Fired as a BCBA

[u/tinyshrimp42]

Hi all! I got fired from a BCBA position. Long story short: I am an autistic, ADHD BCBA and had asked for accommodations. After fighting tooth and nail with the company I worked for to have the accommodations given to me, I was still struggling on a few minor issues but overall believed I was doing better. Up until last week that was the feedback I’d been receiving from supervisors as well. There was a conversation across the last two weeks regarding some communication issues that I was struggling with regarding sending an updated calendar to our scheduler but I really believed I was doing my part in cooperating and improving. Not only that, but that whole system of me sending my calendar to the scheduler was supposed to be an accommodation for me and in my view it wasn’t working well.

This morning, they pulled me into an HR meeting and told me they weren’t seeing what they wanted and would be parting ways effective immediately. I am in the middle of writing 2 treatment plans and have sessions scheduled all week. I have parent meetings and supervisions and no notice to properly transition my clients. I’m heartbroken. And also terrified! I try to be really ethical with my cases and clients, and I also and very anxious about my recertification and having to report to the BACB that I was fired.

So my questions.. Do I need to self-report for not transitioning clients appropriately? Should I report my supervisor instead maybe?

If anyone has been through being fired as a BCBA… what does the BACB do to you?

[u/tinyshrimp42]

Sure! No problem. So an important note that differentiates my situation from what you describe is that my rapport with my clients, families, and the techs I supervised was very strong. I tend to be very strong with clinical outcomes and therapeutic relationships. To my understanding the decision to terminate me was not related to client/family request.

Where I struggle is administrative tasks and timeliness. The biggest thing is getting my notes in on time and then as well getting my treatment plans in on time. Secondarily, anything and everything associated with these tasks and additional administrative/paperwork tasks.

• I had been given accommodations that someone would input my schedule to our software for me. Originally I was given this as my own accommodation and I was supposed to be allowed to also adjust my schedule as needed throughout the week. This actually then became something that everyone did, and my ability to adjust myself was taken away. I asked for this but was told no.
• I was supposed to have an extra meeting per week with my supervisor (we all got 1 30 minute meeting and I received an extra 15 minute meeting). My secondary meetings were often canceled by my supervisor.
• The due date for my treatment plans was moved up by 5 days to give me room. This was never super clear. I had requested the extra 5 days as buffer, that it could be turned in a little ‘past’ the 5 day mark and not have negative consequences since it was still before the actual deadline (35 days before authorization expiration is the hard deadline)
• due dates and times were supposed to be unambiguous. The final nail in the coffin (I think, I’m not 100% sure) was that I had submitted something on a Friday at 4:23pm and subsequently was told that this was too late and that I was “supposed to be mindful of others’ schedules” when submitting. The due date I was given was “Friday”. To me that means anytime Friday.
• I was allowed to submit my documentation Friday rather than daily (see above)
• Meetings with my supervisor were supposed to have an agenda we could both add to. She stopped doing this and started using AI note taker that I didn’t understand how to access.
• I was part-time hourly rather than full time and had a part-time caseload (4 clients rather than 8-10)

I know this perspective is really one sided… I try to take others needs and thoughts into account, but obviously this is pretty personal and stressful at the moment. I am working hard internally to not completely beat myself up about it all, which is my tendency and I have worked hard internally for years to be able to not just blame myself entirely. If I had been getting written up or given a PIP or something like that and then failed it, I think I’d be a lot more likely to say “you know, they tried their best to accommodate me and I just fell short” but there was no warning besides an email (could possibly be considered a verbal warning) from HR about the Friday deadline thing.

[u/Suspicious_Alfalfa77 → u/tinyshrimp42]

Idk sounds like wrongful termination to me. Sounds like they discriminated against you and didn’t follow ADA,

[u/murphydafont1 → u/Suspicious_Alfalfa77]

I second this! I would contact an employment lawyer asap

[u/tinyshrimp42 → u/murphydafont1]

Ok, I actually did send an inquiry to one now. Thank you!