May 2014 was a victory for Maine’s children with autism, their families, and the professionals who treat them. The Maine Legislature voted overwhelmingly to expand benefits for children with autism age 5 through 10 under the state’s 2010 insurance law. The expanded benefits became effective January 1, 2015.
Today, Maine is one of a handful of states (including Vermont, Texas, and Louisiana, among others) to expand their original autism insurance reform laws. Maine’s law requires providers of autism services to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism. Autism treatment includes speech therapy, occupational and physical therapy, and applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy. ABA therapy is capped at $36,000 per year.
While many states already regulate and license applied behavior analysts (or are in the process of enacting legislation aimed at licensure), currently Maine does not. And although Maine’s recently enacted insurance reform does not include language that stipulates a legal requirement for ABAs to hold nationally recognized board certification, the insurance providers operating in the state have taken it upon themselves to require all ABA therapy providers to be board certified in keeping with national standards.
This means that just like in most of the rest of the country, becoming an applied behavior analyst in Maine means earning a BCBA® (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) certification through the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB).
Earning a Master’s Degree and Board Certification in Applied Behavior Analysis
Entering the field of ABA and pursuing the Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s (BACB) Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA®) designation starts by earning a master’s degree or higher and completing a set of graduate-level courses in behavior analysis.
Education Requirements
The easiest way to achieve the educational requirements necessary for certification is to earn an Association for Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA)-accredited/recognized master’s degree or an Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI)-accredited master’s or doctoral degree in behavior analysis. Earning an accredited degree ensures you’ve met all educational standards for BCBA® certification.
However, you may also meet the educational requirements for certification by earning a master’s or doctoral degree in behavior analysis or in a similar field like psychology or education and then completing the graduate coursework in behavior analysis. The BACB requires the completion of the following coursework:
- BACB Ethics Code and Code-Enforcement System; Professionalism: 45 hours
- Philosophical Underpinnings; Concepts and Principles: 90 hours
- Measurement, Data Display and Interpretation; Experimental Design: 45 hours
- Behavior Assessment: 45 hours
- Behavior-Change Procedures; Selecting and Implementing Interventions: 60 hours
- Personnel Supervision and Management: 60 hours
The ABAI also maintains a list of programs (usually graduate certificates) called ABAI Verified Course Sequences (VCS) that meet these educational requirements. You can view their VCS directory here.
You can also complete the required coursework and then have your program director, department chair, or VCS coordinator review your courses and complete a Non-Verified Course Content Attestation that you’ll provide to the BACB.
Accredited online programs offer a beneficial addition to campus-based options, providing many students with access to a wider variety of ABA programs that better align with different potential career paths (whether in ABA specifically or in psychology or education with a focus in ABA), regardless of their geographical location.
Experience Requirements
To be eligible for BCBA® certification, you must also complete between 1,500 and 2,000 hours of supervised fieldwork hours (hour requirements are dependent upon the amount of supervision you receive) within a five-year period.
If you complete an ABAI- or APBA-accredited program, you’ll likely begin accruing the required hours as part of your program’s practicum. Many students are able to satisfy all fieldwork hours by the time they graduate. Your program director will help you locate and secure a qualified supervisor and practice site where you’ll begin completing your fieldwork.
Some of the ABA providers in Maine where you may be able to complete your fieldwork include:
- Applied Behavior Consultants, Inc., Portland
- Positive Reinforcement ABA Therapy Inc., York
- Social Significance, LLC, North Waterboro
- Woodfords Family Services, Westbrook
- Woodfords Family Services, Topsham
- Woodfords Family Services, Manchester
- Woodfords Family Services, Oakland
Examination Requirements
Once you’ve completed the BACB-approved practicum/field experience, you must apply to, and receive authorization from, the BACB to sit for the BCBA® national exam.
Once you receive approval from the BACB, you’ll register for your exam and schedule a time and place to take the exam through Pearson VUE. In Maine, Pearson VUE has testing centers in Bangor and Westbrook.
Leadership Training in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Available Through the New Hampshire-Maine LEND Program
The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, along with the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability and the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, offers the New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (NH-ME LEND) Program.
Through NH-ME LEND, students and professionals in early childhood education, psychology, speech language psychology, developmental pediatrics, and more receive graduate-level training that prepares them to assume leadership-level roles in the field of neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD).
Participants of the program develop the leadership skills that allow them to better address the needs of children with NDD and their families. They also develop a better understanding of public policy and evidence-based care by participating in clinical training in hospitals and community-based settings throughout Maine.
The program requires 300 hours of study over the course of nine months. Students complete two semesters of coursework and nine leadership skill workshops, along with clinical placements in a variety of settings. Program activities include:
- Leadership development
- Clinical training
- Continuing education/technical assistance
- Research
- Field work
Individuals can apply for this annual program by completing the online application. Competitive scholarships are available through the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
Applied Behavior Analysts Support Maine’s Children and Adults with Developmental Disorders
Applied behavior analysts in Maine work in a variety of settings, including schools, nonprofit organizations, hospitals, and private practices, among others. Just a few of the ABA therapy providers serving Maine include:
Bridges, United Cerebral Palsy’s Early Childhood Education Program (Bangor)
The Bridges program provides preschoolers and toddlers with behavioral, developmental, motor, sensory, and social support therapy. The one-on-one support is provided by a variety of consultants, including BCBA®s.
The therapists of Bridges address student needs while engaging in age-appropriate activities, such as art, music and movement, circle time, snack, and table activities.
The BCBA®s work through the Specialized Rehabilitative and Community Support Services to employ ABA therapy for children that need more intensive services.
Clarvida (Bangor, Brunswick, Hallowell, Rockland, Caribou)
Since 1999, Clarvida of Maine has offered personalized, evidence-based services to individuals in their homes, schools, and communities. Outpatient services here include comprehensive behavior support and training in the home or in school for individuals with autism and their families. They also offer a broad range of counseling and therapy services for children and adults with any number of behavioral health, mental health, and social needs.
Programs include:
- Care Coordination: Includes case management and behavioral health home care for individuals birth to 20 years of age with behavioral health disorders and/or developmental/intellectual disabilities
- Children’s Rehabilitation and Community Treatment Services: Includes services for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder or related developmental disabilities, with services grounded in ABA.
- Home and Community-Based Treatment (HCT): Services provided in the comfort of one’s home
Heartleaf ABA (Bangor, Augusta)
Heartleaf ABA provides center-based early intervention autism therapy. Their services include ABA therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and social skills groups. Their immersive, family-centered approach features flexible treatment plans and personalized care. Their BCBA®s create personalized treatment plans that help address adaptive behavioral skills, communication skills, classroom skills, play skills, and more.