A Totally Honest Day in the Life of an RBT (a.k.a. why my Fitbit thinks I run marathons for a living)
7:00 a.m. – Coffee, courage, and carbs
Alarm: BEEP BEEP BEEP
Me: “Five more minutes.”
Reality: You cannot hit snooze when you have three sessions, an overlapping supervision, and a kid who can smell lateness like a bloodhound.
Breakfast of champions: cold coffee and a granola bar I found in my bag.
8:00 a.m. – First session: The escape artist
Target: “Sit at the table for 2 minutes.”
Child: Ninja rolls out of chair before I even blink.
Me: “Okay, that was 1.8 seconds, new record! Let’s try again!”
I check my Fitbit: 2,500 steps before 8:30 a.m. Just chasing one small human.
9:15 a.m. – Data collection Olympics
Picture this:
Holding a clicker in one hand
Reinforcer in the other
Saying “touch car!” while blocking attempted headstand on the couch
Somehow still writing “+” or “-” on the datasheet with my third invisible hand
Parents watching probably think I’m part circus performer, part statistician.
10:30 a.m. – Break time
Text from BCBA: “Can you add a new target for ‘labeling colors’?”
Me: “Absolutely!”
Also me: Googling “fun activities with colors that don’t involve glitter because glitter is evil.”
11:00 a.m. – Natural environment teaching
“Let’s work on manding!”
Child: “Cookie?”
Me: “Awesome asking! Here’s your cookie!”
Child: Crushes cookie into couch cushions and laughs maniacally
Me: “…okay, let’s clean that up together — functional living skill practice, right?”
12:00 p.m. – Lunch
Technically 30 minutes, practically 10, because I’m rewriting my session notes while balancing a sandwich on my lap.
Someone walks by: “Wow, you guys get lunch?”
Me: “In theory!”
1:00 p.m. – Second client: The puzzle prodigy
Child completes 25-piece puzzle in 90 seconds.
Me: “Great job!”
Child: Immediately tips puzzle pieces onto the floor with the intensity of a rock star smashing a guitar.
Reinforcement is complicated.
2:30 p.m. – Parent training
Parent: “How do you stay so patient?”
Me: “Oh, lots of practice! And caffeine. And deep breathing. And more caffeine.”
4:00 p.m. – End of day data review
Stack of datasheets taller than my lunch.
BCBA pops in: “Hey! Let’s add two new targets and update the graph!”
Me: “Love it!”
My brain: Error 404: Brain not found.
5:30 p.m. – Clock out (kind of)
Stop at Target to get a snack.
See stickers on sale.
Buy all the stickers.
Tell myself it’s “for the kids” — but also, who doesn’t love stickers?
6:00 p.m. – Reflect, recharge, repeat
Yes, it’s exhausting.
Yes, my back hurts from sitting criss-cross applesauce for hours.
But…
A first word whispered
Eye contact that wasn’t there before
A high five that lights up a whole room
That’s why we come back tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.
