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How to hire an aba therapist

Aba therapist hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring aba therapists in the United States:

  • HR departments typically spend 15% of their expenses on recruitment.
  • It usually takes about 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • It typically takes 36-42 days to fill a job opening.
  • The median cost to hire an aba therapist is $1,633.
  • Small businesses spend an average of $1,105 per aba therapist on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • There are currently 32,603 aba therapists in the US and 90,516 job openings.
  • New York, NY, has the highest demand for aba therapists, with 12 job openings.
  • New York, NY has the highest concentration of aba therapists.

How to hire an aba therapist, step by step

To hire an aba therapist, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire an aba therapist:

Here's a step-by-step aba therapist hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write an aba therapist job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new aba therapist
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an aba therapist do?

An ABA therapist is responsible for administering treatment plans to patients with behavioral disabilities and intellectual disorders, supporting them through systematic processes, and recording their developmental progress throughout therapy sessions. ABA therapists develop engaging activities for the children, observing their personal and social behaviors, and adjust approach as needed. They also coordinate with other behavior therapists and other medical health professionals for refined strategies that adhere to the child's progress. An ABA therapist must have excellent communication and organizational skills to assist patients with different behavioral problems and attend to their needs efficiently.

Learn more about the specifics of what an aba therapist does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    Before you start hiring an aba therapist, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    An aba therapist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, aba therapists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

    The following list breaks down different types of aba therapists and their corresponding salaries.

    Type of ABA TherapistDescriptionHourly rate
    ABA TherapistMental health counselors and marriage and family therapists help people manage and overcome mental and emotional disorders and problems with family and other relationships. They listen to clients and ask questions to help the clients understand their problems and develop strategies to improve their lives.$12-22
    Youth AdvocateYouth advocates are individuals who responsible for maintaining the human rights of youth while assisting them in developing their skills in all areas of life, such as education, health, employment, and relationships. These advocates are required to discuss youth development and involvement with various leaders in the community... Show more$12-19
    Intensive In-Home CounselorAn Intensive In-Home Counselor conducts individual counseling sessions for parents and deals with delicate issues like sexual addiction. They also prepare progress reports for clients.$19-31
    Show more

  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Autism
    • Applied Behavior Analysis
    • BCBA
    • Behavior Analysis
    • CPR
    • Developmental Disabilities
    • ABA Therapy
    • RBT
    • Autism Spectrum Disorder
    • Patients
    • Social Work
    • Data Collection
    • Kids
    • Skill Acquisition
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
    • Interact closely with the on-site speech-language pathologist and occupational therapist to implement patients' therapy programs.
    • Provide specialized ABA therapy for children with autism including developing behavior plans and teaching in a natural environment.
    • Obtain RBT credentials and maintain supervision hours.
    • Travele to different families houses and occasionally help with kids eating habits.
    • Maintain accurate data and graphing on designate programs.
    More aba therapist duties

  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your aba therapist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An aba therapist salary can vary based on several factors:
    • Location. For example, aba therapists' average salary in south carolina is 36% less than in new jersey.
    • Seniority. Entry-level aba therapists earn 43% less than senior-level aba therapists.
    • Certifications. An aba therapist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
    • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an aba therapist's salary.

    Average aba therapist salary

    $35,938yearly

    $17.28 hourly rate
    Entry-level aba therapist salary
    $27,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 16, 2025

    Average aba therapist salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1New Jersey$39,962$19
    2Illinois$38,099$18
    3Maryland$36,830$18
    4Virginia$36,445$18
    5New York$36,406$18
    6Massachusetts$35,358$17
    7California$34,318$17
    8Texas$34,279$16
    9Georgia$34,051$16
    10Connecticut$33,711$16
    11Indiana$32,712$16
    12New Hampshire$32,468$16
    13Arizona$32,304$16
    14Tennessee$31,185$15
    15North Carolina$31,086$15
    16Florida$29,103$14
    17Louisiana$28,776$14

    Average aba therapist salary by company

  4. Writing an aba therapist job description

    An aba therapist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of an aba therapist job description:

    Aba therapist job description example

    Autism Spectrum Interventions is currently hiring for a part-time Behavior Technician to help children with autism improve their skills and reach their full potentials. This ABA therapy position earns a competitive wage of $17.00 - $22.00/hour .

    In addition to competitive pay and our supportive and uplifting culture , we offer our entry-level Behavior Technicians the following benefits:

    • Comprehensive staff training
    • Free supervision for staff acquiring hours for certifications

    So, now that you've learned the who, what, where, and why, you may be wondering HOW? It's easy! Just fill out our initial mobile-friendly online application . We hope to meet you soon!

    DAY-TO-DAY

    Available to work Monday-Friday: 2 PM-8 PM

    As an entry-level ABA Technician, you play a direct role in helping children with autism develop their skills and reach their full potential. You collaborate with the client's parents and other personnel to develop individualized behavior intervention plans that best suit the client's needs. While implementing these plans, you diligently collect and record data concerning their target behaviors. You regularly meet with supervisors and attend team meetings to discuss the client's progress and update their goals accordingly.

    Whether you are working in the home, at school, or in the community, you approach every ABA therapy session with patience and a positive attitude. You are always prepared to safely intervene with a client's undesirable behaviors, such as mouthing items, running away from the session, and engaging in self-harming actions. Creatively, you create new stimuli for the program, whether to make the session more engaging or to offer a new type of reinforcer for the client. You are a caring person who feels fulfilled by helping children with autism reach their targets and increase their skills!

    ABOUT AUTISM SPECTRUM INTERVENTIONS (ASI)

    ASI is founded on the principle that all individuals with special needs deserve quality care and the chance to lead fuller lives. Through our premier behavioral health intervention plans, we strive to give every child the opportunity to reach their full potential. Our goal is to make our ABA therapy services fun and engaging for the clients, so they are motivated and excited whenever a session is ready to begin.

    To help achieve our goals, we hire people who are kind, caring, and compassionate towards children and those with special needs. We provide our staff with high-quality, comprehensive training so they feel confident and capable when working with clients. At ASI, we truly believe that better staff, better interventions, and better care lead to the best treatment options.

    OUR IDEAL PART-TIME BEHAVIOR TECHNICIAN

    • Patient - moves at the pace of the client rather than rushing through sessions
    • Compassionate - has a soft spot for children and people with special needs
    • Communicative - actively works with parents and management to discuss progress and to set new goals for the client
    • Reliable - arrives at every session on time and ready to work
    • Calm - keeps a cool head and works to regain control of a session if a client gets off-task

    If this sounds like you, keep reading!

    REQUIREMENTS FOR AN ENTRY-LEVEL ABA TECHNICIAN

    • 18+ years of age
    • High school diploma or equivalent
    • Valid driver's license and reliable transportation
    • Ability to pass minimum competency training
    • Ability to pass a livescan fingerprint check upon hire
    • Heart for working with children with special needs

  5. Post your job

    To find the right aba therapist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with aba therapists they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit aba therapists who meet your education requirements.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your aba therapist job on Zippia to find and recruit aba therapist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites.
    • Post a job on free websites.

  6. Interview candidates

    Your first interview with aba therapist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

    It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new aba therapist

    Once you've found the aba therapist candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

    It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

    Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new aba therapist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
    Sign up to download full list

How much does it cost to hire an aba therapist?

Hiring an aba therapist comes with both the one-time cost per hire and ongoing costs. The cost of recruiting aba therapists involves promoting the job and spending time conducting interviews. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider the cost of aba therapist recruiting as well the ongoing costs of maintaining the new employee.

Aba therapists earn a median yearly salary is $35,938 a year in the US. However, if you're looking to find aba therapists for hire on a contract or per-project basis, hourly rates typically range between $12 and $22.

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Updated December 16, 2025

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