What does a developmental technician do?
Developmental technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real developmental technician resumes:
- Manage the behavior of students using the CPI training skills when necessary.
- Assist individuals with their ADL's yet allowing and encouraging independence.
- Develop, plan, and run vocational and safety goals for individuals.
- Assist with ADL's, supervise meals, activities daily, provide a safe and structure environment.
- Provide rehabilitation opportunities through facilitation of integrate rehabilitation and recreation services.
- Enhance the independents of individual with DD.
- Work with DD waivers, rules and regulations.
- Provide rehabilitation opportunities through facilitation of integrate rehabilitation and recreation services.
Developmental technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Developmental Technicians are proficient in Developmental Disabilities, Direct Care, and Autism. They’re also known for soft skills such as Patience, Physical stamina, and Compassion.
We break down the percentage of Developmental Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Developmental Disabilities, 16%
Implemented Individual Program Plans to help the boys overcome psychological and behavioral problems from past abuse and developmental disabilities.
- Direct Care, 13%
Provided direct care for mentally challenged and handicapped individuals.
- Autism, 9%
Provided developmental therapy for children with autism, Asperger's and Down Syndrome.
- Food Preparation, 9%
Assisted individuals in food preparation.
- Behavioral Training, 8%
Conducted behavioral training and helped implement and write personalized behavioral plans for individuals.
- Mental Health, 8%
Provided service planned to restore individuals to optimum social & mental health.
Common skills that a developmental technician uses to do their job include "developmental disabilities," "direct care," and "autism." You can find details on the most important developmental technician responsibilities below.
Patience. The most essential soft skill for a developmental technician to carry out their responsibilities is patience. This skill is important for the role because "working with people who have mental, emotional, or developmental conditions may be challenging." Additionally, a developmental technician resume shows how their duties depend on patience: "assisted in providing daily hygiene, meal prepatration *provided transporation to and from community outings while demonstrating unwavering patience and understanding. "
Physical stamina. Another essential skill to perform developmental technician duties is physical stamina. Developmental technicians responsibilities require that "psychiatric technicians and aides must lift, move, and sometimes restrain patients." Developmental technicians also use physical stamina in their role according to a real resume snippet: "cared for individuals with developmental and physical disabilities. "
Compassion. This is an important skill for developmental technicians to perform their duties. For an example of how developmental technician responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "psychiatric technicians and aides spend much of their time interacting with patients who have mental, emotional, or developmental conditions." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a developmental technician: "assist with the control of behavior and emotions in a safe environment that promotes respect, honesty and compassion. ".
Interpersonal skills. developmental technician responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "psychiatric technicians and aides may want to develop a rapport with patients in order to properly care for them." This resume example shows what developmental technicians do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "use verbal, written and interpersonal skills to interact with mental health professionals, patients and family members. "
The three companies that hire the most developmental technicians are:
- Burrell Behavioral Health8 developmental technicians jobs
- Targa Resources5 developmental technicians jobs
- GC Services Limited Partnership3 developmental technicians jobs
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Developmental technician vs. Direct care provider
A Direct Care Worker specializes in providing care and assistance to patients, typically to the elderly. Their responsibilities include preparing and feeding meals, administering medication and other treatments, and monitoring their conditions, updating the physician or the patients' families regularly. They must also assist patients in various hygienic tasks such as bathing, dressing, brushing teeth, or going to the toilet. There are instances when Direct Care Workers must perform various household tasks such as laundry, washing the dishes, shopping for groceries, and running errands as needed.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, developmental technician responsibilities require skills like "autism," "food preparation," "behavioral training," and "facilitate assessment." Meanwhile a typical direct care provider has skills in areas such as "home health," "administer medications," "crisis intervention," and "group homes." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Direct care providers tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $29,461. In contrast, developmental technicians make the biggest average salary, $44,255, in the energy industry.The education levels that direct care providers earn slightly differ from developmental technicians. In particular, direct care providers are 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a developmental technician. Additionally, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Developmental technician vs. Direct care worker
A Direct Care Worker's responsibility revolves around overseeing clients' welfare and health care from different ages and conditions. Most of the duties will involve assistance in basic hygienic tasks such as bathing or going to the toilet, performing light chores such as preparing healthy meals and cleaning a bedroom, and ensuring the patient's medication intake aligns with the schedule. Furthermore, it is also the duty of a Direct Care Worker to empathize and build rapport with clients to make them feel more at ease.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, developmental technician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "autism," "behavioral training," "facilitate assessment," and "medication administration." Meanwhile, a direct care worker has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "crisis intervention," "companionship," and "medication reminders." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Direct care workers may earn a lower salary than developmental technicians, but direct care workers earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $29,581. On the other hand, developmental technicians receive higher pay in the energy industry, where they earn an average salary of $44,255.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Direct care workers tend to reach similar levels of education than developmental technicians. In fact, they're 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Developmental technician vs. Direct support staff
The direct support staff is an individual who takes responsibility for the overall care of people with developmental disabilities. Direct support professionals work directly with developmental illness patients in long-term health care facilities. They perform their jobs as home health and companion care providers who assist their clients in their daily movements and actions. It is their duty to ensure the comfort and safety of their clients. Also, they encourage behaviors and attitudes which strengthen community inclusion.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, developmental technicians are more likely to have skills like "developmental disabilities," "autism," "food preparation," and "behavioral training." But a direct support staff is more likely to have skills like "direct support," "excellent interpersonal," "team-oriented environment," and "transport clients."
Direct support staff earn the best pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $30,215. Developmental technicians earn the highest pay from the energy industry, with an average salary of $44,255.Most direct support staff achieve a similar degree level compared to developmental technicians. For example, they're 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Developmental technician vs. Direct support specialist
A direct support specialist provides care and assistance to individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities. They may work at nursing facilities, government institutions, or at the patients' homes. Their responsibilities usually revolve around helping patients with daily tasks such as bathing, dressing, going to the toilet, and attending appointments. They may also assist patients in taking medications, handle the laundry and dishes, cook and prepare meals according to nutrition plans, and run errands as necessary. Moreover, they are also responsible for coordinating with physicians, maintaining daily records, and processing documents.
Types of developmental technician
Updated January 8, 2025











