My Career Goals as an Aba Practitioner

My Career Goals as an ABA Clinician

Kia Davis

Capella University

Abstract

Throughout this course, I have been able to better understand and reflect on the psychology profession itself, and also refine my passions, career goals, and interests within the specialization of ABA therapy. My passion is to work with and advocate for children and adolescents that have ASD. My end goal is to be an educator in the field, and collaborator with parents, community leaders, and healthcare professionals to make things progressively better for children living with ASD. By using McClintock’s Practitioner-Scholar Model (2004) and Capella’s Smart Goals Model (2019) , I have been able to map out an action plan that includes the necessary steps that are needed to take towards completing my goals of making a great contribution in the field. Professional competencies/requirements like required licensures/credentials, problem-solving/critical thinking, cultural competence,ethics and ethics are important components of my overall plan in becoming a successful BCBA in the future.

Keywords: passions, goals,ASD,scholar-practitioner, competencies,problem-solving,critical thinking,cultural competency,ethics,BCBA

My Career in Psychology

Applied behavior analysis, as defined by Lingren and Doobay’s article,”Evidence-Based Interventions for ASD”, is the process of applying behavioral principles to change specific behaviors and simultaneously evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention. ABA clinicians not only provide effective and useful intervention strategies that reduce problem behaviors in children with autism, they also advocate for those who are often overlooked, misunderstood, and left vulnerable because of social stigmas and mental health challenges they face each day. Youth with intellectual and developmental disorders experience challenges in their homes, schools, and in their communities that often require some type of intervention of some sort throughout their childhood years and beyond. I am motivated to achieve all requirements towards becoming a board certified behavioral analyst because I desire to make an even bigger impact in the lives of these children with ASD and behavioral challenges by applying ABA intervention methods within their communities/homes, their schools , and as well as in traditional clinical settings to help improve their overall quality of life. This paper will discuss my current vision and goals for my work as a student, and as a professional working in the field of ABA therapy. This essay will outline the competencies, skills, other important components required to be a successful ABA specialist in today's ever-evolving world psychology.

Vision and Goals

Autism spectrum disorder can sometimes lead to behaviors that are quite difficult for people to understand and address. Children and adolescents with ASD sometimes display challenging behaviors when they are trying to communicate Pacific emotions or reactions to something. I am pursuing a career in ABA in order to gain a more specialized understanding of these challenging behaviors, in hopes of creating new and innovative more effective ways to help manage them. I already work in crisis intervention at this time, but my hope is to transfer those intervention skills and build on them so that I can assist ASD children in non-crisis situations as well. My goal is to work with children that have intellectual and developmental disorders to help them modify their challenging behaviors. In addition to providing training/education on intervention methods, I also plan to spend my time conducting research, observations, and writing scholarly essays. With this wealth of information gained, I also hope to synthesize new and innovative intervention methods in the ABA field. By providing compassionate and competent mental health care to this particular population, I hope to improve the quality of young people's lives and their families as well. I'd also love to get the opportunity to teach and educate aspiring therapist/clinicians, which would allow the knowledge, passion,and commitment to serving others I have to influence the future.

First, I plan to graduate with my masters in psychology with a specialization in applied behavioral analysis in December of 2020. While I am still attending classes I can begin to accrue 1,500 practicum hours that are required for my state’s licensure exam. Texas requires a master’s degree or higher in order to take the BCBA