DHHS stands for Department of Health and Human Services
Therapists sound the alarm on proposed DHHS rules regarding care hours, behavioral technician qualifications
Quote:
The popularity of ABA has skyrocketed in recent years and many states are now taking a closer look at how much support they are giving ABA providers.
According to DHHS from 2020 to 2023 state medicaid aid towards ABA rose from $4.6 Million in 2020 to $52 million in 2023.
DHHS is now proposing new rules that could would limit care hours and change the qualifications needed to work as a Registered Behavioral Technician from a high school diploma to a bachelor’s with work experience.
“It would deter a lot of people from even starting in this field and we are already experiencing a staffing shortage in this field,” said Cundall.
Cundall says the education requirements will make it harder to hire the RBT’s necessary to care for the kids they serve but Cundall said she is particularly worried about the limits to care hours DHHS is proposing.
ABA takes time and she is worried that putting these barriers up for care could leave thousands of kids behind developmentally.
I did not realize how much the popularity of ABA has increased just in this decade. Scary. That ABA is starting to become unaffordable for the nation as a whole is a problem caused by the ABA monopoly. If you set up a therapy that only “works” with 25 to 40 hours a week therapy and if you cut down the hours you lose “progress” what do you think is going to happen?
I read all the time about poorly trained therapists abusing autistic kids. Putting aside that ABA by its nature creates the environment for abuse when you create a massive increase in demand in a short period of time you are going to have to hire unqualified people. Handling a moderately to severe autistic children necessitates more maturity then most recent High School grads have. It is not work for somebody in it just for a paycheck, or it in it because it sounds like it’s a nice thing to do.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
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