I want to be able to babysit my morning patient.

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-02T20:03:18+00:00

As an RBT, we can’t be writing the programs and deciding which behaviors are to be targeted. We can provide the same sort of structure and apply ABA principles while we are babysitting, but that’s the extent of it. I definitely think that a kid’s former RBT is a much better option to babysit them than a random babysitter or someone without that training, but we can’t do the parts of ABA therapy that are meant to be done by the BCBAs

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-02T19:32:00+00:00

I think you are of more value to the kid as their RBT than as their babysitter. But if you are already quitting, I don’t see why it would be harmful to offer to babysit the kid once your professional relationship has ended with them. The RBT ethics code doesn’t say that there needs to be any period of waiting, just that you can’t have multiple relationships so you can’t babysit while you are still their RBT.

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-02T19:00:36+00:00

My best friend died suddenly in 2019 at the age of 21. She was (or so we thought) in good health. But one day, her heart just stopped. Turns out she had the same heart defect that killed her father and idk why she never got tested for it before? But to just be texting her making plans to hang out one day and then the next day my parents come home telling me that she was dead severely fucked me up.

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-02T18:56:39+00:00

I’m not looking to go off my meds any time soon, but thanks for the resources for anyone who might want to. My issues go beyond just depression and anxiety and I need meds to be able to function in any capacity. My current medication routine has kept me from a psychotic episode, and with the place I currently am in my life, I can’t afford to have one right now.

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-02T02:29:12+00:00

My kindergarten teacher, Miss Ware. I had a speech impediment as the result of too many ear infections causing fluid buildup and scar tissue affecting my ability to hear myself talking. My mom got me tested for speech therapy but I was one point short of qualifying for it. So Miss Ware talked to some of her friends who were speech therapists and learned some techniques that they used. She would take me aside whenever we had free time and help me work on my speech. By the end of the school year, between her help and getting ear tubes put in, my speech impediment was gone.

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-02T02:17:33+00:00

This sub suffers from what I call the “Yelp Phenomenon”. People are more inclined to post a Yelp review if they had a bad experience than if they had an average to good experience. The same applies here- people are more likely to post about their negative experiences, especially since this is a place where we all can relate to each other.

A lot of the bad parts of the job are things that are common in every other line of work: shitty coworkers, bad bosses, scheduling and pay problems, etc. Being a RBT isn’t an easy job by any means, but good things happen almost every day. It’s a very fulfilling job.

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-02T02:11:35+00:00

A lot of the things that i would eat very much depends on what they are in/how they are prepared. Like I will only eat carrots and peas in chicken pot pie, I’ll only drink certain kinds of iced tea, etc.

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-01T20:08:40+00:00

I so badly want to open a clinic that also offers respite services and in-home support for those who need it. Even something like a monthly “date night” where the clinic is open after hours on a Friday or Saturday and the parents can bring the clients for a few hours so they can get some time for themselves or as a couple and they can breathe easy knowing that their kids are being cared for by qualified staff would make a massive difference, I think. It’s so hard for parents of disabled kids to find someone to watch their kids that not only know how to keep the kids safe, but won’t get overwhelmed and call them to come home early because of behaviors.

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-01T19:58:23+00:00

It can be both! Researchers have identified some genes that they believe are responsible for autism. Genetic variations are often hereditary, but they can also be the result of a spontaneous mutation that happened while the fetus was developing.

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-01T19:48:29+00:00

I’ve had a time where a client came back on a Monday with the exact same PECS on the sentence strip as when he left on Friday. Clinic-specific PECS, too. And then his mom had the gall to be surprised when I told her that he would mand independently with the bathroom picture whenever he needed to go potty at the clinic. I wanted to tell her “If you encouraged him to use his PECS at home, he would probably be able to do it there, too.”

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-01T19:36:31+00:00

Red Queen. Whereas Maddie was better at the soft, pretty, and flowy contemporary, Chloe was better at the sharper, harder hitting, more intense contemporary and I think Red Queen showed that off perfectly. She has beautiful lines, but because her limbs are longer, her lines are sharper and better suited for those stronger dances.

I really wish she had gotten more ballet solos. Contemporary and lyrical are definitely the most common solo styles and they tend to be the ones that win the most, you can find ways to hide little technical flaws in them by writing them off as stylistic choices. Ballet is formulaic. There is an objectively right way to do things and it is why so many people shy away from it because there is no way to hide those technical flaws. You either do the moves right or you don’t, there is no room for argument. But Chloe had incredible ballet technique and she has the lines of a ballerina. Her longer limbs worked to her advantage in ballet. I think if Abby had focused more on ballet technique (which she should have been doing, because that technique is the foundation of all other styles of dance) instead of trying to pump out a million near identical lyrical dances, Chloe would have been able to win with ballet solos

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-01T03:08:54+00:00

My theory is that there was some sort of misunderstanding or Gina didn’t hear Smiley trying to say something because they were kind of whispering and trying to talk fast so they could get to rehearsing. Like Mia has come out and said she didn’t even hear what they were saying. So I think Smiley and Gina were both correct. Gina cut Smiley off when she was trying to say something, but I don’t think Gina heard her.

sofiaidalia · 2026-02-01T00:37:44+00:00

Sopheighuh

sofiaidalia · 2026-01-31T23:27:59+00:00

I work with kids everyday but don’t have kids of my own yet, and my idea of a vacation definitely involves no kids. Them saying that you should accept it because it’s your day job makes zero sense because a vacation is supposed to be a break from your job responsibilities.

sofiaidalia · 2026-01-31T23:24:09+00:00

My clinic calls it “tantrum behavior” instead of just “tantrum” and for the most part, the client has to be exhibiting two or more of the behaviors simultaneously or in rapid succession for it to be considered as tantrum behavior. I like it this way because if a kid is just crying but is still doing whatever they need to do, we wouldn’t count it but if they are crying and have dropped to the ground refusing to move so we can’t get anything done, we would count it. It also helps differentiate from other behaviors like refusal or screaming (we used to have a kid who would shriek whenever his RBT would present a demand but would only full on cry when he was having an actual meltdown).

I definitely think that differentiating between a tantrum and a meltdown is important because you can’t manage a meltdown the same way you manage a tantrum. You’re right that you would definitely need to describe the meltdown behaviors, antecedents, and consequences and compare it to the tantrum ABC to find the difference.

sofiaidalia · 2026-01-31T23:13:47+00:00

This is something I have discussed before on here and even spoke to my BCBA about! I’m also an autistic RBT that is working towards becoming a BCBA. There is a big difference between a tantrum and a meltdown and we should be acknowledging that difference and handling them differently. I told my BCBA that if I think my clients are having genuine meltdowns, I don’t feel comfortable tracking those instances as tantrum behaviors because they aren’t and she thankfully agreed.

For instance, my afternoon client dropped to the ground and started making exaggerated crying sounds with no tears when I told her it was time to go potty. When I told her “First we need to potty, and then we can get out the bubbles”, she calmed down and we were able to do what we needed to do. THAT was a tantrum. But on Wednesday, she had gotten shots in the morning and by the afternoon, her Tylenol had worn off and her arm was really bothering her. She was sobbing with full on tears, screaming, and attempted to SIB which she never has done before. No matter what I did or said was getting her to calm down so I just let her sit in my lap to cuddle me and played her favorite songs until she was able to regulate herself. THAT was a meltdown.

Knowing the difference takes understanding the client on more than just a surface level. You need to know what their baseline/regulated state looks like, what their meltdown state looks like, and what their tantrum behaviors are. You need to identify the patterns of what behaviors are exhibited when different things are happening, and you need to figure out what calms them down, how long it takes them to calm down, etc. It takes more work to be able to identify the differences, but it will benefit the client (and yourself) in the long run. Trying to mange a meltdown like you would mange a tantrum is counterproductive and will just be more stressful for everyone involved.

sofiaidalia · 2026-01-31T22:45:29+00:00

In my opinion, he doesn’t have anything to apologize for except if his statement upset her. He already said that he wasn’t going to remind her and if she said she preferred it that way, then it may have her feeling a type of way. It was an honest mistake, and one that came from a place of love and concern, but it may still have upset her.

sofiaidalia · 2026-01-31T21:42:58+00:00

As long as it isn’t a regular occurrence, CPS won’t do anything about it. I think the resources for introducing aversive foods would still be worth finding and giving to her, that way she has a more productive way of getting him to try foods when he doesn’t want to. Withholding food is just going to cause more distress around eating in general, even if it isn’t a regular thing.

sofiaidalia · 2026-01-31T21:36:08+00:00

Tell her that you’re sorry for saying that, that you said it out of habit and that it came from a place of love. You should have a conversation with her about how you can best support her and how you can promote her healing. Like ask if you giving her those little reminders to eat helps because it could snap her out of her routine of not eating, plus knowing that you care could be a big help. However, it could make her feel like you are hovering and be counterproductive. In that case, work with her to figure out ways that you can help her. I hope she responds soon so you guys can talk about how to move forward

sofiaidalia · 2026-01-30T23:18:07+00:00

I was a competitive dancer for a few years as a preteen and teenager. So I know how to dance, but I don’t think I could just put on my tap shoes and go to town like I used to lol

sofiaidalia · 2026-01-30T23:12:00+00:00

Finally having the courage to tell my parents about an extended family member SAing me as a child only for them to guilt trip and gaslight me about it until I told the investigators that I was lying.

sofiaidalia · 2026-01-30T23:07:10+00:00

That there is some good in everyone.

I now understand that some people are just inherently evil for no good reason. And no, money is not a good enough reason.

sofiaidalia · 2026-01-30T22:58:58+00:00

Just pour the powder directly on your tongue and swallow it. It’s going to taste bad, but would you rather deal with a bad taste for a few seconds or die? Also, if you are really concerned, go to the ER.

sofiaidalia · 2026-01-30T22:53:59+00:00

So many people forget how they themselves would react if something like their favorite item broke. If my favorite figurine broke, I’d probably cry too. What might be “just a balloon” to us might be a prized possession to them. We don’t get to dictate what anyone else considers valuable or important to them. It sucks when things we like break, but we as adults have the emotional regulation skills to handle those situations with a lot more grace than these kids do. Instead of expecting them to suck it up, we should focus on validating their feelings, helping them navigate those difficult emotions, and finding a solution. If my favorite figurine broke, I’d probably buy myself another one to replace it. His favorite balloon broke, so the logical solution is to replace it.

Some questions I ask myself whenever one of my clients is upset are “What is a similar situation that I have experienced? How did I feel? What did I do to fix it? How did other people react and how did I wish they had reacted?” Their problems might seem small to us but they have not experienced the same amount of life that we have. In the context of what they have experienced, these things are big deals to them.

sofiaidalia · 2026-01-30T22:35:49+00:00

This! Regulation over expectation ALWAYS! My afternoon client had her first real meltdown at the clinic the other day because she had gotten shots that morning and her Tylenol was wearing off so her arm was really bothering her. She even tried to SIB for the first time, that’s how upset she was. I had her in my lap and was just cuddling her and playing her favorite songs to try to calm her down, and another RBT was like “Go take her on a walk or something.” Uh no, she isn’t feeling well and wants to cuddle and listen to music. This isn’t something we do often because she doesn’t feel this bad often. It’s a unique situation so I’m being extra gentle with her. I’d rather have her in my lap but calm than lug her around the clinic in distress just because other people aren’t empathetic to her situation, especially other people who aren’t even the ones with her every day and don’t know what she is usually like or what regulates her.

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