clinical assistant

speech language pathologist

classroom assistant

direct support professional

assistant teacher

Kennedy Krieger Institute

I kid you not as soon as I came in I seen that it was about to be a difficult job. Not because of the students even though that is a very challenging part of the job but because of management and the teachers. Nothing is really explained to you. They just tell you to read the kids BIP(like that’s supposed to help when you are brand new). They will give you a student that’s known to be aggressive even when you are not PCM trained. The other staff and teachers that is PCM trained will just watch someone that’s not PCM trained getting beat up and won’t step in to help. Luckily I was moved to a classroom that had a fantastic teacher and assistant teacher that helped even when you was PCM trained. But I got lucky with that. Once you get PCM trained you will learn some de-escalation techniques but not enough. Each student have their own triggers and you don’t become properly trained on calming them down. You don’t get any breaks. You have to eat with the kids even if the classroom fully staffed. Some of the teachers will yell at staff and belittle them. The teachers transport the kids all day for any little reason. I literally seen kids getting transported for having a temper tantrum and sometimes you have to assist in the transport. The teacher didn’t like that the student wasn’t following directions. That is not a legal reasons for a transport and if the parent would’ve found that out you can find yourself in legal trouble but if you say no you can get fired. The reason you can get fired is because the managers will take the teacher side over yours. The pay is horrible. Sick time take a long time to add up. And if you come in contact with someone that have Covid you can’t come in until a negative test come back and they won’t pay you for it if it come back negative. Even if the contact happened at work. The only good thing about this job is the kids but those kids don’t grow at this school all Kennedy want is the money they get per kid. The job description say you help the kid grow socially but that’s not true because as soon as the kid turn around to talk to a friend or get up to see what a friend is doing during earn time the teachers run over and force them back in their seat. Some of the kids is more academically advance but unless it’s a teacher that cares they will still be learning things that’s years under their learning capabilities. This place is terrible. I wish parents will stop putting them in this school. They say they will listen to your concerns about the kids but they dont. The CAs or 1:1 aren’t there to support the kids we are there to babysit. The school meetings the CAs have to attend is a joke. It’s no future training or tips on the meetings. It’s just staff shoutouts for the same people, the so called great things KKI is doing, and the things the CAs are doing wrong. Professional development day for the CAs is just rearranging classrooms and making the kids binders. It’s no development for the CAs. It’s a reason people get hired then quit within weeks or just a couple months.  

My overall experience was very draining and honestly wished I applied to another role instead of the intended role I was hired for. I have no energy to go into every single detail about my awful experience. However, I would just say please be mindful of the role and department you will be working at. I do not believe that my experience would be the same at a different campuses, role or department. I experienced a not so pleasant, disorganized and unprofessionalism with my department. This organization should be very mindful of who they place as leader for the departments and not just move someone up in a supervisory role because they have been there for a lot of years. Truly nothing I can say in my review could possibly change how things are done. My only advice is just to be mindful of  when you apply to whichever role, trust your first instincts during the interview, and ask a lot of questions during the interview. Based on my experience, I can see why this organization has the bad reputation it does. I hope for the sake of the population KKI focuses on, they really revamp and focus on the staff members that they place to run a department. I truly wished that I applied to multiple roles with KKI, instead of just one because I truly would have been able to do multiple interviews to then see which role, campus and team could be the best fit for me.  I wish I went with my gut feeling before accepting the offer and not declining other opportunities for this place. I am just relieved that I left my role, KKI and able to work in a better environment. No place, job, organization and etc is perfect. However, you should always speak up when things don't look or feel right. I believe my department did not understand the basic structure plan when new members come on board, it felt unprepared and disorganized and that is not conducive for anyone. 

I worked at Kennedy Krieger for a year and some change. The benefit of full tuition reimbursement, at the time, seemed like a great reason to take on the opportunity but the pay compared to the amount of work you are required to do on the Neurobehavioral Unit (NBU) as a Clinical Assistant is absurd. I was lucky enough to get promoted within 5 months of working there but even with the promotion, I found myself picking up as much as an extra 40hours per week of overtime just to make sure that my checks were above 1,000 to make ends meet. 

Even though the pay was not good, what kept me going was my awesome co-workers and their ability to lighten up the atmosphere even in the midst of chaos or managing aggressive problem behavior. We have a strong sense of "family" and being a "team-player" on the  NBU that is quite hard to find anywhere else. Next to my co-workers the kids were also a big part and being able to be apart of changing their lives meant everything.

However, after a while, you get burnt out and you realize that you have to find something better elsewhere because unless if you plan on fostering a future and/or career in ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) I would suggest that you look for work elsewhere. This job is NOT...I repeat...is NOT for everyone. It's not a cake walk in the park and majority of the day is comprised of you being active with your assigned child for the day. Whether its handling an aggressive burst of problem behavior(which may include bites, slaps to the face/body, kicks, punches and/or hits), toileting, bathing, or even interacting with your kid; you are ALWAYS active on the job.

At the end of the day, the NBU offers great benefits. However, the sacrifices you have to make for them will slowly but surely have you looking elsewhere.

This job has been an opportunity to get into the field of psychology, and has been a learning experience for me. The clinical assistant position in the Neurobehavioral Unit is one of the most demanding in Kennedy Krieger. The patient/staff ratio is 1:1 and you have to stay within 3 feet of the patient at all times. You implement patient specific protocols, calculate behavioral data in 10 min and 30 minute intervals, and you protect the patient from hurting themselves. Most of the children are nonverbal, lower functioning, and extremely aggressive and/or self-injurious. I have learned a lot about the autism spectrum, how ABA and components of behavioral psychology are implemented, and have also learned a lot more patience and different ways of engaging patients. Some of the management is wonderful. They are always helpful when you are having a difficult time with the child, and they teach you different ways of doing things that might be more effective. Others are not so wonderful. Some are very micro managing, and do not jump in when they see you struggling. They are very quick to write you up instead of just showing or telling you the proper way of doing things. The hardest part of the job is constantly having to be near and handle a child that is very strong and extremely aggressive toward you and always having to be on edge and prepared for anything. The most enjoyable part of the job is seeing a drastic reduction in problem behaviors among the children after intense care and treatment over a course of a few months.

KKI has lost so many talented SLPs in the last 2+ years that it has to beg for them in print ads now (LOL), and since it's CF season and I did my CF there, I thought I would share why should absolutely not choose to work there:
- they say the salaries are competetive, and maybe they are to someone working in a public school, but you'll never be able to negotiate a raise or a promotion. What you get upon entry is what you make until they tell you otherwise.
- Management is filled with monsters who have rage attacks at the slightest hint of criticism directed at them, which is the reason why their department is failing. They can NEVER be wrong, meaning you can never bring up a problem to them. Trust me, you don't want to deal with that.
- Workload is ridiculous depending on your role. Based on what I've written, I'll let you guess if anyone will modify it if it's interfering with your work-life balance (NO!)
- The micromanagement is some of the most extreme in the entire field of SLP. CFs have all reports and documentation scrutinized by a supervisor, as do new hires, for over 6 months. Many evals and other sessions are judged by supervisors in-person for an excessive amount of time. Is some of the feedback helpful? Sure. But it's a huge impediment to your autonomy and you're never fully independent. This is something they are overt about within the institute.

So SLPs, just dont do it. Why would you want to go somewhere that cant retain any employees and is begging for new ones constantly, yet won't change its culture? IT IS NOT WORTH IT. Respect yourself. Go somewhere else.

I will preface this review by stating all opinions focus on Kennedy Krieger's LEAP Program. I cannot speak on other programs that are provided by Kennedy Krieger. 

Kennedy Krieger's LEAP Program might be useful as a resume filler but it is unsustainable as a lifelong career. The overall work culture is toxic and the burnout is high. Staffing is horrendous and training is not prioritized, which causes a very unsafe environment for staff. They will hire just about anyone and keep people who consistently call out of work/don't show up at all or who simply don't want to want to work at all. This leaves people who do want to be there working with the most difficult kids every day because we are constantly down staff. 

You receive no breaks throughout the day and the pay is extremely low for what you will go through. The days can be long and tiring and you will be put in difficult situations with virtually no support from admin or other staff. 

The environment is very cliquey. If you do not understand something or do something incorrectly, you will be talked about. There is a level of unfairness throughout the program as well. Some individuals have very low workloads and are still assigned to the easier kids each day. 

As far as serving the students, nothing really seems to get done. We are just checking boxes and constantly putting out fires instead of making any progress with these kids. Overall, I would not recommend working here even as a resume filler. This place will break you and push you away from special education entirely.

A typical day involves "being on" from the moment the students arrive until after they leave. After the students leave, meetings will be scheduled, eating up the little planning time you have. 

If you are a hard, dedicated worker, be prepared to be taken advantage of by management. Management will work you until you are beyond burned out. Management will not explore ways to streamline procedures, improve interoffice communication, or take "lower" employees ideas or concerns into account when making decisions.

Burnout across disciplines, especially those who work directly in the classroom, is no joke. Due to high burnout, high turnover is not surprising and extremely common; new faces (especially amongst classroom staff) are nothing new. There is complete lack of compensation for doing your job and going above and beyond your job is barely acknowledged by management. 

Despite the lackluster job culture/management, poor work/life balance, and despicable excuse for a paycheck, I have learned an incredible amount while at Kennedy Krieger, professionally and personally. (And the benefits really are amazing!) The most enjoyable part of the job is working with the wonderful students who attend Kennedy Krieger School. Building relationships with my students brings me absolute joy and happiness. Working with an interdisciplinary team allows for a unique dynamic and treatment approach of the whole child.

Decent place to work. The pay is terrible and the benefits aren't as good compared to everyone else as they used to be, unless you have kids going to college in about 10 years. But if you're passionate about special education it's kind of a minefield. I was super passionate about education when I started, I have since realized classroom teaching just isn't for me. Part of that process was feeling like some teachers/staff at kennedy are great some absolutely suck. Admin is awesome with encouraging and praising the people who do a good job. The people who suck? Admin basically does nothing, if you work with a teacher who sucks you'll feel like you're trying to force the other person to improve all by yourself and they have no accountability with their supervisor. The most I ever saw was a glorified scolding. I loved almost everyone I worked with some of them were downright great, but I felt like the school wasn't invested in providing a great education. All you were really required to do was case manage the kids enough that they stay in school, do some vaguely on topic lessons most of the time, and aggravate anyone in related services too terribly badly. Good place to work if you're a good fit for them, if you're not you might get sick of it like me.

I love what I do... I really do... However, I can't deal with the management, communication, and they systems in set for the employees at KKI's NBU inpatient unit. I love working with these patients, they are some amazing kids that are working through some tough behaviors that they have. I don't personally mind their behaviors or some injuries (like bites) that I may receive on this job sometimes because I know they are good kids and what I am doing is helping them. However, KKI does not pay the CAs (my position) nearly enough, there is a huge problem with there systems for accessing workspace and my work email, the is also a huge problem about the system and protocols in place for Mandatory Overtime with how it is asked, denial of MO, payment of MO, and so much more I could write a nice size pamphlet. I love what I do so much but I want to quit so bad with how staff is treated and how much it has negatively effected my mental health (patients have not effected it at all). This is not a job that everyone can handle because of the types of patients they have, but they treat us like we are expendable. 

Kennedy Krieger encourages their employees to increase their knowledge with education benefits and also offers free computer training classes in Microsoft Office, Excel, Power Point and Outlook. The person who teaches the classes also provides one on one help with specific needs to help enhance our work, which is really terrific!

Employees are so supportive of one another, like an extended family. Kennedy also provides fun activities such as the annual Halloween costume contest, and fun for the whole family, fund raising activities for example, we just finished Roar for Autism, we host Festival of Trees to name a couple.

It is so easy to feel proud of what we do here in service to the population we serve; children with Neurological, brain and genetic disorders. Everyone works hard to help our kids reach their fullest potential in order to live a more rewarding life. 

As Administrative Assistant to the Cytogenetics Lab, I have learned more than I could have possibly imagined about genetics, chromosomes and DNA testing. My service to the lab has been truly rewarding.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Clinical assistant 1 salary reported	$17.50 per hour
Speech language pathologist 3 salaries reported	$72,167 per year
Classroom assistant 1 salary reported	$20.15 per hour
Direct support professional 1 salary reported	$48,674 per year
Assistant teacher 4 salaries reported	$20.75 per hour

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