Happy Friday, everyone! This week, I (Jessica Coury, the one whose name you see every week) will be telling you about my time at STEPS, why I love being a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT), and what the field has brought to me as I move forward in my schooling. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it and all of our other blog posts!

I came across STEPS over a year ago as I was searching for summer employment within my field, speech-language pathology. I found The Therapy Spot, the SLP/OT/PT clinic that STEPS partners with, and sent them a cold call resume and cover letter. The director called me back thinking I had finished graduate school, but I hadn’t yet. He referred me to Erin Stern, a BCBA he was forming a business partnership with. Erin interviewed me, hired me, and trained me to become a RBT.

In my year as an RBT for STEPS, I have learned and grown so much in my clinical repertoire. The BCBAs we have on staff are all immensely talented and always have new strategies to share at their supervision sessions. I know more about behavior therapy than I ever thought I would, and I am extremely grateful for that. As I move forward in schooling for speech-language pathology, I am constantly finding new ways that the fields can fuse in my future practice. Each one is unique in what they treat, but there is so much overlap in them as well. A lot of the goals I’ve worked on with clients have been language-based, such as making requests and matching words to pictures. This connection has made me more confident in my ability to become a pediatric SLP, for which I am incredibly grateful.

Another big reason I love working for STEPS is the staff. The other RBTs and BCBAs I have met have been nothing short of amazing, both clinically and personally. They are all dedicated to their clients and to giving them the best therapy possible. We have high standards for who we decide to hire, and it shows. I have learned so much from them as a clinician, and that is truly invaluable. Most of the cases I have worked on have been under Erin’s supervision, and she has passed down an entire textbook’s worth of knowledge to me. She has inspired me to pursue a BCBA certification once I am done with my SLP certification. If Erin hadn’t hired me, I wouldn’t have nearly the same amount of knowledge and understanding of both the SLP and ABA field.

In addition to what I have gained, I feel that I’ve brought a lot to the table as a RBT. My time this past year and change has been full of growth, which has allowed me to bring that growth into practice with my clients. The day to day with them can be slow, but then I see that breakthrough, that moment I finally see that they grasped the concept! Watching that progress has been an honor because I love seeing my clients succeed, and it makes me realize that I am making a difference for them. That knowledge is something I wouldn’t trade for the world.

I know today’s post was a bit long-winded, but I had so much to say about working for STEPS. I have cherished my time here and don’t plan on leaving any time soon! Thank you to everyone for reading this and all of our other posts, and I will be back with more next week!

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