Our RBT Course Features
At present, there are many training programs and online courses available to teach you – parents, caregivers, educators, paraprofessionals – how to work with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
And this can make it difficult to decide which one best suits you.
Rather than compare the pros and cons of each program, we want to tell you what makes Behavior University a reliable, relatable, and practical choice for learning how to work with people who have ASD.
To do that, we’re going to outline the features that make Behavior University’s 40-hour RBT Course comprehensive, interesting, and practical. We’re here to uncover why our course is effective and our pass rate surpasses the national average for first-time test takers. We rely strictly on evidence-based practices that have proven to be effective and successful for therapists and caregivers.
Let’s begin!
Our RBT Course is divided into 11 modules to help you focus and better understand one concept at a time. Each module is further broken down into topics so you can fully grasp the concepts and their real-life applications. Each topic ends with key vocabularies, quizzes, and points-to-note to guide you in your review.
Behavior University’s RBT Course
Foundational Knowledge
The first module starts with Autism Awareness, which discusses the development of children between 6-18 months and 3-5 years. You learn the criteria for an ASD diagnosis, like deficits in social communication or interactions and play skills, as well as the common strengths and challenges for individuals with ASD.
To be a successful interventionist, you must understand Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), the misconceptions and principles around it, and the variables responsible for behavior change. In Behavior Basics, you also learn the relevance and differences between positive/negative reinforcement and positive/negative punishment.
Applying the ABCs discusses functional assessment, which is designed to tell you what purposes the children’s behaviors are serving. RBTs do not conduct functional assessment themselves, but understand the process in a general sense and how RBTs can help collect information for it.
Discrete Trial Training and Data Collection
Module Two begins with the purpose of session notes, when and how to write them effectively, their implications to treatment decisions, and potential ethical issues related to these.
Lessons on Data Collection teach about the relevance of data in treatment decisions. These help BCBAs understand the causes of the behaviors, select what strategies to implement, and what changes to make. These also train you to communicate with a BCBA or BCaBA supervisor about challenging behaviors, train others to collect data, and respond to people who ask you to falsify data.
In Discrete Trial Teaching, you learn what type of responses to reinforce (or not) and what error-correction procedures to use for incorrect responses. It teaches you additional interventionist behaviors to make discrete trial teaching successful, and ways to implement these in groups and peer-mediated instruction.
Similarly, since this field relies primarily on data, we teach you the importance of graphing, how data are organized in ABA therapy, and the step-by-step process of inputting data in Excel.
The module concludes with Reading Skills Acquisition Plans. Here you learn that detailed plans provide specific protocols on how a goal will be taught to a participant, and create consistency in procedures to help clients learn faster. It also discusses the RBT’s role in understanding skills acquisition plans and the roles of supervisors in training them to read and implement these.
Prompting and Error Correction
Eventually, two research groups became the guiding force in autism research: the National Standards Project and the NPDC. These groups review and identify evidence-based interventions in the field of autism study and research.
The third module starts with an additional review of reinforcement and punishment descriptions, which were presented in Module One. We provide introductory explanations, practical examples, and applications of Discriminative Stimulus, S-Delta, and Differential Reinforcement.
In Prompting Procedures, you learn that a prompt is an antecedent stimulus that reliably evokes specific behaviors. Here, you gain knowledge on the different types of prompts, why they’re used in clinical practices, and how to properly implement them.
When a learner emits an incorrect response, it’s essential for an effective interventionist to properly address the situation. That’s why Error Correction Procedures discusses the mechanisms behind behavior changes, the ways to engage in error correction, and how to properly implement them.
Similarly, if a learner makes repeated incorrect responses to a specific lesson or skill, an RBT must recognize the error patterns and the variables that may influence such. This portion teaches you what to do if you notice error patterns, how to communicate these concerns to supervisors, and common protocols to prevent these.
At the end of the module, you learn why instructions in the form of a statement and choice, rather than questions, increase the likelihood of a client following your directions. You also learn the different processing abilities of clients, how to change the wording of your instructions to facilitate a better understanding, and how to clearly state task requirements.
Expanded Reinforcement
The beginning of Module Four talks about conditioned and unconditioned reinforcement, how they’re used in clients’ therapy, and which aspects of reinforcement affects the likelihood of response among learners.
Following this, Schedules of Reinforcement teach you how and when to deliver reinforcement, as consistent delivery positively affects skill acquisition and behavior reduction outcomes. We’ve put together the common schedules of reinforcement, applied examples in intervention practice, and how you can stay current with your clients’ schedule.
In Token Systems, you learn how to teach clients to “wait” or tolerate a delay of reinforcement delivery with the aid of visual supports and vocal cues. You acquire the behavioral principles, common myths, and factors surrounding token systems, as well as your role as an RBT in implementing these systems.
Concluding the module, you learn about preference assessments to help you identify items a learner may like more than others. Knowing this is clinically useful because it increases the effectiveness of teaching and promotes session engagement.
Beyond Discrete Trial
The fifth module starts off with Naturalistic Intervention, where you learn therapeutic strategies that involve the purposeful arrangement of the environment to promote learning opportunities, use of items and activities interesting to the person, and inserting learning opportunities within the person’s daily routine.
The succeeding part focuses on Generalization and Maintenance of Skills. Knowing these allows you to properly train a child to use a specific skill in different settings, with different people, or different materials. Failure to do these may decrease the learner’s opportunity to interact with the environment and learn new skills.
Reducing and Responding to Challenging Behavior
In Module Six, you learn of behaviors that may interfere with a person’s and others’ safety, learning and learning opportunities, and daily activities. More importantly, you gain knowledge on how to manage these challenging behaviors in a safe and consistent manner.
Promoting Independence
The seventh module begins with a discussion of Visual Supports, which helps improve the learners’ behaviors and skills to achieve better outcomes. These visual media are used in various scenarios, including the promotion of language and communication, conveying schedules of activities, and teaching complex tasks.
Next, you learn how to teach basic living skills like washing hands and brushing teeth, and complex skills like taking medication and doing laundry. Whether through live practice, video modeling, or visual support, you gain an understanding of your important role in teaching these to clients.
Advancing to Promoting Communication, you’re taught that proper communication training can reduce behavior problems. Likewise, you learn about communication responses like touching a picture or signing, that you can teach your learner.
Closing the module with Verbal Behavior, you gain knowledge about expressive language – like sign or picture exchange — and receptive language — like being able to respond to a command in a timely manner. These, together with lessons on verbal behavior and non-vocal responses, help you teach clients how to communicate with another person.
Professional Practices
RBTs should always conduct themselves professionally. Thus, in Module Eight, we deep dive into all the expectations for an RBT and why each is important. Likewise, we discuss Evidence-Based Practices that have been supported by science to effectively trigger positive improvements in learning and behavior.
RBT Ethics Code and Ethics Application
As an RBT, you’re responsible for yourself, your actions, your clients, your employers, and your field. That’s why it’s essential to learn the policies on Responsible Conduct, Responsibility to Clients, and Competence in Service Delivery.
In turn, knowledge of these ethics codes is helpful when managing behavior during an emergency to prevent dangerous situations or injuries from happening. These will also be useful in recognizing and addressing inhumane actions used toward a person with a disability.
Supervision
The final module of the course focuses on supervision wherein a BCBA or BCaBA oversees your therapy session with a client. Your supervisor provides feedback and guidance on implementing therapy, so you can make the necessary changes and improvements. Supervisors are required for all practicing RBTs.
In the last section, you get an overview of how supervision happens. More importantly, you learn what your responsibilities are during this time, including seeking out a clinical direction, documenting the session accordingly, and responding to feedback appropriately.
The Key Takeaway
Behavior University’s RBT Course provides you with the right tools to help you better prepare for your RBT Exam. From basic lessons, key vocabularies and concepts, real-life applications, ethic codes and guidelines to supervisor feedback, we have all the features you need to confidently take on the test.
We’ll guide you through the study process from start to finish, utilizing elements such as:
Video models
Quizzes
Interactive activities
Downloadable study guides
Practice exams
And remember, we actually offer three variations of the course.
RBT Premium is the same interactive 40-hour course as RBT Essentials but with extra features to prepare for the national RBT exam, including a full-length practice exam, vocabulary digital flashcards, and concept review activities.
RBT Supervisor will take your staff training to the next level. This tier includes all the features of RBT Premium plus our advanced supervision tools to assist in monitoring progress of your staff training, and certification of your RBT candidates.
If you’re interested in becoming an RBT or looking for a preparation course, we can help you. Contact us today to learn more and request a free demo.