Refreshing inquiry about the profession of Behavior Analysis

Whenever people find out that I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, I usually get the comment , ” Oh you only work with those Autism kids!”  Well, yes, in my practice I do work with individuals with Autism.  However, my work experience for the past 18 years has been with various populations and environments- not just specifically related to Autism.

So today was a different comment day which was quite refreshing. I was getting a french pedicure at my favorite Spa salon owned by a friend of mine. She knows what I do, though the other employees did not. So a big discussion had been going on amongst the staff and myself regarding ideas on work motivation techniques which led into their questioning me what was my profession. So I paused, smiled, took a deep breath and responded, ” I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.” Then I waited for the typical ‘you work with Autism’ response. But much to my surprise, they said, “WOW, you can analyze lots of things.”  I thought to myself = BINGO!!!!  

I commented back, yes, I can assess this spa’s business environment, make observations, work on setting goals and motivate staff etc. These types of services would fall under Organizational Behavior Management.  I also added, though I do work with the state of NJ writing grants ( system development and implementation ), work with various types of disabilities, done hiring /training staff, ( human resources ), have managed residential programs ( management ), have customer service background ( service delivery ),  parent coaching, work with typical developing children too, provide ABA expertise to school districts /after school and daycare programs, provide supervision services to those who need BCBA supervision hours etc, etc etc.

They were all intrigued by how I knew  exactly what to say in order to reach them with my suggested motivation techniques. I responded- well, that is because I have watched all of you in the past a few times, have overheard alot of your conversations and interacted with you which assisted me to make some determinations ( behavior assessment and plan ) on how best to help motivate you.  They started to laugh and thought it was cool. They all agreed, that I was their professional cheerleader today.

   hhhmmm, perhaps a better term would be the ABA cheerleader!

I guess I am not the typical Behavior Analyst.  I would not want to be one anyway. I utilize Applied Behavior Analysis, Psychology and common sense. ABA can be applied to lots of things, even at a Spa salon.

On a good note, my french pedicure came out really cute.