1. Jordan, an RBT, is assigned a new in-home client. While reviewing the intake packet before the first session, Jordan realizes that the client's father is a close friend of Jordan's older brother.
What is the BEST way for Jordan to proceed?
Answer: D
Behaving with integrity means being open about anything that could create a conflict of interest, so Jordan should tell the supervisor about the connection before services start. The supervisor can then decide whether the assignment should continue and what safeguards are needed. Waiting to mention the connection until a problem appears is the right disclosure at the wrong time, because the relationship may already have affected services by then. Keeping it private because the friendship involves the father ignores that conflicts can arise through any family member. Asking the father privately hands the decision to the family and skips the supervisor, who is responsible for case assignments and for managing these risks.
2. Marcus, a newly certified RBT, transfers to a center that requires staff to demonstrate its fire evacuation procedure before working with clients onsite. His first client arrives in an hour, and the evacuation training is scheduled for next week.
What should Marcus do?
Answer: A
RBTs provide services only after demonstrating competence, and that includes the safety procedures a setting requires. Because this center requires a demonstrated evacuation procedure before onsite work, Marcus should arrange to complete that training before seeing clients. Learning the exit routes during the next fire drill is the right skill acquired at the wrong time, since a real emergency could happen before then. Reading the posted map is instruction without demonstration, so it does not show that he can actually perform the procedure with a client present. Relying on the lead staff member shifts responsibility for client safety to someone else and leaves Marcus unprepared to protect his own client during an evacuation.
3. Priya, an RBT, provides about 80 hours of services each month. So far this month, all 5 hours of her supervision have occurred in group meetings with three other RBTs, and one week remains in the month.
What is the BEST action for Priya?
Answer: B
RBT supervision requirements involve more than total hours. Each month, at least one supervision contact must be individual, meaning one-on-one with the supervisor rather than in a group, so Priya should request an individual contact before the month ends. Making no changes because her group hours exceed 5% treats the hours minimum as the only rule. Carrying extra group hours into next month does not work, because supervision is calculated within each month, and extra group time would still not supply an individual contact. Stopping services right away is unnecessary while time remains to meet the requirement; the appropriate step is to arrange the missing contact with her supervisor now.
4. Lena's RBT certification was revoked by the BACB last year. She is now updating her professional networking profile so she can apply for jobs in child care.
How should Lena describe her credential on the profile?
Answer: C
Public statements about credentials must be truthful. Once the BACB revokes a certification, the person no longer holds it and must not claim active or good-standing RBT status on resumes, profiles, or any other public material. Passing the exam in the past does not create a current credential, because certification depends on continuing to meet BACB requirements, and revocation ends it. The original renewal date is irrelevant, since revocation ends the certification regardless of when it would otherwise have expired. Applying only for jobs outside ABA does not change the rule either, because a misrepresented credential misleads employers and the public in any field.
5. Tasha, an RBT, is also a longtime friend of her client's mother. When Tasha asks about the new bedtime routine, the mother admits she agreed to it despite doubts because she did not want to upset her friend.
Which risk of multiple relationships does this situation BEST illustrate?
Answer: D
A multiple relationship exists when an RBT has a professional role with a client and a personal role with that client's family. One recognized risk is that caregivers may feel pressure to accept clinical suggestions to preserve the personal relationship, which is exactly what the mother describes when she follows the routine despite her doubts. Lost objectivity in recording data is a real risk of multiple relationships, but nothing here suggests that Tasha's data are biased. Expecting services outside scheduled hours is another possible risk, yet the mother has made no such request. Sharing confidential details socially is also a risk, but no disclosure has occurred in this situation.
6. At the end of each in-home visit, Brianna, an RBT, leaves token boards, toys, and snack wrappers on the family's living room floor. The client's father has started cleaning up after she leaves.
Which change would BEST demonstrate professional respect for the family's home?
Answer: A
Representing oneself professionally includes respecting the spaces where services are delivered. An RBT is a guest in the family's home, so Brianna should put away all materials, discard trash, and leave the area as orderly as she found it. Leaving toys out for practice may sound helpful, but practice between sessions is planned by the supervisor with the family, and the clutter still burdens the household. Picking up only safety hazards addresses one concern while leaving the rest of the mess for the father. Cleaning up at the start of the next session is the right action at the wrong time, since the family lives with the mess in the meantime.
7. Mateo, a 5-year-old whose family speaks Spanish at home, does not follow the English instructions given by his new RBT, Aaron. A coworker tells Aaron that Mateo clearly has no receptive language skills.
What is the BEST response for Aaron?
Answer: B
Cultural humility includes questioning assumptions about clients whose backgrounds differ from one's own. A child who does not follow English instructions may fully understand the same instructions in Spanish, so Aaron should share that possibility with the supervisor, who can account for the client's primary language in assessment and programming. Writing that Mateo lacks receptive language records an assumption as fact and could misdirect his treatment. Repeating English instructions louder and slower does not address the language difference and can come across as disrespectful. Deciding to teach English labels first is a programming change that belongs to the supervisor, and it still rests on the untested assumption about Mateo's understanding.
8. Owen's BCBA supervisor tells him she can meet with him for only 3 hours this month, although he provides 120 hours of services each month. She suggests that a senior RBT observe his sessions to cover the rest.
What is the BEST response for Owen?
Answer: C
Ensuring competence includes receiving the minimum ongoing supervision the BACB requires, which is at least 5% of the hours spent providing services each month. For 120 service hours, that is 6 hours, and it must come from a qualified supervisor, so Owen should arrange the remaining time with another qualified supervisor. A senior RBT cannot provide BACB supervision, no matter how experienced, because RBTs are not eligible to supervise. Doubling supervision next month does not work, since the requirement is calculated each month and missed hours cannot be made up later. No exception allows reduced supervision during busy months; falling below the minimum means services are not adequately supervised.
9. Lily's behavior plan now includes functional communication training, in which she hands over a break card instead of hitting. Chris, her RBT, has never practiced the prompting steps for the card exchange, and her session starts in 15 minutes.
What should Chris do?
Answer: D
RBTs provide services only after demonstrating competence in the specific procedure, and functional communication training depends on prompting the exact replacement response the plan targets. Chris should practice the card-exchange prompting with his supervisor and show he can do it before running the program with Lily. Running the program now and seeking feedback later lets untrained prompting shape Lily's new communication response. Substituting a vocal request changes the replacement response the supervisor selected, which an RBT may not do independently. Using extinction for hitting without the replacement response removes Lily's alternative way to request a break and could increase problem behavior, so the components should not be split.
10. During a home session, a client's mother asks Imani, an RBT, to stop using the token board because she feels her son Theo is too old for it. She asks Imani to give him tablet time after every task instead.
What is the BEST response for Imani?
Answer: A
RBTs implement the procedures their supervisor has designed and do not modify them independently, even when a caregiver asks. Imani should continue the current plan and promptly share the mother's request with the supervisor, who can discuss it with the family and decide whether changes are warranted. Caregivers do have a voice in treatment, but that input goes through the supervisor rather than directly changing the plan during a session. Trying the change for one session, even while collecting data, is still an unauthorized modification. Telling the mother the plan is fixed without reporting the request dismisses a legitimate caregiver concern and keeps the supervisor from addressing it.
11. During a clinic session that a parent is watching, Hannah's supervisor tells her that she is prompting too quickly. Hannah, an RBT, believes the client needs faster prompts to avoid frustration.
What is the BEST way for Hannah to handle her disagreement?
Answer: B
Accepting feedback professionally does not mean an RBT can never disagree. Hannah should follow the feedback in the moment and then share her observations about the client's frustration with the supervisor in a private meeting, where they can review the data together. Debating the supervisor right away in front of the parent is the right conversation at the wrong time and could undermine the family's confidence in the team. Keeping her own prompting pace ignores supervisor direction and changes how the procedure is implemented. Going to the clinical director first skips the supervisor, who is responsible for the client's program, before Hannah has tried to resolve the concern directly.
12. At the end of a center-based session, Noor, an RBT, finds an empty medication box in a client's lunch bag that the parent asked staff to throw away. The pharmacy label shows the client's name, birth date, and prescription.
What is the BEST way for Noor to dispose of the box?
Answer: C
Any item that identifies a client, including a pharmacy label, contains confidential information and must be made unreadable before disposal. Shredding or defacing the label protects the client's name, birth date, and prescription details from anyone who handles the trash. Placing the box in recycling with the label attached leaves all of that information readable to anyone who sorts or collects it. Crossing out only the medication name still exposes the client's name and birth date, so the protection is incomplete. Tearing the box in half and using an outdoor dumpster may feel more private, but torn packaging often leaves the label intact, and the dumpster is accessible to the public.
13. After the Reyes family's insurance reduced their son's authorized hours, Devon, an RBT, considers offering to come over on Saturdays without pay to keep running the boy's programs. The family says they would be very grateful.
What is the BEST action for Devon?
Answer: D
Providing behavioral services off the clock blurs Devon's professional role with a personal one, creating a multiple relationship and leaving the family feeling indebted to him. Services also need to be authorized and supervised as part of the client's plan. Devon should decline and tell the supervisor about the family's concern so the team can explore legitimate options. Offering free sessions because they benefit the client overlooks how unbilled work confuses roles and boundaries. Having the supervisor review Saturday data does not make unauthorized services appropriate. Babysitting instead still creates a personal relationship with the family outside his professional role.
14. As thanks for their daughter's progress, the Okafor family invites Felicia, their RBT, to join them for a weekend at a rented lake house and offers to cover her share of the cost.
How should Felicia BEST respond?
Answer: A
A paid invitation to a family getaway is a gift of significant value, well above the $10 limit in the RBT Ethics Code, and the trip itself would create a personal relationship with the family. Felicia should thank the family warmly, decline, and let her supervisor know about the offer. Treating the invitation as an experience rather than a gift is a misconception, because covered lodging, travel, and meals have clear monetary value. Paying back her share removes the gift but still places Felicia in a social relationship with the client's family. Avoiding sessions during the trip changes neither the gift's value nor the multiple relationship it creates.
15. After observing a session, Luis's supervisor tells him that his reinforcement needs to be tighter and then leaves for another appointment. Luis, an RBT, is not sure whether she means faster delivery, smaller amounts, or something else.
What is the BEST next step for Luis?
Answer: B
Accepting feedback well includes making sure it is understood. When feedback is unclear, the RBT should ask clarifying questions, such as asking the supervisor to describe or model what tighter reinforcement looks like, and reach her through approved channels if she has already left. Guessing that she means faster delivery could lead Luis to change the wrong part of the procedure. Continuing as before ignores the feedback and lets the issue carry across more sessions. Asking a coworker relies on a secondhand interpretation from someone who did not observe the session and is not responsible for the client's program, so the supervisor remains the right person to clarify.
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