How to hire a developmental therapist

How to hire a developmental therapist, step by step

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

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the developmental therapist you need to hire. Certain developmental therapist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A developmental therapist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, developmental 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.

   Here's a comparison of developmental therapist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Developmental Therapist	Description	Hourly rate
   Developmental Therapist		$12-26
   ABA Therapist	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... Show more	$12-22
   Therapist	A therapist is responsible for improving the patients' health conditions by evaluating their needs and providing physical and mental support. Therapists are licensed, medical professionals who specialize in different areas to perform treatments and bring relief to patients... Show more	$18-38

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Autism
   • Early Intervention
   • Adaptive
   • Children Birth
   • IFSP
   • Natural Environment
   • Intervention Services
   • Behavioral Issues
   • Developmental Delays
   • Developmental Disabilities
   • Child Development
   • Family Service Plan
   • CPR
   • Developmental Therapy

   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.
   • Conduct developmental evaluations and behavior therapy in an early intervention program for children with autism and other developmental delays.
   • Experience working with children diagnose with autism and developmental disabilities who exhibit behavioral disorders.
   • Used positive reinforcement through ABA to help develop social and motor skills.
   • Provide ABA therapy to developmentally delay, primarily autistic children in the home, community, and the clinical setting
   • Conduct regular IFSP meetings to establish family centered outcomes and identify therapeutic strategies.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your developmental therapist job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A developmental therapist can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, developmental therapists' average salary in florida is 50% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level developmental therapists 55% less than senior-level developmental therapists.
   • Certifications. A developmental therapist with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a developmental therapist's salary.

   Average developmental therapist salary

   $38,005yearly

   $18.27 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level developmental therapist salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

4. Writing a developmental therapist job description

   A good developmental therapist job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a developmental therapist job description:

   Developmental therapist job description example

   Up to $3000 Sign On Bonus

   Job Qualifications

   • Must be enrolled or be able to be enrolled in the First Steps System with the
     following qualifications: Baccalaureate and/or Masters and/or Doctorate degree in special education, elementary education, early childhood education, child development or a related field with a special education teaching license. Certified Child Life Specialists and Registered Nurses may also provide developmental therapy at the specialist level. Must have credentials at the specialist level within two years of enrollment and complete Continual Professional Development annually.
   • Must have knowledge of the six areas of development.
   • Experience working with developmentally-delayed/at-risk children. Thorough knowledge of and ability to make practical application of theories and methods in testing and evaluating the six areas of development.
   • Working knowledge of Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) guidelines, with the ability to develop and implement appropriate goals and objectives to address individual fine motor and self-help needs.
   • Minimum of two years experience working with early childhood programs.
   • Excellent written and oral communication skills are essential
   • Ability to attend and conduct in-service training programs and provide consultation to agency personnel
   • Ability to follow all personnel policies and rules of the agency, and maintain confidentially of records and information as required
   • Must have dependable transportation and valid Indiana driver's license
   • Ability to work non-standard flexible schedule

   Essential Functions

   Service Delivery

   • Provide activities that are designed to enhance the child's development in one or more developmental domain including cognitive, adaptive, social/emotional, motor and communication development
   • Exercises independent judgment in testing and analyzing developmental skills and developing appropriate goals and objectives for the individual clients
   • Ability to work independently, following practices of the profession and standard department policies and procedures. Unusual situations and problems are discussed with the supervisor. Work is periodically reviewed for attainment of objectives and adherence to instruction/guidelines
   • Address the planned interaction of personnel, materials, time, and space that leads to meeting the Outcomes in the IFSP
   • Incorporate parent/caregiver involvement in order to encourage follow-through and integration of the developmental skills in all aspects of the child's daily life
   • Design learning environments and activities that promote a child's skill development in a variety of development areas
   • Provide services in the natural setting of the eligible child and family. This may include one-to-one child interventions, group activities, family training and support, or consultation/training services to programs and services where the child and /or family attend
   • Ability to work in classrooms, client homes and in a standard office environment involving pushing/pulling objects, handling/grasping, fingering objects, crawling, crouching/kneeing, reaching, bending at waist and lifting/carrying infants/toddlers occasionally weighing more than 50 pounds. May be occasionally exposed to unsanitary conditions and communicable diseases
   • Maintain effective contact with the service coordinator/case worker serving the
     child/family. Provide the service coordinator necessary information to better assist the child/family

   Training and Support

   • Provide family training and education to assist the family in understanding the special needs of the child
   • Provide families with information, skills and support related to enhancing their child's development
   • Provide support and consultation to community child care staff when the location for delivering developmental therapy to the child is in a community child care setting.

   Record Keeping

   • Submit billing within appropriate time frames
   • Ensure the quantity and types of services provided are documented by IFSP meetings and are reflected in the IFSP
   • Complete progress notes, regular evaluations and quarterly reports to be submitted to families, Service Coordinator and SPOE
   • Maintain all confidential files according to First Steps and Sycamore Services
     requirements.
   • Children's Services Team Perform other duties as needed
   • Attends all agency in-services as required.

   Physical demands

   • Bending, Standing, Sitting for long periods of time
   • Ability to lift a minimum of 35 pounds
   • Able to perform minimal office upkeep tasks

   Job Types

   • Full-time
   • Part time

   
   

   Sycamore Services is committed to employees, customers, and the community to promote diversity and inclusion by developing policies, programs, and procedures that foster a work environment where differences are respected and employees are treated fairly.

   Sycamore Services prohibits discrimination or harassment of any kind and ensures equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all aspects of the relationship between Sycamore Services and its employees, including recruitment, employment, promotion, transfer, training, working conditions, wages and salary administration, employee benefits, and application of policies.

   
   
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5. Post your job

   To find developmental therapists for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any developmental therapists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level developmental therapists with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your developmental therapist job on Zippia to find and attract quality developmental therapist candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with developmental 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 developmental therapist

   Once you've decided on a perfect developmental therapist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new developmental 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.)

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