. Felt more like an ABA Factory rather than a place that was to HELP the kids. The company only wants to work with younger kids (2-8yrs old) who can be present for 20-40 hours of services. BCBA's are told to push the family for 40hrs no matter what.

What was management like?
Management was never there when you needed them and when they were there they would be locked in their office unavailable. The Clinic director would come and go as she pleased but everyone else needed to be present during business hours.

What was the work place culture like?
Clique-y. The Clinic Director and Lead BCBA were best buddies who looked out for each other but not anyone else. Other employees tended to group together based on who they were hired with. Older CBT's were friends and newer CBT's were friends. They preached "family work environment" but didn't show it. 

What was the hardest part of the job?
Dealing with management. Everything got to the clinic director and died there. Concerns would be brought up but were not taken seriously. Concerns would be ignored in the hopes they would go away on their own. When the Concerns would be brought directly to HR they were still not resolved and there was no follow up.

What was the most enjoyable part of the job?
Hands down working with the kids! Seeing their progress and growth made it so we could stick out the bad management but it all eventually catches up with you....

This was definitely the most stressful place I have ever worked. You do not get enough training - they have you shadow someone for a few days then throw you in. You are responsible for reading each kiddos entire treatment plan during the beginning of each session while simultaneously keeping them busy. You have roughly an hour and a half to get through as much programming as possible and you have to document all of it on tablets that don't even work half the time. The kids are great, but don't work here if you can't handle being bit/punched/scratched/pinched/kicked/spit on daily for not nearly enough pay. I was constantly given attitude and being berated by a lead for doing things the way someone else told me to do them. I absolutely hated the work environment and had panic attacks in my car before going into work each day. The fellow technicians were nice, but a couple of the therapists made going to work unbearable. When Covid became a thing, they didn't care if you had symptoms. They wanted you at work healthy or sick. The turnover is unreal - I was there for maybe 2 months and employees were constantly filtering in and out. This job looks pretty on paper, but the execution is questionable. I ended up quitting because I could not handle the toxic work environment and the stress. You won't last if your heart isn't truly in it. 

I'd recommend the behavioral therapist position for anyone interested in working with youth. The applied behavior analysis therapy principals that I was trained in and implemented ended up being very applicable to the managing the behavior of young toddlers in the nanny position that I landed immediately after the job. You do not need experience with children on the autism spectrum to have this job, but they do train you sufficiently. You kind of jump rght in and it's a little nerve-wracking, but I ended up with some great kids and the families were nice people. The pay is very low, which is probably because it's a very tough job and they have a lot of turnover. If you're looking to learn a lot about psychology and youth, it's a good option, even if it's just a short while. I worked only about 10 hours per week and I had the opportunity to have a 401k. They reimbursed for transportation and I had very passionate and communicative supervisors. After a while it became a little challenging, and I ended up quitting before my first year was up, but I still am so happy I took the position. It was a good experience.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Behavior technician 565 salaries reported	$19.32 per hour
Board certified behavior analyst 271 salaries reported	$87,071 per year
Registered behavior technician 41 salaries reported	$21.03 per hour
Scheduler 10 salaries reported	$21.98 per hour
Clinical director 17 salaries reported	$101,066 per year

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