Survey of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) in the Michigan Public School System START conducted an online survey in 2015 to learn about the role of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) in the Michigan Public School System. Individuals that completed the survey were employed within the school system and had a BCBA certification or were currently working towards BCBA certification (i.e. completing BCBA academic coursework and supervised field experience). We received responses from 44 school professionals. Specifically, we were interested in answering the following questions: How many BCBAs are currently working within the school system and how many school professionals are currently working towards a BCBA certification? Where in the state are they located? What is their role in the school system and how do they utilize their skills in applied behavior analysis (ABA) within their school role? Do they collaborate/coordinate with BCBA providers outside of the school system? How knowledgeable are others in the school system about ABA? What type of coursework or supervision did they receive and how do they stay connected to the field of ABA? Based on the results, we found that: 71% of respondents were working toward their BCBA certification. The majority of respondents utilized their ABA skills within their school role 61% of the time or more and 28% reported utilizing their ABA skills less than 4 of the time. 69% of respondents reported that they collaborate with BCBA providers outside of the school. 26% of respondents reported providing training related to ABA practices and procedures to teachers at least monthly and 45% reported similar trainings for paraprofessional staff at least monthly. Respondents reported working across populations and, almost all (97%) of the respondents reported working with students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 71% Working towards BCBA certification How long have you been a BCBA? 16% 9% 5% 0-2 years 3-5 years 6-9 years Over 10 years
The information collected from this survey is used to help START better understand how BCBAs are currently operating within the public school system and how to provide supports to enhance collaboration and services for all students within and outside of the schools. START staff has developed a BCBA in Schools group to provide regular communication with school staff. If you are a BCBA or working toward your BCBA, are employed by a school system, and you want to get involved, please contact Amy Matthews at matthewa@gvsu.edu.
Statewide Autism Resources and Training Project (START) Survey of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) in the Michigan Public School System START conducted an online survey in 2015 to learn about the role of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) in the Michigan Public School System. Individuals that completed the survey were employed within the school system and had a BCBA certification or were currently working towards BCBA certification (i.e. completing BCBA academic coursework and supervised field experience). We received response from 44 school professionals. Specifically, we were interested in answering the following questions: How many BCBAs are currently working within the school system and how many school professionals are currently working towards a BCBA certification? Where in the state are they located? What is their role in the school system and how do they utilize their skills in applied behavior analysis (ABA) within their school role? Do they collaborate/coordinate with BCBA providers outside of the school system? How knowledgeable are others in the school system about ABA? What type of coursework or supervision did they receive and how do they stay connected to the field of ABA? An email describing the purpose of and a link to the survey was sent to known BCBAs working within the Michigan Public School System as well as to the START Regional Collaboration Networks (RCN) to forward on to school professionals that were likely to meet the survey criteria. We had a total of 44 school professionals complete the survey. Individuals that completed the survey worked within the school system and had a BCBA certification or were currently working towards BCBA certification (i.e. completing BCBA academic coursework and supervised field experience). The BACB registry currently lists 357 certified individuals in the State of Michigan. In this survey, 14 individuals responded as both a current BCBA and a school employee. It is likely that our survey did not reach all the BCBAs that are working within the school system however it is also likely that the number of BCBAs employed in schools is low. A concerted effort was made to identify professionals in schools with the BCBA and 9 of those contacted completed the survey.
We identified 14 BCBAs that are currently working within the school system and 30 school professionals that were currently working towards a BCBA certification. Of the 30 school professionals working towards BCBA certification, all but one planned to be certified by 2017. The majority of respondents were certified as a BCBA for 4 years or less. These findings coupled with the data indicating that the majority of respondents have been working in the school system for 7 or more years, suggests that an increasing number of school professionals are finding certification in ABA valuable in their school role. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Demographics of the School Professionals that Completed the Survey Where do you work? Public school system 77% Center-based public school buildings for children and youth with 2 disabilities Early childhood center in the public schools 16% Transition center in the public schools 4.5% What age group do you work with? Birth to 3 16% Preschool/Early Childhood 48% Elementary 82% Middle School 61% High School 68% Post High School 43% In which region do you work? Southeast 23% Southwest 32% Central 32% Thumb Area 13% Northern or the UP region of Michigan In what type of region to you work? Urban 23% Suburban/Mid-size City 5 Rural/Remote Rural 52% What is your role? Special Education Teacher 27% Teacher Consultant 2 ASD Consultant/Specialist 18% 9% How long have you been employed within the schools? 16% 25% 39% 11% 0-3 years 4-6 years 7-10 years 11-20 years Over 20 years
School psychologist 9% Social worker 7% Administrator 7% How long have you worked in the school system? 7 or more years 75% How many years of experience do you have working with students with ASD? 6 or more years 81% Are you involved with the START project in some capacity? Yes 77%
How do BCBAs utilize their ABA skills within their school role? On average, what percentage of your time each week do you spend utilizing your ABA skills to benefit students? 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 27% 25% 14% 14% 16% 0 0-20 21-40 41-60 61-80 81-100 The majority of respondents utilized their ABA skills within their school role 61% of the time or more and 28% reported utilizing their ABA skills less than 4 of the time. According to the survey, 38% of respondents meet monthly with school teams to discuss data related to academic and/or behavior problems. Others report having meetings weekly (2), quarterly (18%), and biweekly (13%). 10 9 8 How often are you providing training on ABA practices and procedures? Paraprofessionals 7 6 5 Teachers Parents 61% 4 3 2 1 29% 26% 23% 19% 18% 18% 16% 1 11% 11% 9% 7% 7% 7% 7% 5% 2% 2% Daily Weekly Biweekly Monthly Quarterly Annually Never
The data related to role and utilization of ABA knowledge and skills may suggest several points: 1) other, non-aba-related school activities are being conducted during the time that ABA skills are not being utilized; 2) the school system may not know how to utilize the skills of these individuals; 3) the school system may not be supportive of these individuals utilizing their skills in ABA; 4) those pursing certification, may not have the proper supervision to practice applying their developing ABA repertories within their current school role; or 5) they may not know how to or be able to incorporate their ABA repertories within their current role. How do BCBAs collaborate/coordinate with BCBA providers outside of the school system? Do you collaborate with BCBA providers outside of the school? Yes 69% In which activities do you collaborate? Troubleshooting student issues 52% Sharing current IEPs, Behavior Plans, and reviewing school progress 33% Incorporating some aspects of outside goals into current school 31% program Reviewing progress outside of school 26% Developing student goals and interventions plans together 14% Would you like to connect with other BCBAs? Yes 98% Data suggest an interest and need to develop more ways for BCBAs to network and collaborate with other BCBAs within and outside of the school system. How knowledgeable are others in the school system about ABA? 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 7% How many are well-informed about ABA and understand the benefits? 2% 7% 21% 36% 19% 57% 57% 55% Parents Colleagues Administrators 14% Most Some Very Few None 5% 19%
These data suggest the need for further training about the benefits of as well as how to incorporate ABA strategies across populations within the public school system at all levels (i.e. individual, classroom, building, district). To what extent are ABA strategies used beyond students with ASD? Almost all of the respondents (97%) reported working with the ASD population. Respondents reported also working across populations, including general education, ADHD, traumatic brain injury, emotional and behavioral disorder, reading delays/disabilities, speech and language delays/disabilities, physical motor delays/disabilities, cognitive impairments, rare genetic disorders. This suggests there is the capacity to utilize ABA procedures beyond students with ASD. What was/is your coursework for certification and how do you stay connected to the field of ABA? In regards to coursework in ABA, 51% had completed an ABA Graduate Certificate program and 7% had completed an ABA Master s program. For supervision, the majority reported in-school experience with in person supervision (71%), followed by in-school experience with long distance supervision (31%), in clinic experience with in-person supervision (26%), intensive practicum run through a university (12%), in-home experience with in-person supervision (9%), and in-home experience with long distance supervision (2%). More than half (58%) of these individuals had to hire a BCBA to provide supervision. The remaining individuals received supervision from university faculty (24%), a colleague (17%), or a current supervisor (22%). With respect to conferences they attend to maintain certification or stay connected to the field of ABA, about half the respondents reported attending the Behavior Analysis Association of Michigan (55%) and the START Annual Conference (55%), 42% reported attending the Michigan Autism Conference, 8% reported attending the Association for Behavior Analysis Convention, and a small number reported attending the Association for Behavior Analysis Autism Convention (5%) and Association Positive Behavior Support Conference (5%). The BCBAs reported maintaining certification by mainly taking online CEs (28%), attending conferences (26%), and attending workshops (19%). Summary The information collected from this survey is used to help START better understand how BCBAs are currently operating within the public school system and how to provide supports to enhance collaboration and services for all students within and outside of the schools. START staff has developed a BCBA in Schools group to provide regular communication with school staff. If you are a BCBA or working toward your BCBA and you are employed by a school system and you want to get involved, please contact Amy Matthews at matthewa@gvsu.edu.