The Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) exam doesn’t include any specific information on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

I was recently asked, "Is anyone else oncerned that the Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) exam doesn’t include any specific information on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)”?

My reaction was to ponder the supposed “ownership” of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) by ASD. Does ASD really “own” ABA? It seems some people are under the impression that ABA is exclusively for individuals with ASD. This is far from the truth. ABA is applicable to anyone who exhibits behavior—which is to say, everyone.

While it's true that insurance mostly funds ABA for ASD, this has led to the misconstrued notion that ABA is solely for autism. Is this a form of operant conditioning? In reality, the scope of ABA stretches far beyond autism, a fact reflected in our certification exams.

The situation is almost comical and could be seen as a form of operant conditioning: insurance typically covers ABA for ASD, and suddenly, everyone thinks ABA stands for “Autism Behavior Association”. This perception might even lead some to joke that only families with an ASD diagnosis truly understand what ABA is. Let's broaden our understanding beyond the confines of what insurance chooses to cover, shall we?