Pros
ABC had been a wonderful place to grow clinically as someone relatively new to the field years ago. They pour into the assent based treatment and ‘new age’ ABA that has shown the importance of reinforcement and rapport with each patient and family. ABC provides a generous budget for materials, toys and often when BCBAs budget runs out the Regional directors jump in to cover the cost of materials that are needed for the patients success. ABC also pours everything into events, CEU availability and values themselves on the clinical panel and speakers they have to share research and growth in the ABA field. On a smaller scale, the centers have the best people running them. Truly invested, kind and hearts of gold that help each other. From RBTs who give their all to our kids, BCBAs who pour so much energy into the perfect programs, CAA who single handily balances the center culture and the face of the center and the OM who tackles the day to day of anything the center needs, including things they shouldn’t have to. The CD really has wonderful support in the center, when done right, and can be a teams support for challenging days, guidance in learning new skills and answering questions for everyone. I am still with the company for the people I work with; not the people I work for.
Cons
ABC over their extreme growth and rapidly expanding, opening every center they could, has had 1 goal and that is to take over ABA. They have the disguise of patients first, of compassionate care and being the leaders in changing the stigma of ABA. When you’ve seen what I’ve seen you learn that their main goal is profit and image; pushing for kids to have more hours then needed, keeping kids with services longer than needed, corporate leaders challenging clinical recommendations from the BCBAs and Clinical Directors in charge of the daily treatment when they’ve never seen the child themselves, pushing Saturday sessions or Holiday sessions to ‘make up hours’ missed while kids play with a novel adult they’ve probably never worked with and have the nerve to call it quality therapy to a parent. Making families feel vacations, holidays and illnesses are punishable. Clinically there is a major division from corporates ideals of compassionate care, and the front line services being implemented. BCBAs are terrified to put any behavior management into their behavior plans because of even the hint of blocking an aggressive behavior or removing a patient from a potentially harmful environment will land you under investigation with our so called “I team” whose only goal is to blame, reprimand and demean someone’s humanity. Clinical goals are not implemented as effectively as they should be due to the weight of assent. A patient shows a hint of resistance in doing hard things; learning vital skills for their future like delay, denials, attending, participation, receptive instructions, expressive communication, the list goes on…and the RBTs are instructed to end the trial and return to HRE. Happy relaxed and engaged: should be “let the child do whatever they want” and we’re calling it therapy. We’re pushing families to stay with us for another year because they aren’t ready for school. While doing nothing to actually get them ready for their next environment because if we encourage them to try hard things, we’re under investigation with the “I-team”, like the people in the centers doing the hard dedicated work every day for the betterment of our patients are criminals and treat us as such. The investigative team, and HR, disguised as “people services” is the biggest joke of ABC. There is nothing “people” or human about their service. This team will protect the company, their image, at all costs. They will ask questions that trap and coerce employees into saying something that will get themselves, or their coworkers under corrective action or termination. You are guilty until proven innocent, and unless you are the one targeting blame on others, you will never be proven innocent. They, along with higher leadership, will never seek to understand WHY or seek feedback. Their minds are decided to be right and can’t be changed. If you want to keep your position after talking with people services, threaten legal action and they will do anything you want, regardless of the truth. If future employees are looking for a higher leadership team that values you, keep looking. Hire to retire is a lie; don’t be fooled like I was.
