The Behavior Analyst Certification Board Inc. is a non-profit corporation established as a result of credentialing needs identified by behaviour analysts, state governments and consumers of behaviour analysis services. The BACB’s mission is to develop, promote and implement a voluntary international certification program for behaviour analyst practitioners. The BACB credentials BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) and BCABA (Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst). Individuals with a BCBA certificate must have doctoral or master’s level education while individuals with BCABA certificate must have bachelor’s level education. All BCABAs are strongly urged to work with the supervision of a BCBA. Our Clinical Director is BCBA-D and all Program Managers or Supervisors at ABA LC are either already BCBA, BCaBA, or are completing the requirements to prepare for the certification examination.  You can find more information at: www.bacb.com

In behavioral applications to autism treatment, Behavior Consultant usually refers to the person who designs and manages the intervention program. Currently there is no regulatory body, so anyone can call themselves a “Behavior Consultant”. The Behavior Analyst Certification Board offers voluntary certification for Behavior Analysts at the Bachelors and Masters/PhD levels.

A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) will have (at minimum) a masters level education including 5 graduate-level behavior analytic courses, approved supervised or mentored experience, and pass a standardized examination. While the type of graduate degree is not specified, many BCBAs will have graduate degrees in Behavior Analysis, Psychology, or Special Education.

A Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) will have (at minimum) a Bachelors degree including required behavior analytic course work, approved supervised or mentored experience, and pass a standardized examination. NOTE: It is strongly recommended that BCABAs work under the supervision of a BCBA.

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is a research-based, scientific method that began with the work of B.F. Skinner. The science measures observable behavior.  It looks at what occurs before a behaviour (antecedent) and what happens after a behaviour (consequence). In addition, the methods of ABA are applied by breaking down skills into simple steps and teaching each step in succession. Skills are taught with the use of prompting or cuing to assist learning. A correct response is followed by positive reinforcement which increases the likelihood that a behaviour or response will occur more often in the future.

ABA based intervention is validated for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but is also applicable to children with other developmental disabilities. It is a set of principles and guidelines upon which educational programs are based and should not be used synonymously with a specific program. An ABA program targets specific developmental areas such as:

Other names encountered within the field of ABA are: Verbal Behavior (VB), Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT), Natural Environment Teaching (NET), Pivotal Response Teaching (PRT) and Fluency-based instruction. Each use a specific method of instruction and are all are based on the principles of ABA.