Exposing “Ethical” ABA: When Good Words Hide Bad Practices (Pt. 1)
A Practical Guide for Families Seeking Services
Urban Dictionary defines “Ethical” as:
“A word that some companies use to describe themselves as a PR stunt whilst actually being just as evil as all the other big profit-hunting corporations.”
In today’s landscape, families seeking ABA services for their children face overwhelming barriers. Hyphenated ABA is everywhere. It’s become the new gold standard — not for clinical excellence, but for maximizing profits. Many corporations are capitalizing on the demand for autism services by expanding rapidly, popping up like banks or churches on every street corner (small town reference).
Parents — often desperate to help their children — are not given the tools they need to dissect, question, or advocate. And when “ethical” is used more like a slogan than a guiding value, it becomes harder to know who to trust.
As a BCBA with six years in the field (almost four years BCBA certified), I’ve had the opportunity to connect with professionals across roles and state lines — from fellow behavior analysts to RBTs doing the day-to-day work. This article aims to outline what unethical business practices in ABA can look like, especially when masked by flowery language and polished marketing.
This doesn’t mean you need to drop your current provider, but I hope it helps you feel more equipped to ask hard questions, demand better, and advocate powerfully for your child.
Parents, getting everything you need to know from a company’s website is impossible.
Real insight comes from how quickly and confidently your team can answer meaningful questions about their services. It also shows up in the humility of Behavior Analysts who are willing to say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”
“Buzzwords” have become a common marketing strategy, and unfortunately, just about every ABA company out there is jumping on the bandwagon. Terms like “ethical,” “compassionate,” “trauma-informed,” and “neurodiversity-affirming” are plastered across websites and brochures to make care sound progressive and family-centered.
But here’s the thing: those words only matter when there’s action behind them.
“There’s nothing more powerful than a parent who’s passionate and a little pissed off.”
Below, I’ve broken down common unethical business practices, gathered in collaboration with colleagues across roles and settings. For each, I’ve outlined:
What it might look like in practice
Why it’s important to your child’s care
And powerful questions you can ask to hold providers accountable — and make sure their slogans aren’t just a script.
Caseloads & Supervision
BCBA Caseloads:
The standard of supervision your child receives plays a critical role in the quality and effectiveness of their ABA services. According to the Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP), a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) should provide approximately 1–2 hours of supervision for every 10 hours of direct ABA therapy your child receives. This ensures that programming is individualized, monitored regularly, and responsive to your child’s progress.
That said, this guideline is not one-size-fits-all. The amount of supervision your child receives may depend on:
Your child’s current progress and intensity of needs
The availability of tiered supports, such as a BCaBA, on the case
The size of the BCBA’s overall caseload
Whether services are delivered in-home, in-clinic, or in the community
🚩Red Flag: If your child is receiving ABA services and you’ve never met or heard from your BCBA — or they’re only present for 15-minute check-ins — it’s time to ask questions.
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Use these questions to ensure your provider is aligned with ethical standards and quality care expectations:
How many clients does each BCBA currently oversee? Make sure to distinguish “BCBA” from non-certified professionals or professionals seeking certification, such as students.
How many hours of supervision does my child receive each week?
How often does the BCBA observe sessions directly?
How is my child’s progress tracked and adjusted over time?
How often do you review my child’s progress and make necessary updates?
RBT Supervision:
A Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) is a frontline provider who works directly with your child. To earn this credential, an individual must:
Complete a 40-hour training course
Successfully pass a competency assessment (demonstrating basic proficiency with core ABA concepts)
Pass an exam administered by the BACB
But there’s more. To maintain their certification and represent themselves as an RBT, they must receive ongoing supervision — at least 5% of the hours they work each month — from a certified BCBA or BCaBA. This supervision is meant to ensure quality, accountability, and continuous development.
That said, just because someone completed a course and passed a test doesn’t necessarily mean they are:
Ready to apply these skills effectively in real-world situations
Trained in how to work with your child’s specific needs
Receiving adequate, ongoing support to grow in their role
This isn’t meant to discredit RBTs. I have met some of the most compassionate, competent, and committed professionals in this role. But the quality of their training and supervision is often a reflection of the organization, and directly affects your child’s experience.
🚩 Red Flag: If your child is regularly paired with new staff who can’t clearly explain your child’s goals, or are working with your child independently before their RBT training is complete (or without close supervision) — that’s a serious concern. Quality providers prioritize thorough onboarding, close supervision, and protecting your child’s safety and dignity above all else.
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Use these questions to determine the quality of training at the center your child attends:
What does ongoing training look like for RBTs at your clinic?
(Are they expected to grow, attend workshops, or refresh skills regularly?)How are RBTs supported in learning my child’s individual goals and needs?
What does the competency assessment look like, and how do you determine an RBT is ready to work with my child?
When and how are RBTs trained in safety strategies (e.g., crisis management, de-escalation)?
How long is the onboarding process for new RBTs?
Are uncertified or in-training staff ever placed alone with clients? If so, under what conditions?
How often does the BCBA observe sessions and give direct feedback to the RBT?
Credentials & Transparency
BCBA Credential:
The credentials of your child’s provider are a critical — and often overlooked — indicator of the quality of care and oversight your child will receive. While credentials alone don’t guarantee clinical excellence, they do ensure accountability to ethical standards, ongoing supervision, and state or national regulations.
“An individual must not use a title incorporating the words
17. 2 “licensed behavior analyst,” or “behavior analyst,” or use any other title or description stating
17. 3 or implying that they are licensed or otherwise qualified to practice applied behavior analysis,
17. 4 unless that person holds a valid license under sections 148. 9981 to 148. 9995”
Let’s start with the BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst).
These individuals have:
Completed graduate-level coursework in behavior analysis
Accrued hundreds of hours of supervised fieldwork
Passed a rigorous certification exam
What many parents don’t realize is this:
Even if someone is deeply passionate and experienced, they may not be legally allowed to refer to themselves as a “Behavior Analyst” unless they are certified and, in many states, licensed. Misrepresenting a title — intentionally or not — is misleading and can give families a false sense of security about who is overseeing their child’s care.
The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) has issued a clear guide on how professionals should refer to themselves, available here:
👉 How to Represent Your BACB Certification Status
These guidelines exist to protect you and your child. When you’re investing in services — whether through insurance or out-of-pocket — you deserve to know exactly who’s in charge of your child’s care.
🚩 Red Flag: If someone refers to themselves as a “Behavior Analyst” without showing you proof of certification or licensure — or they become defensive when asked about their qualifications — that’s a problem. Families have every right to know who’s making decisions for their child.
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Powerful Questions to Ask About Credentials
Is the person supervising my child a BCBA? If so, are they required to be licensed in this state?
Can I see the credentials of the team working with my child?
How do you ensure staff are referring to themselves by the correct title?
Will the BCBA be the one making clinical decisions and writing goals, or is that done by someone else?
What happens if a staff member misrepresents their title — is there a policy in place?
What level of oversight and supervision are non-certified providers receiving that are involved in my child’s care?
RBT Credential:
Above, I covered what the RBT (Registered Behavior Technician) credential entails — a 40-hour training, a competency assessment, and a certification exam. But here’s the piece that often gets overlooked: ongoing accountability.
Once someone becomes an RBT, they don’t just “have the credential” and that’s it. To maintain it, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) requires that every RBT:
Be actively supervised for at least 5% of the hours they work each month
Have direct, documented contact with their BCBA or BCaBA
Participate in ongoing performance feedback and ethics training
If a staff member is not certified, they are not bound to these requirements, and that’s a serious concern.
Here’s why this matters…
Without RBT certification, there’s no requirement for a BCBA to observe or support that staff member.
This means your child may be receiving services from someone who never speaks with, receives feedback from, or is evaluated by your BCBA.
In some settings, this creates a “pick-and-choose” culture, where BCBAs spend more time with preferred staff or high performers, while others fly under the radar.
Ultimately, this leaves your child vulnerable to inconsistent implementation, outdated protocols, and a lack of clinical oversight.
This isn’t just a paperwork issue. It’s a quality and safety issue.
🚩 Red Flag: If your child is consistently working with staff who aren’t certified or who never seem to have oversight, it’s time to speak up. Lack of certification = lack of accountability. And without supervision, there’s no assurance your child’s care is being delivered as intended.
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Important Questions to Ask About Direct Support Professionals:
Is everyone working with my child an active RBT? How do you verify and maintain that status?
How do you ensure that all staff receive the required 5% supervision each month?
How do you ensure that all RBTs get equal access to feedback and support?
How do you track which staff are being supervised, and what happens if someone isn’t meeting that requirement?
Are uncertified or “in-training” staff ever alone with clients? If so, under what circumstances?
Here is a chart to further break this down for families:
Relevant Ethics Codes for Behavior Analysts:
“1.01 Being Truthful: Behavior analysts are truthful and arrange the professional environment to promote truthful behavior in others. They do not create professional situations that result in others engaging in behavior that is fraudulent or illegal or that violates the Code. They also provide truthful and accurate information to all required entities (e.g., BACB, licensure boards, funders) and individuals (e.g., clients, stakeholders, supervisees, trainees), and they correct instances of untruthful or inaccurate submissions as soon as they become aware of them.
1.02 Conforming with Legal and Professional Requirements: Behavior analysts follow the law and the requirements of their professional community (e.g., BACB, licensure board).
2.01 Providing Effective Treatment: Behavior analysts prioritize clients’ rights and needs in service delivery. They provide services that are conceptually consistent with behavioral principles, based on scientific evidence, and designed to maximize desired outcomes for and protect all clients, stakeholders, supervisees, trainees, and research participants from harm. Behavior analysts implement nonbehavioral services with clients only if they have the required education, formal training, and professional credentials to deliver such services.
2.08 Communicating About Services: Behavior analysts use understandable language in, and ensure comprehension of, all communications with clients, stakeholders, supervisees, trainees, and research participants. Before providing services, they clearly describe the scope of services and specify the conditions under which services will end. They explain all assessment and behavior-change intervention procedures before implementing them and explain assessment and intervention results when they are available. They provide an accurate and current set of their credentials and a description of their area of competence upon request.
3.01 Responsibility to Clients (see 1.03, 2.01) Behavior analysts act in the best interest of clients, taking appropriate steps to support clients’ rights, maximize benefits, and do no harm. They are also knowledgeable about and comply with applicable laws and regulations related to mandated reporting requirements.
3.12 Advocating for Appropriate Services (1.04, 1.05, 2.01, 2.08) Behavior analysts advocate for and educate clients and stakeholders about evidence-based assessment and behavior change intervention procedures. They also advocate for the appropriate amount and level of behavioral service provision and oversight required to meet defined client goals.
4.06 Providing Supervision and Training (see 1.02, 1.13 2.01): Behavior analysts deliver supervision and training in compliance with applicable requirements (e.g., BACB rules, licensure requirements, funder and organization policies). They design and implement supervision and training procedures that are evidence based, focus on positive reinforcement, and are individualized for each supervisee or trainee and their circumstances.”
For the full ethics code - see the link below.
In closing, You deserve transparency, quality, and respect when it comes to your child’s care. Ethical ABA does exist — I’ve seen it in action, and I’ve been honored to be part of it. But true ethics must be practiced, not marketed. They should be modeled by providers, not slapped on brochures.
I hope that this post gave you a few tools and talking points to help you ask questions, spot red flags, and advocate for the services your child truly deserves. You don’t need to be an expert in behavior analysis to expect honest, responsive, and safe care.
Because at the end of the day, you are the expert on your child. And you have every right to speak up.
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💬 If this post helped you, consider sharing it with another parent or caregiver who’s navigating ABA services.
or
✉️ Have questions or want to share your story? Reach out — I’d love to hear from you.
Resources:
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2020). Ethics code for behavior analysts.
https://bacb.com/wp-content/ethics-code-for-behavior-analysts/
Council of Autism Service Providers [CASP] (2024). Applied behavior analysis practice guidelines for the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Guidance for healthcare funders, regulatory bodies, service providers, and consumers [Clinical practice guidelines]. https://www.casproviders.org/asd-guidelines
https://www.mnaba.org/general-6-2
*Disclaimer:
The information shared in this blog post reflects the professional opinions and experiences of the author and contributors. It is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as legal advice, clinical diagnosis, or a directive to discontinue services.
Families are encouraged to consult directly with their healthcare providers and make decisions based on their child’s individual needs. The intent of this article is to promote transparency, informed advocacy, and ethical dialogue within the field of Applied Behavior Analysis.
Mention of unethical practices does not imply that all providers or companies engage in these behaviors.
The views expressed in this blog are my own (Functionally Speaking ABA) and do not reflect the views of UNMC.
