aba therapist

behavioral therapist

behavior technician

registered behavior technician

technician

Lovaas-Institute

Let me start by saying that I do think this company provides exceptional programming to their clients. That being said, it is a terrible place to work.

First of all, in order to be considered “full time,” you need to be available 8-6:30, 5 days a week. Need to get off at 3 on Wednesday’s to watch your son’s baseball games? Part time. Need to start at 9 because you have to drop your kids off at daycare? Part time.

Now, you don’t actually work from 8-6:30 every day. Mostly your schedule will be something like: session from 8-12, meeting from 12-2, long gap....session from 4:30-6:30. Every day.

On top of that, you will likely have clients up to an hour drive from your house...meaning you will be gone from your house from 7am to 7:30pm most days. 

As for the job itself, that depends on who you are. Expect to be running around with kids without any breaks for hours. Some people are able to do this, some people can’t. And expect to be watched. A lot. Supervisors do “overlaps” which is them sitting in your session 3x each week for 2 hours watching you work and then telling you what you are doing wrong.

If you want to advance, you need a masters degree.

If sessions are cancelled, you still get paid (so long as you are full-time. See above.) but you are expected to make up those hours later. When exactly? Usually on the weekends. 

With all these demands, you would probably expect that you’d get a lot of money for this job and at least some recognition for your dedication? Not the case. In fact the people who make these terrible schedules often tell staff to quit complaining...while they work 9-5. From home. 

There are some upsides. And that is all with the clients and families. You meet some great kids and some great parents. Unfortunately, you will get burned out very quickly and won’t be able to give them the consistency they need.

I recommend a different job...  less

Let me start by saying that I do think this company provides exceptional programming to their clients. That being said, it is a terrible place to work.

First of all, in order to be considered “full time,” you need to be available 8-6:30, 5 days a week. Need to get off at 3 on Wednesday’s to watch your son’s baseball games? Part time. Need to start at 9 because you have to drop your kids off at daycare? Part time.

Now, you don’t actually work from 8-6:30 every day. Mostly your schedule will be something like: session from 8-12, meeting from 12-2, long gap....session from 4:30-6:30.  Every day.

On top of that, you will likely have clients up to an hour drive from your house...meaning you will be gone from your house from 7am to 7:30pm most days.  

As for the job itself, that depends on who you are. Expect to be running around with kids without any breaks for hours. Some people are able to do this, some people can’t.  And expect to be watched. A lot. Supervisors do “overlaps” which is them sitting in your session 3x each week for 2 hours watching you work and then telling you what you are doing wrong.

If you want to advance, you need a masters degree.

If sessions are cancelled, you still get paid (so long as you are full-time. See above.) but you are expected to make up those hours later. When exactly? Usually on the weekends. 

With all these demands, you would probably expect that you’d get a lot of money for this job and at least some recognition for your dedication? Not the case. In fact the people who make these terrible schedules often tell staff to quit complaining...while they work 9-5. From home. 

There are some upsides. And that is all with the clients and families. You meet some great kids and some great parents. Unfortunately, you will get burned out very quickly and won’t be able to give them the consistency they need.

I recommend a different job...

I've been with the company for several years, and it's the best job I've ever had!

I've been able to learn so much not just about ASD, but behavior as a whole. Being able to play with the kids makes you feel like a kid again! Many of the people I've worked with, whether supervisors or supervisees, have been nothing but positive and open. We all have the same shared purpose with this job, and we're all in it together to help our kids live the best life possible!

Working this job is a great learning experience. Lovaas strives to provide the best ABA services available, and the staff are able to implement the highest quality services that ABA has to offer. I've been able to apply what I've learned about ABA with the families I serve, and seeing the progress being made with the kids with various skills is heartwarming and inspiring.

One of the best parts of this job is being able to see firsthand the diversity of people with ASD, as well as how families interact with their children. I've worked with many different kids and families since being with the company, and no two families are alike! In fact, I've worked with families with multiple kids in our program, and they're all different, too! I've learned so much about ASD, as well as the cultural backgrounds of the families we serve. 

I'm very glad I have the experience to work with this company. I wouldn't be the person I am if I didn't work here.

If you love spending time with kids, enjoy being goofy, and being part of their progress, then you will love this job! I get such job satisfaction seeing the progress my clients make, gaining new and important life-long skills! I also love that most of the parents/caregivers are very involved in their child's therapy. I have continued to build my behavior therapist skills working at Lovaas, and I credit that to constructive feedback provided by higher level therapists or supervisors. Even though you don't see other staff in person very frequently, weekly team meetings allow to you still build a connection with other staff, and ensure that everyone is on the same page in regards to the child's programming. I feel very supported by supervisors as well. 

The only real down-side I would say is as a behavior therapist you do need to have availability for 10+ hours, three days a week (8am-6:30pm) to achieve full-time status, and occasionally there can be an hour or two breaks in between sessions. However, the bigger gaps between sessions hasn't been something that frequent for me. 







Lovaas is a great company to work for.  Staff and supervisors work collaboratively and training is provided to make sure everyone is comfortable with their work duties.  There are opportunities to advance.  It is a rewarding job as we get to see first-hand the progress that children make.  
A typical day at work involves engaging in reinforcement to motivate the clients to work, implementing a trial or task, and delivering the reinforcement when successful.  We teach a variety of skills from self-care to fine motor to language and much more.  We provide behavior therapy for interfering behaviors and teach the prerequisite skills for school.    
I've learned a great deal at this company, and I am in the process of becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.  This job has turned into a career.
Behaviors can be challenging at times, but the overall process that clients make are what make this job worth it.  Supervisors provide the training needed to give the support to handle any situation.  
Staff and supervisors work well together and many staff members spend time together outside of work.  
Lovaas is a great company to work for.  I thoroughly enjoy it. 


A typical day as a behavior therapist at Lovaas includes going to two or three clients houses per day. Each client has a 1-2 hour meeting every week (usually done from home). Some clients can live 30-45 mins away from each other. I had to do oil changes on my car every three-four weeks. They only give you (I think) $44 every two weeks for gas reimbursement (you are paid by the hour for driving but it definitely doesn't cover all the wear on your car and gas). I had a family that was very rude to me while I was there. I was very uncomfortable to be in their home. No one ever asked me how I was doing, if I was comfortable with my clients, etc. The other two families I worked with were amazing. They were the reason I stayed as long as I did. They do pay better than most other company's, but I still struggled to make bills. They are very understanding about needing to call in and don't ask for an explanation. Very understanding about not feeling comfortable driving in unstable weather conditions. Good job to have out of college, but you can get burnt out fast.

My experience with the Lovaas Institute Midwest has been tremendous. This company has assisted in my professional development in the field of ABA, through supervised fieldwork and educational support during my Masters program. The work is not always easy, based on clientele, but challenges and concerns are typically addressed with immediacy by clinical supervisors and directors. There is also opportunities for advancement in the company, which is not typically filled by outside parties - they prioritize their current employees and focus on their abilities to fulfill open positions. Overall, the most enjoyable part of the job is watching your clients succeed and progress towards beneficial outcomes. 

This company has been one of the best ABA companies I've worked for. They have a thorough training program and ensure new therapists feel confident in program implementation and an understanding of basic ABA principles. They create a very positive work environment between both the team and the client/family. The satisfaction you get from working with these clients is the most amazing feeling in the world. They are fairly competitive with compensation and have very good benefits. There is room for growth if you are inclined to move up in the field of ABA. There is lots of support from superiors and they are willing to provide extra training in areas if it is needed. They also offer work on the weekends if you would like a different weekly schedule than the typical Monday through Friday. The downsides are the travel time to clients and this can change throughout your employment as well as the gaps between clients which can vary drastically. 

Lovaas institute is an incredibly supportive company with great people who are always happy to help out and be understanding of any personal events or issues that may impede your ability/availability to work. They far exceed the supervision requirements and will be present in-person as much as possible while allowing you to go at your own pace and thoroughly answering any questions you may have. From the supervisors to the BTs, everyone I’ve worked with has been a pleasure to be around.

The hardest part of the job would be communication, though this is somewhat unavoidable given the high levels of family involvement which leads to different rules and expectations with each client, so sometimes things may be unclear, but staff are always happy to answer any questions you may have.

Despite this fairly minor “issue”, Lovaas is a great place to work at. I have no regrets joining and look forward to my future with Lovaas.

While RBT work was not my intended field of work, I've really come to enjoy the job and the people I work with. The company treats its employees VERY WELL. Pay is competitive with other companies out there.

Scheduling is flexible and as long as you know the days you need off in advance of the schedule release (earlier is always better, obviously), there's usually few issues. Unless its a popular day to take off. Communication throughout is also very good. There are "on calls" in the schedule which really depends on how you feel about that, but its not too bad as long as you're prepared to go in that morning. Hours tend to be lighter when there's no school, so keep that in mind.

I highly recommend working with this team. They take care of their employees and the clients. They work in school/camps, in home, and occasionally have community outings with clients (with additional training). A lot of team members are here for the long term and they support the continued education of employees by fulfilling client-based training.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Aba therapist 10 salaries reported	$23.70 per hour
Behavioral therapist 5 salaries reported	$24.30 per hour
Behavior technician 3 salaries reported	$22.33 per hour
Registered behavior technician 1 salary reported	$20.00 per hour
Technician 10 salaries reported	$19.80 per hour

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