Pros
It's always rewarding helping clients reach their goals and make progress that transfers to their home life. Parents are always grateful when they are able to see positive changes at home, and it makes all the difficult days worth it. BUT you will feel this same way at other ABA clinics and make special connections with the kiddos there too.
Cons
Where do I begin. ABA is all about helping kids with ASD learn skills necessary to be successful in life- at home and in school. As with any helping profession, you should be able to safely assume the people working in the field to be kind, supportive, and respectful. Sadly, these are not words that accurately describe management at any of the three centers Help Hope Solutions has in the Dallas area. “A team is only as strong as its weakest link”, and unfortunately, the weakest links tend to be in leadership roles across centers. This company allows its employees growth opportunities, however, the selection/promotion process is not filtered or managed. Anyone can move up in this company without restriction. There are college graduates with prior ABA experience in RBT positions and people who have never attended and/or never completed any level of college in higher roles like team leads, coordinators, and supervisors. You just have to be a follower and you're a qualified candidate. Several people in leadership positions do not have any previous experience or training for those positions. Not one supervisor has had any type of leadership or management training before or after being promoted to supervisor. This has created several poorly maintained teams and a lot of disrespect toward and between employees. Management does NOT like to be questioned and will attempt to “push” you out if they feel you are questioning any process put in place or decision made. The training process is basically a time to show how well you absorb information after being told once, maybe twice. If you sink, you will be judged, talked about behind your back and your capabilities questioned without receiving any professional feedback to improve. Because of this, the clients end up being the ones who suffer. Least to Most intrusive restraints are used on clients across centers, however, there is no official restraint training employees are required to go to, resulting in continuous and lasting physical harm to therapists as well as sometimes unsafe restraints being used on clients. I’ve personally been told the owner does not want to spend the money for this training. RBT’s are also not allowed to give any truthful information about a client to their parents at pick-up UNLESS it is positive, and often incidences occur that are not logged and kept from parents by the direction of the supervisors. There is a strict "no gossip" policy, but there is no one worse than the management when it comes to gossiping about the staff, kids, parents, and each other. Employees who put in a notice of intention to leave (for any reason) are treated so unfairly, there wasn't one person (during my employment here) who fulfilled their 2 week notice. There were also multiple no call no shows who did not put in a notice, which is more a reflection of the company in my opinion. The turnover rate is far beyond what it should be and is continuously growing. It is truly a toxic environment to work in, and as a mental health activist, do yourself a big favor and keep looking. This job is not worth the mental and physical toll it will take on you.
