There are several ways of recruiting people to work on your Home program team. Be creative. Consider everyone as a potential therapist and don't discriminate based upon age or education level. A responsible, dedicated and energetic 17 year old can be more productive in therapy than another person twice their age. An older grand-motherly type may be more positively reinforcing than younger people that aren't connecting with a child.
While it would be nice to have several therapists in your home program, all of which have years of experience as an ABA therapist; the reality is there are not that many experienced therapists available. Students that finish college with a degree in ABA, often want to work as consultants- coordinating programs and providing some therapy for instructional and directional purposes. You will often find more success in hiring inexperienced but eager to learn individuals and paying for their training, rather than waiting till you have a team of all experienced people. Yet, it is very helpful to have at least one therapist on your team with experience, even if you must pay more to get this experienced person. An experienced consultant, one experienced therapist and a few new therapists which you help train can come together to create a powerful treatment program capable of changing your child's life.
The most important ability and quality for a potential therapist is his/her ability to become positively reinforcing to your child. If your child associates positive feelings with a particular therapist, they will do anything to please that therapist. If this type of relationship is to be created; it must be built over time and you cannot immediately perceive who will and will not become positively reinforcing. You can, however, look for traits that hint at the type of person that would be a good therapist for your child. Katherine Lee has an excellent article entitled "What to Look for In A Therapist".
Experienced therapists can be located through websites like the contact pages in the member section of FEAT-NT. Also, check association websites like TxABA. Check with your insurance company and your local school district (but don't pin too many hopes on these two sources). You can talk to other parents in your area and ask them for names of experienced therapists that they might know
Some examples of effective ways to recruit NEW people to work as therapists are:
1. Word of Mouth- create business cards for yourself saying you want to hire someone to work as a "tutor" for your child. Have all your contact info. Hand them out to everyone you know- relatives, friends, neighbors and coworkers etc. You never know who might have a friend or relative interested in working with children. Ask your current therapists or consultants if they know of anyone that might be good with children. Once the contact is made, you can go into more detail about what the job entails. See a sample business card we created.
2. Advertise in the Newspapers- of colleges nearest to your home. Our experience has been that Universities give a better response than Junior Colleges, but try out all possible resources. A sample advertisement might read something like: "Tutor needed for young child in my home. $8 an hour to start. Min. 6 hours/week. Training provided. 817-555-1234". We have had pretty good responses from ads like this. Once the student calls, you explain the full story and if you like them, invite them for a visit/interview.
3. Hang Announcements on Bulletin Boards- in the buildings housing the departments of Psychology, Behavior Analysis and Social Work. Place the type of announcements with your phone number repeated several times at the bottom of the page where students can rip off your number to call you. See an example of a flyer we have posted which has brought us some success.
4. Consider Older and Mature Teenagers- If you have friends who have kids that are older and more mature and you would trust them enough to baby-sit your child, consider them as a potential therapist. If their schedule can be fitted with your schedule, you might find them to be your most valuable therapist. And, this older teen might find that this is an excellent way to earn money before and during college. Some parents have reported that their best therapist was sometimes a teenager.
Two things to keep in mind-
1. Always check references of anyone you consider hiring to work with your child.
2. Invest in a closed circuit TV system. Closed Circuit TV systems are as cheap as $150 and will ensure that you are always aware of what occurs in a therapy session.
The key is creating interest in people to call you and talk to you. Once you are talking, you can explain the situation and get an idea of whether you feel comfortable with the person you are talking to. That first step is the hardest part.