Behavior Therapist and RBT Interview Questions

“I got into it through a summer job at an inclusive day camp. One boy there didn't speak much and would bolt from the group, and the staff member who worked with him used a picture schedule and tiny rewards for each step. Within a couple of weeks he was joining circle time. I was hooked on how practical that was. I studied psychology after that and did my RBT training in my final year. What I like most is that progress is visible: you see a child ask for something with words for the first time and it's real. I know it's also physically tiring and some days go badly, but I'd rather do work where the small wins matter this much.”

“Yes, I'm a Registered Behavior Technician. That's the credential from the BACB used in the US and some other countries. It took a 40-hour training course, a competency assessment where a supervisor watched me carry out the core tasks, a background check and the exam. Other places have their own training or registration, and I'd follow whatever applies here. The key thing about the role is that I work under a BCBA or an assistant-level analyst. They write the assessment and the plan, and I carry it out, take the data and report what I see. I get supervised every month, including being observed with clients. If something in the plan isn't working, I tell my supervisor. I don't change it myself.”

“A family I'd worked with for a year asked if I'd babysit on a Saturday night. They trusted me and I really liked them, so it was hard. But babysitting would mix a personal, paid relationship with a therapy one, and our ethics code and company policy are clear that we avoid that because it can blur my judgment and make things messy if something goes wrong. I said something like, I'm really touched you asked, and I wish I could, but I'm not allowed to work with families outside therapy. I offered to ask the office whether they knew of respite care options. I mentioned it to my supervisor the same week, just so it was on record. The family was fine, and we carried on as before.”

“I'd keep it simple. I'd say ABA stands for applied behavior analysis, and the idea is that we look at what happens just before and just after a behavior, then use that to teach useful skills in small steps. So if your child wants juice, we might teach them to ask for it with a word or a picture, and the juice is the reward for asking. We track progress with data so we're not guessing. I'd tell them sessions for young children look a lot like play, and that the goals come from them and from the supervising analyst, things like talking, dressing, or staying safe. And I'd invite them to watch any session and ask me anything.”

“The four usual functions are escape or avoidance, getting attention, getting access to something they want, like a toy or food, and automatic reinforcement, where the behavior feels good or meets a sensory need by itself. Function matters because the same behavior can do different jobs. Take a child who throws materials. If it's escape, sending them away from the table actually rewards the throwing. If it's attention, a big reaction from me rewards it instead. So if I respond to the look of the behavior and not the reason, I can make it worse without knowing. That's why the analyst does a functional assessment first, and why I take careful ABC data, because it helps show which function is really at work.”

“Reinforcement means the behavior becomes more likely in the future. Positive means something is added, so a child asks for bubbles, I blow bubbles, and asking goes up. Negative reinforcement means something unpleasant is taken away and the behavior goes up. A classic one is a child who screams during a hard task and gets a break, so the screaming is reinforced by escape. It's not punishment, which people mix up all the time. Punishment means the behavior becomes less likely. Positive punishment adds something, like a reprimand, and negative punishment removes something, like losing a token. In practice our programs lean almost entirely on reinforcement, and any punishment procedure would only be used if the analyst wrote it into the plan with strong safeguards.”

“Prompts range from very intrusive, like full physical guidance, through partial physical, modeling and gesture, down to a light verbal or visual cue, though programs order the lighter ones a bit differently. With most-to-least, I start with the level of help that makes sure the child gets it right, say hand-over-hand, and fade it step by step as they succeed. That keeps errors low, so it suits brand new skills and children who get frustrated by mistakes. With least-to-most, I give them a chance to do it on their own first and only add help if they don't respond, going up one level at a time. That fits skills they partly know, because it gives them room to be independent. Either way, the analyst sets the method in the program, and my job is to run it the same way every time.”

“I start by asking the parents what the child goes for at home and watching them in free play for a few minutes to see what they pick up and stay with. Then I use quick preference assessments, like putting a few items out and letting them choose one, removing it, and letting them choose again, which gives me a rough ranking. I do a short check at the start of each session because what worked yesterday might not work today. If they start losing interest, that's usually satiation, so I'll give smaller amounts, switch between a few items, and ask the family whether the item can be saved for sessions. I also pair myself with fun, so being with me becomes rewarding in its own right.”

“I had a seven-year-old girl who'd had a few therapists leave, and she'd hide under the table as soon as I walked in. For the first two sessions I placed almost no demands. I found out from her dad that she loved trains, so I brought a set and just played nearby, narrating what I was doing and letting her join in if she wanted. When she came over, I'd hand her the best pieces. Slowly I became the person who brings good stuff, not the person who asks for things. By the third session she was waiting at the door. Then we added easy tasks in between play, and it went from there. It taught me not to rush pairing, even when I feel pressure to start the program.”

“First I make sure the child is looking at me and that I know what they're working for today, say a turn with a spinning toy. I put three picture cards on the table and give one clear instruction, like touch dog, just once, in a neutral voice. Then I wait a few seconds. If they touch the dog on their own, I praise straight away and give the toy for a short time. If they touch the wrong one or don't respond, I follow the error correction in their program, usually prompting the right answer and moving on without a fuss. Then I mark the trial on the data sheet, correct, prompted or incorrect, and take a short pause before the next one. I'll also shuffle where the cards sit so they're not just learning a position.”

“First the skill gets broken into small steps, something like turn on the tap, wet hands, press the soap, rub hands, rinse, turn off the tap, dry on the towel. The analyst sets the steps, but I often help by noticing where the child gets stuck. Then there's a choice of chaining. With forward chaining, the child learns the first step and I help with the rest. With backward chaining, I help with everything and they do the last step, drying, so they always finish and get the reward right away. With total task, they go through every step each time with as much help as they need. For handwashing, total task often works because the child can already do some steps. I record the prompt level for each step, so we can see exactly which ones still need help.”

“ABC stands for antecedent, behavior and consequence. The antecedent is what happened right before, like I asked him to put his shoes on. The behavior is exactly what he did, like he dropped to the floor and kicked the wall three times. The consequence is what happened right after, like his mom said okay, we'll do it later. The biggest thing is keeping it objective. I don't write he was angry or he was being defiant, I write what I saw and heard. When a session is busy I jot a few words and the time as soon as it's safe, then complete the entry right after the session, while it's fresh. That data is what helps the analyst work out the function, so a vague or late note is not much use to them.”

“Frequency, or rate if you divide by time, works when the behavior has a clear start and end and doesn't happen too fast to count, like hitting or asking for help. Duration suits behaviors where length matters more than count, like a tantrum or time spent on task. Latency is the time from an instruction to when the child starts, so it's useful if the issue is a long delay in following directions. Interval recording is for behavior that's very frequent or blurs together, like rocking or humming. With partial interval, you mark it if it happened at all, so it tends to overestimate. Whole interval needs it the entire interval, so it tends to underestimate. Momentary time sampling only checks at the end of each interval, which is handy when you're also teaching.”

“I noticed a child's graph showed a sudden drop in hitting that didn't match what I'd seen. When I looked back, I'd been counting only hits to adults, while the definition also included hitting other children, which happened more in group time. It made the plan look like it was working better than it was. I told my analyst straight away, even though it was my error, and we corrected the records the way our system requires, with a note explaining why. She also went over the definition with the whole team. Since then I reread the operational definitions for every client at the start of each week, and I ask whenever something in the data surprises me.”

“A replacement behavior is a better way for the child to get the same thing the problem behavior was getting them. Say a girl hits when tasks get hard, and the assessment shows it's to escape. With functional communication training, we'd teach her to hand me a break card or say break please. At first, every time she asks, she gets the break straight away, so asking works better and faster than hitting ever did. That part matters, because if the new behavior is harder or slower, she'll go back to hitting. Once she's asking reliably, the analyst will have us gradually stretch it, like one more task first, then the break, so she can still get through her work.”

“Early on I had a session with a four-year-old who arrived after a bad night and was clearly tired. I stuck to the program order anyway and started with his hardest target. Within ten minutes he was on the floor screaming and I spent most of the session trying to get him back. Looking back, I missed the warning signs and pushed demands when I should have eased in. I talked it through with my analyst, and we agreed on a short check-in at the start: I now ask the parent how the night and morning went, start with easy, high-success tasks and more play, and build up. I also note sleep and mood on the data sheet. His rough-start days got a lot smoother after that.”

“First, I'd remember that it's really hard to listen to your child scream every day, and handing over the tablet makes it stop right now. So I wouldn't lecture. In a calm moment I might say something like, I've noticed the tablet really does stop the crying, and I get why. The tricky part is he's learning that crying is how to get it. Then I'd bring it to my analyst, because parent training is theirs to lead. I'd suggest we give the parent one small, doable thing, like teaching him to ask for the tablet with a picture and making sure asking works. If the analyst agrees, I can model it during my sessions and let the parent practice with me there.”

“During an observation my analyst pointed out that I was repeating instructions, saying touch the cup, touch the cup, cup, when the child didn't answer straight away. She explained that it was teaching him to wait for the third time and it made my data unreliable. Honestly my first feeling was a bit embarrassed, because I hadn't noticed at all. But she was right. I asked her to model it, then I practiced with her giving me feedback in the next session. I also started counting in my head after each instruction so I'd wait instead of repeating. At the next observation she said it was fixed, and his response time actually improved. I now ask for feedback rather than waiting for it.”

“I read that your team keeps caseloads small and that every therapist gets regular time with their supervising analyst in session, not just a monthly check. That matters to me because I learn best when someone watches me and gives feedback. I also liked that you run parent sessions alongside the child's program. On setting, I've done most of my work in a center and I like having the team around and the structure. That said, I've done home sessions too, and I enjoy seeing skills work where the child actually lives. So I'd lean center-based, but I'm comfortable doing home sessions and I'd happily split my week.”

“I'll be honest, some days are hard, especially after a session with a lot of aggression. A few things help. Between clients I take a couple of minutes to reset, even just a drink of water and a few slow breaths in the car, so I don't carry one session into the next. I keep my evenings mostly work-free and I run a few times a week, which clears my head. After a tough incident I talk it through with my supervisor or a colleague rather than stewing on it, and I've found that most of us have been through something similar. I also keep a little note of wins, like a first word, because on the rough days it reminds me why I do this.”

“I'd stay calm with the child and not push them with questions, because leading questions can upset them and muddy things later. I'm not the investigator. I'd listen, reassure them gently, and after the session I'd write down exactly what I saw, where the bruises were, and the child's words as close to word for word as I can, with the date and time. Then I'd report it the way the law where I work requires. In many places people in roles like mine are mandated reporters, which can mean I have to make the report myself, not just pass it to a manager. I'd also tell my supervisor the same day and follow our agency policy. I wouldn't confront the family.”

“I'd treat that as the child telling me something. If they're crying and pulling away every time, they're not really going along with it, and pushing through isn't okay. Within what the plan allows, I'd pause, reduce the demand, offer choices and do something they enjoy to calm things down. I wouldn't rewrite the procedure myself, because that's outside my role, but I also wouldn't sit on it. I'd write down exactly what happens, when it starts and how long it lasts, and raise it with my analyst that day, asking whether we can change the approach or teach smaller steps first. Most analysts want to hear this, because therapy the child hates isn't going to work well anyway.”

“A behavior plan usually starts with clear definitions of the target behaviors, so everyone counts the same thing. Then there's the likely function from the functional assessment, and the strategies built around it: things we do beforehand to prevent the behavior, like visual schedules or giving choices, the replacement skill we're teaching, what I do when the behavior happens, the crisis steps if safety is at risk, and how to take data. Before my first session with a new plan, I read the whole thing, not just the summary, and write down anything unclear. Then I ask the analyst to walk me through it and, ideally, model it and watch me try it, especially the response and crisis parts. I don't want to be figuring it out for the first time while a child is escalating.”

“My first job is safety, for the child, anyone nearby and me. I'd stay calm, keep my voice low and use few words. I'd move breakable or dangerous things out of reach, give us some space and block hits with the techniques I've been trained in. I wouldn't restrain unless the crisis plan allows it and I'm certified in that method. Then I follow the behavior plan's crisis steps exactly, including whether to keep the demand in place or not, because that choice depends on the function, and getting it wrong can teach the child that hitting works. Once the child is calm, I'd ease back in the way the plan says. Afterwards I'd write an objective incident report, tell my analyst and the parent the same day, and ask to review whether something earlier set it off.”

“A mom met me at the door once really upset, saying her son wasn't making progress and she was thinking of stopping therapy. I didn't argue or get defensive. I asked her to tell me what she was seeing at home, and it came out that his behavior had got worse since his baby sister arrived. I shared some things that were going well in sessions, like he'd started asking for help with words, and I showed her the data for that. But I was clear that decisions about his goals and plan are for the analyst, so I set up a call with her that week. After the call they added some home strategies, and the mom told me later she felt listened to for the first time.”

“For me, it starts with what the goals are for. Things like communicating wants, staying safe and being more independent really help the child. Getting them to sit still with quiet hands for its own sake doesn't. I'd raise it with my analyst if a goal seemed to be about looking typical rather than helping the child. In session I give lots of choices, like which task first or which reward, and I take a no seriously, whether it's said, signed or shown by pulling away. Harmless stimming isn't something I try to stop unless it's getting in the way of learning or safety, and even then that's the analyst's call with the family. Teaching a child to say no or ask for a break is one of the most important things we do.”

“First I'd check myself, because a lot of prompt dependency comes from hidden prompts. Am I glancing at the right card, pausing a certain way, or always putting it in the same spot? I might ask a colleague to watch or video a few trials with the family's consent. Then I'd talk to my analyst about a fading plan. A common one is time delay, where I give the instruction, wait a few seconds before pointing, and slowly stretch that wait so the child has room to answer alone. We'd also make independent answers worth more than prompted ones, like the big reward only for independent, a short praise for prompted. And I'd keep pointing smaller, from a full point to a slight gesture. I'd track independent responses so we can see if it's working.”

“It sounds like the skill hasn't generalized yet. The child may have learned to say red when I hold up that one red card at that table, not what red means in general. It's really common. I'd tell my analyst and suggest we build generalization into the program. That means using lots of different red things, like cups, cars and clothes, asking in different ways, like what color is this or find something red, and practicing in different places, like the play area or snack time. It also helps to have other staff run it. And with the analyst's guidance, I'd show the parents how to practice in everyday moments at home, then watch them try it and give simple feedback.”

“That sounds like an extinction burst. When a behavior that used to get attention suddenly stops working, it often gets worse for a while before it drops. The child is basically trying harder. The worst thing I can do is give in now, because then I've taught them that louder and longer is what works. So I'd keep following the plan, stay calm and neutral, and jump on any moment they ask appropriately, giving them lots of attention for that. I'd make sure everyone is safe, because bursts can bring new behaviors too. I'd log it carefully and tell my analyst that day, and I'd warn the parents that this might happen at home so they don't give in either.”

“I worked with a teenage boy who would hit his head hard on walls when he was overwhelmed. One day, builders next door started drilling without warning and he escalated fast. I stayed calm, used the few words the plan said to use, and put a cushion between his head and the wall like we'd practiced, while a colleague took the other kids to another room. I didn't try to hold him, because the plan didn't call for it and blocking was enough. Once he was calm, I followed the recovery steps and gave him his headphones and quiet space. I wrote the incident report that afternoon and told his mom and my analyst. Afterwards the team added steps for sudden loud noise, like keeping his headphones in reach, and the next time went far better.”