special education teacher

board certified behavior analyst

registered behavior technician

special needs advocate

direct support professional

The Learning Tree, Inc.

The best part about this job is that we get to be an instrumental part of each child's life in helping them reach their full potential, despite their disability. There have been several children who do not talk when they first start receiving services. With the help of the Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) and the Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), some children start to talk by the time they leave our program. It is hard work, but very rewarding to see this outcome! Even if some patients do not learn to speak, they often learn other ways to communicate, such as a picture system or communication device. The supervisors also work with the parents 1:1 to help the parents learn skills as well. As someone who has a family member with autism, the work we do doesn't just impact the child, but it greatly impacts the family unit as a whole, more than we will ever know. 

I also really appreciate the new changes in management, and the willingness to change when things are not working operationally. Changes that I have seen made that have been appreciated by everyone include: guaranteed retention raises annually for RBTs, the option to have guaranteed hours or have a higher hourly pay, paid training, improvement of physical clinic space (renovations, purchasing new materials), and working to provide staff breaks more often. Another change is an increase in the time the BCBA spends with each patient. This helps the patients to make more progress as well as the RBTs to feel better supported throughout the therapy journey for each patient. I have also seen several RBTs who have been promoted to other positions in the program, such as Lead RBT and Office Manager. Finally, the benefits do not compare to other companies in this industry and the time off allowed is usually sufficient to cover illness or time off needed for errands or vacations, as long as you use the time responsibly. 

This job gives you good experience and trains you in a number of useful things if you plan on having a career in a medical field or with special needs individuals. However, it comes at the risk of your physical and mental health. I enjoyed the people I worked with, I had a good team of people at my side, however, being at the group home with the children was some of the most stressful moments as you never know what kind of day you might have. You could have a wonderful stress-free day or come home with bite marks, scratches, bruises or long-term injuries. I still have scars from my time at this job. I loved the children I got to work with, they were so much fun to be around, however I feel that myself and the others hired with me got the short end of the stick when it came to management preparing the group home necessities, medications, and background knowledge needed to have a stable start to opening a new home. I feel that things could've been planned better in every way, and if so they might have kept a lot more staff from quitting. I genuinely did not want to leave this job, but to be getting hurt several times a week, sometimes several times a day, and only getting paid $7.50 an hour (when I was originally told it would be $8.00) did not seem worth it to me anymore. I loved my coworkers and my students, but I had to put my financial needs, and my own wellbeing above everything. I hope this job works out the kinks and learns from poor planning, because at the end of the day the kids are effected the most by staff coming and going.

The Learning Tree children are the main reason The Learning Tree exists. If everyone keeps in mind why they are working there, then they never lose sight of their purpose. The children of the Tree have challenging behaviors, which is why they are there in the first place. With that being said, they deserve a chance at a higher quality of life just like everyone else which is what The Learning Tree strives to provide. Behaviors include hitting, biting, punching, etc. but they are mostly out of frustration or lack of the ABILITY to communicate due to their disability. It is a tough job, but you are made aware of that during your first two weeks of training. When you stick it out and witness a child go from entry with severe behaviors, to a child that is graduating after having so many memorable milestones met, then you realize why you were meant to be there to help them along. That is the most rewarding part. There are bonuses, lots of benefits, etc, but the best part is the kids, hands down. A lot of the kids don't have family support services so they rely on staff to be their 'extended family'. Most people who are leaving negative reviews obviously didn't understand their significance in the children's lives. I appreciate the Tree and their role they play in the lives of special needs children and their families who need extra supports. 

My typical day starts with greeting those I work with daily. I have an opportunity to make an impact on everyone I come in contact with at The Learning Tree. I try to make a positive imprint with each individual I speak with which includes those I work with and the individuals I serve. I am given a task to ensure I provide care for individuals with significant learning disabilities and behavioral barriers. I love my job, and I love the people I work with daily. The workplace culture overall is positive. This job is not a sit down and play on your phone job. It is a place where you engage and interact with those around you and sometimes it can be challenging. The hardest part of the job is encouraging everyone to have the same goal and remain on the same page for those we serve. The most enjoyable part of my job is making the difference for those we serve and completing goals with my colleagues. I am a true believer in teamwork, and I believe in supporting others. On the flip side I think everyone should provide assistance and help out where needed. This is not a one man show you need help from others to be successful. I love to see when an individual I serve gets the task we have been working on. 

The job as a whole is AWFUL!!! They do not care care about the staff at all. The Learning Tree sweeps important matters under the rug as if it does not matter. It’s a lot of things that happens behind those doors that if one was living in the community would be put in jail for! They have students there that literally beat up the staff sending staff to the hospital and the management cares nothing about it. They house individuals who should be in a detention center instead! You will work tirelessly amount of hours in order to see a nice pay check, want a raise? This is not the place for that! It’s employees there who have been there for 13+ years and only have gotten at most $1 raise. They say they don’t have money for a raise, but in all actuality they are taking the money themselves! Abuse happens in the facility and they just move the clients around from house to house and the cycle starts over( this is client on client behavior) Overall this is a horrible place to work for and I can’t stress enough of how unappreciative this place is. If you have family members that reside here you should definitely get them out IMMEDIATELY. The residential department is the only caring department when it comes to the staff and clients. 

I have worked at TLT for ten years, and I can honestly say I have never even considered looking for another job during that time. This company truly cares about its employees. In my current role with the School Consultation and Collaboration Program, I feel consistently supported through the resources, training, and flexibility that allow me to maintain a healthy work–life balance. One of the highlights of working at TLT is the amazing team of fellow BCBAs on the school consultation team. I frequently collaborate with them on challenging situations, and their expertise, support, and willingness to brainstorm solutions make even the most complex cases manageable and rewarding. While some days are challenging due to the needs of the students I serve, I do not view that as a “hard part” of working at TLT. Instead, I appreciate having the autonomy to plan my schedule in a way that best supports my students and allows me to be effective in my role. Overall, TLT has been an exceptional place to work, and I am grateful to be part of a company that values both its staff and the communities we serve.

The work can be pretty difficult.  You are pretty much guaranteed to get hurt at least once in working with the kids.  Management is disorganized and there is a lot of favoritism.  Direct care staff tend to either really hate or really love each other.  Good co-workers can be really helpful at times though.  The hardest part of the job is not knowing what management will tell you from day to day.  One day what your doing can be totally fine, the next you may receive a write up for it.  There is also the nerve wrecking idea that at any time without any warning or consideration, you might get "moved" to another group home or child. There is also the factor that they are notorious for slapping an "abuse and neglect" on your record for just about anything they can (you may have never displayed any of this at all). Overall, it's really a lot of stress and hard work for such little pay.  You cannot really move up or get raises unless you accumulate college credit, even then there is only so much they will allow you to make. They don't offer any annual raises or promotions no matter how long you have been there.  The very best part of the job is getting to know and interact with the kids regularly.

Kids are the only positive thing there. Place is so under staffed. Kids need more 1 on 1 supervision. Management always lie to you to get what they need from you. They bend the rules to benefit them. Good people get fired over stupid stuff and then people are still working there that should of been fired. Some employees esp in management position is to friendly with the residents.  Nothing will ever change there. They put on a good front and under investigations a lot. Best thing that you can do is pray for this place. It needs total clean up starting with top people and management. You can make good money and work a lot overtime. But it is not worth it or safe or even healthy for your mental state. It is a very toxic work environment. Management treat people horrible. And if you complain on your supervisor it only makes your job harder. I can go on and on.  Best thing that happen to me was being let go fr
om the tree. I didn't realize how miserable I was. If you have a big heart then you don't need to even try to start working here. 

I don’t even know where to begin. If you are looking for a job was good leadership and a place that you will feel appreciated you have come to the wrong place. There is a lot of drama. They are now under new leadership and it is only getting worse. You are no longer allowed to leave for lunch so if you forget your lunch be prepared to spend $30 on DoorDash. It seems that the two in charge don’t speak to each other so there’s a lot of confusion.  you will not get a break during the day unless it is to go to the bathroom. You have to eat lunch with your patient. they have now began writing RBTs up for minor infractions. And when they do write you up, do not expect any communication about when you will be able to come back. if you are even a minute late you will be written up and could lose your job regardless of the traffic situation. There are a lot of double standards and a lot of people getting in trouble for stuff that other people could get away with. 
There is a reason they are short staffed. 
It is nice to build relationships with the patients but there are a lot of other clinics. 

A typical day at the Learning Tree is anything but typical. You never quite know how your day will start or end. All the children at the Tree have severe disabilities and Autism. It was very challenging yet rewarding at the same time. Most of the time you were require to chart on targeted behaviors, and if it was a good day perhaps you could go on a scheduled outing, such as going to the grocery store, to the park, or maybe to a school sporting event. Youalso were require to assist with hygiene and activities of daily living. The children were integrated into the community as much as possible.I learned that you can learn from someone who is differently able. The management was great. The hardest part of the job was having to do the restraints, the most enjoyable part was just being with the children

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Special education teacher 17 salaries reported	$57,206 per year
Board certified behavior analyst 11 salaries reported	$62,559 per year
Registered behavior technician 3 salaries reported	$16.00 per hour
Special needs advocate 16 salaries reported	$23.00 per hour
Direct support professional 12 salaries reported	$15.00 per hour

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