The Importance of Professional Discourse for the Continual Advancement of Practice Standards - The RBT® as a Case in Point

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB®) introduced the Registered Behavior Technician (RBT®) credential in 2014 to credential individuals who have direct contact with clients under the supervision of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst®. Rapid adoption followed, with more than 60,000 certified RBTs. The BACB issued a newsletter describing upcoming changes to RBT® certification, including training, supervision, and pathways to become an RBT®. This paper highlights concerns raised by those changes and proposes solutions to improve the RBT® certification process.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose of the paper

Background: BACB certification and demand for qualified professionals

Creation of the RBT® credential

RBT® eligibility requirements

Identified concerns and proposed solutions

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders [https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04631-z](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04631-z) The Importance of Professional Discourse for the Continual Advancement of Practice Standards: The RBT® as a Case in Point Justin B. Leaf1 · Ronald Leaf1 · John McEachin1 · Andy Bondy2 · Joseph H. Cihon1 · Ronnie Detrich3 · John Eshleman4 · Julia L. Ferguson1 · Richard M. Foxx5 · B. J. Freeman6 · Peter Gerhardt7 · Sigrid S. Glenn8 · Megan Miller9 · Christine M. Milne1 · Toby Mountjoy10 · Tracee Parker1 · Joshua Pritchard11 · Robert K. Ross12 · Melissa S. Saunders13 · Todd Streff14 © The Author(s) 2020 Abstract The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB®) created a third level of certification, the Registered Behavior Techni‑ cian™ (RBT®) in 2014. The RBT® was created based upon the requests of stakeholders who wanted to credential those individuals who make direct contact with clients under the supervision of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst® . There has been tremendous growth in the number of RBTs® with over 60,000 individuals certified to date. The BACB® recently sent out a newsletter outlining changes to the RBT® certification, including the processes of training, supervising, and becoming an RBT®. These changes represent a number of potential concerns. The purpose of this paper is to highlight these concerns and to propose solutions to improve the RBT® certification. Keywords Applied behavior analysis · Autism · Behavior Analysis Certification Board® · Registered Behavior Technician™ * Justin B. Leaf [Jblautpar@aol.com](Jblautpar@aol.com) Ronald Leaf [Rlautpar@aol.com](Rlautpar@aol.com) John McEachin [Jmautpar@aol.com](Jmautpar@aol.com) Andy Bondy [abondy@pecs.com](abondy@pecs.com) [Joseph H. Cihon](Joseph H. Cihon) [jcihon@autismpartnership.com](jcihon@autismpartnership.com)[ ](jcihon@autismpartnership.com)Ronnie Detrich [ronniedetrich@gmail.com](ronniedetrich@gmail.com)[ ](ronniedetrich@gmail.com)John Eshleman [jweshleman@aol.com](jweshleman@aol.com) [Julia L. Ferguson](Julia L. Ferguson) [jfergusonautpar@aol.com](jfergusonautpar@aol.com)[ ](jfergusonautpar@aol.com)Richard M. Foxx [hservefoxx@gmail.com](hservefoxx@gmail.com) B. J. Freeman [bjfreeman007@gmail.com](bjfreeman007@gmail.com)[ ](bjfreeman007@gmail.com)Peter Gerhardt [PGerhardt@epicschool.org](PGerhardt@epicschool.org) Sigrid S. Glenn [Sigrid.Glenn@unt.edu](Sigrid.Glenn@unt.edu) Megan Miller [mmillernbc@gmail.com](mmillernbc@gmail.com) Christine M. Milne [Cmautpar@aol.com](Cmautpar@aol.com) Toby Mountjoy [Tobymautpar@aol.com](Tobymautpar@aol.com) Tracee Parker [Tpautpar@aol.com](Tpautpar@aol.com) Joshua Pritchard [Factarijosh@factari.com](Factarijosh@factari.com) Robert K. Ross [bross01757@yahoo.com](bross01757@yahoo.com) Melissa S. Saunders [melissa@creativeinterventions.net](melissa@creativeinterventions.net) Todd Streff [toddstreff@gmail.com](toddstreff@gmail.com) 1 Autism Partnership Foundation, BCBA‑D. 200 Marina Drive, Seal Beach, CA 90740, USA 2 Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc, New Castle, DE, USA 1 3 Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) has been shown to dramatically change the developmental trajectory of children diagnosed with ASD (Eldevik et al. 2012 ; Leaf et al. 2011 ; Lovaas 1987 ; McEachin et al. 1993) . As such, there has been an increasing demand for qualified profes‑ sionals providing EIBI. This has been paralleled with efforts to ensure consumers, or those contacting EIBI, are protected from potential harm (Behavior Analyst Certification Board® n.d.) . One of these efforts was the creation of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board® (BACB®) to help ensure minimal standards across practitioners and, as a result, pro‑ tect consumers (Behavior Analyst Certification Board® n.d) . There has been tremendous growth in the number ofindivid‑ uals who are now certified behavior analysts.1 For example, in 1999 th

FAQs

What is the RBT® credential and when was it created?

The RBT® is the Registered Behavior Technician credential created by the BACB® in 2014 to credential individuals who provide direct client contact under supervision.

Why was the RBT® credential developed?

It was developed in response to stakeholder requests to credential people who make direct contact with clients under a Board Certified Behavior Analyst®.

What does the paper aim to do regarding RBT® certification changes?

The paper highlights potential concerns about the BACB’s recently announced RBT® certification changes and proposes solutions to improve the RBT® certification process.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel