How valuable is ABA experience?

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kgirl0042

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Hi, I'm planning to apply to OT schools this fall, and besides job shadowing OTs, I'm considering taking a part-time position as an ABA therapist working with autistic children. I'm hoping to have at least 100 hours of ABA therapy experience by the time I fill out my applications.

However, I'm kind of concerned that this experience may not be considered as valuable as I initially thought. I was talking with a Behavior Analyst a few weeks ago, and she said that some OTs (and therefore, I would have to assume, OT departments) don't respect ABA therapy because it varies from how OTs typically approach autism.

This seems kind of odd to me, since the two approaches seem to integrate fairly well with each other, and both have the common goal of helping an autistic child to succeed. But on the other hand, I wouldn't want to invest so much of my time into a job that OT schools might not respect as much as other experiences.

What do you guys think about this? And if any of you had ABA experience going into your OT apps, did you feel that it helped you get accepted?

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I think it would definitely help. OT programs want applicants to show that they have experience with the various populations that OTs work with (autistic children definitely qualify) and have a good understanding of OT. I would make sure that you have experiences in other settings as well (older folks, hand therapy, etc.) and you should be fine. One of my volunteer experiences was in an adult day health center and it wasn't OT-centered at all, but it gave me experience with a population that OTs work with which is what OT schools are looking for.
 
Hi, I'm planning to apply to OT schools this fall, and besides job shadowing OTs, I'm considering taking a part-time position as an ABA therapist working with autistic children. I'm hoping to have at least 100 hours of ABA therapy experience by the time I fill out my applications.

However, I'm kind of concerned that this experience may not be considered as valuable as I initially thought. I was talking with a Behavior Analyst a few weeks ago, and she said that some OTs (and therefore, I would have to assume, OT departments) don't respect ABA therapy because it varies from how OTs typically approach autism.

This seems kind of odd to me, since the two approaches seem to integrate fairly well with each other, and both have the common goal of helping an autistic child to succeed. But on the other hand, I wouldn't want to invest so much of my time into a job that OT schools might not respect as much as other experiences.

What do you guys think about this? And if any of you had ABA experience going into your OT apps, did you feel that it helped you get accepted?

It is true. When I observed OTs in pediatric sessions, I realized that OTs and behavior therapists/supervisors dont always see eye to eye or even always respect each other. Yes, it is true that they are both trying to help the client, but the methodology is different and sometimes conflicting because the two groups have different priorities (one focuses on behavior and consequences while the other looks at a broader picture of the child's functioning and as a result cannot spend time on consequenting negative behaviors every time they occur if they want to work on OT goals).

That being said, I think having aba knowledge can help create a well rounded OT because the OT will be more familiar with how to handle disruptive behaviors that may completely interfere with completion of a session. The OT will also understand the perspective of his client's aba team and make the OT a stronger therapy team member (and help the two groups work together instead of possibly against each other).

If you think that having 100ish hours oF aba experience will make you stand out as an applicantt... You may be sadly disappointed. After I was admitted to my OT program, I met many other classmates with experience in aba as well (and a majority were employed in aba at least a year or so). I personally worked in aba for over 2.5 years (ranging from 8 hrs a week to 25).


Overall, I think the experience is valuable. However, the two disciplines are not the same and the methods are different. As long as you remember that, you will be fine.
 
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Thank you both so much for your responses. I've decided to go ahead and apply for the job. I'll definitely make sure I build up my hours in other settings as well, but I think overall, the benefits to having some experience with ABA (and the autistic population) will outweigh any potential negatives.

And at the very least, it's way more applicable to OT than my current job as a barista! ;)
 
Just curious...I don't know much about ABA therapy other than it is typically with autistic children. Do you not have to have any certification or are you talking more of an assistant job?
 
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