Alexandra Kellas MEd, BCBA, LBA

I really think it comes down to hard work and initiative, but most importantly, surrounding myself with a team of people who really act as a team. Everybody has good days, bad days, days where they're able to give 100%, and days where they're not, and we have wonderful people who are able to recognize that and step in and help out as needed. The business wouldn't be where it is without them. We've had so many success stories and seen such positive changes in the children and families we work with, and none of it would be doable without my team. Outside of work my village has really come together to make sure I’m able to work and take care of my children. My husband who helps keep me grounded when I am overwhelmed and who doesn’t bat an eye when I have to jump into work at an inopportune time. As well as being blessed to have involved grandparents who watch our children.

The best advice I received is looking at every child and knowing that they have as much to teach us as we have to teach them, if not more. We have so much to learn from those that we work with, and making sure that we are not closed off to those learning opportunities. It's about not always looking at it as a one-way street where we're just teaching them, but recognizing the valuable lessons they have for us as well.

I would say do it. If you're interested in special education and you like making a difference, and you are compassionate, empathetic, thoughtful, and you enjoy thinking on your feet, then this is definitely a career you should look into. There are times where a child is having a behavior and you're having to pull tricks out of a hat, essentially, to try to figure out what you can do in the future to not let that happen or redirect the behavior. So if you enjoy problem solving, this field is perfect for you. You should explore companies and vet the companies you're going to be working for to make sure it's a good fit. And if you're at all on the fence about working with children but like the idea of becoming a BCBA, there are a lot of other avenues - BCBAs work in criminal justice, prisons, psychiatric units, business management and HR, substance abuse treatment, and even sports. Applied behavior analysis is a whole field of science in itself, so the applications of it are endless.

One of the biggest challenges is finding a work-life balance. There's a lot in our field where everybody's struggling with this, especially when you have kids at home and then you're coming to work and working with children. Maybe you have an aggressive child and your day is just long and tough. We work really hard on trying to make sure that the caseloads are not too much and that our days are not too long - we generally end the day by 4:15 so people are able to go home and decompress. We try to do team-building things outside of work and find ways to vary it up. There are a lot of companies popping up like mine that are trying to do the same thing, and I think it's wonderful. Being a working mom is tough, and being a mom in general is no joke, so we really try to find ways where we can make coming to work fun and not so daunting or difficult every day. As for opportunities, I think there's such a need for ABA to broaden beyond just working with children on the autism spectrum through insurance. We can do more - there are opportunities in sports, summer camps, clubs, enrichment programs, and working with different populations like adults, in prisons, and in other settings. The applications are endless.

Loyalty and honesty are at the top - I don't think you can have a team without those. Initiative is important too, being able to think outside the box, take initiative, and accept feedback. These values come from the ethics of being in ABA anyway, but they're essential. Empathy and compassion are huge, both for the children we work with and for building the right environment. We also have to have empathy and compassion for the other providers in the building. One big thing I try to remind everybody is that everybody has things going on outside of work, and we need to take a step back and remember that. When we're getting frustrated or things aren't going our way, the same way we would approach the children we work with, we need to look at the work environment as a whole the same way.