Study RBT Exam Unit F with our Professional Conduct & Scope of Practice guide. Learn supervision requirements, ethical responsibilities, boundaries of competence, and how to respond to feedback.
Professionalism is the backbone of being an RBT. Your clients, their families, and your supervisors count on you to act with honesty, follow boundaries, and stick to your scope.
Unit F is where you prove you can be trusted to do this work the right way.
This section of the exam covers your role, supervision, ethics, and how you should interact with clients and caregivers. If you cut corners here, you risk more than just failing the test, you risk the well-being of your clients.
Let’s break down each task in detail.
RBT Task F-1: Follow Your Role and Supervision Requirements
As an RBT, your role is crystal clear: you implement the plans your supervisor writes. You don’t design treatment, and you don’t make clinical decisions. Your job is to deliver interventions accurately and collect data that your supervisor uses to adjust the plan.
But there’s a second piece to this supervision. Without it, you can’t practice.
- You must receive at least 5% of your direct service hours in supervision every month. If you work 100 hours with clients, that means 5 of those hours must be spent under your BCBA’s guidance.
- You need a minimum of two supervision contacts each month. One of them must be live observation while you’re working with a client.
- Supervision can be in-person or through video, but it has to be real-time. No recorded videos.
- Both you and your supervisor must sign supervision logs, and those records stay on file for seven years.
Example: If you provide 60 hours of ABA sessions in April, you need 3 hours of documented supervision. Maybe your BCBA watches you run a discrete trial on Tuesday, meets with you again the following week to review data, and then schedules a parent meeting where you sit in to observe. All those minutes add up to your supervision quota.
Skipping or faking supervision? That can cost you your RBT certification.
RBT Task F-2: Accept and Use Feedback the Right Way
Feedback is part of your daily life as an RBT. Some of it feels great; some of it stings. But here’s the deal—feedback is there to make you better, not to tear you down.
When your supervisor tells you something, you don’t argue or shrug it off. You take it, you adjust, and you move forward.
- Listen actively. Don’t tune out or roll your eyes. Show you’re engaged.
- Ask clarifying questions. If your BCBA says, “Your prompting is too fast,” you can ask, “Can you show me the pacing you want me to use?”
- Apply it immediately. Don’t wait until “next time.” Practice it in the same session if you can.
- Self-monitor after. Notice if the change sticks or if you slip back into old habits.
Example: Imagine your BCBA points out that you’re reinforcing too late—praising the client three seconds after they responded instead of immediately.
Instead of feeling embarrassed, you start delivering reinforcement within one second. The child’s response rate jumps. That’s how powerful feedback can be.
RBT Task F-3: Communicate with Stakeholders—but Stay in Your Lane
Stakeholders include parents, teachers, caregivers, and anyone else on the team. You’ll talk with them often, but you can’t give clinical advice unless your BCBA authorizes it.
Here’s what you should do:
- Share session updates like “He completed four independent requests today” or “She engaged in task refusal for 10 minutes.”
- Redirect bigger questions. If a parent asks, “Should we try medication?” your response should be, “That’s something you’ll want to discuss with your BCBA or doctor.”
- Keep it professional. Avoid gossip, personal stories, or complaints about other team members.
Example: A mom asks you, “Why do we keep using tokens instead of candy?” You don’t guess. You say, “Great question.
Let me ask your BCBA so they can explain the reasoning behind it.” You’ve respected her question without stepping out of your scope.
RBT Task F-4: Maintain Strong Professional Boundaries
Boundaries protect both you and your clients. Without them, lines get blurry, and professionalism disappears.
- No dual relationships. That means you don’t date, hang out, or become “family friends” with clients. Even after services end, be careful.
- No big gifts. Small tokens under $10 are sometimes okay, but anything beyond that is inappropriate.
- No social media connections. Don’t friend parents, follow them, or comment on their personal posts.
Example: A caregiver offers you a holiday gift basket worth $50. It feels rude to decline, but you must. You can say, “I really appreciate the thought, but I can’t accept gifts of that value because of my professional guidelines.”
That’s awkward for a moment, but it keeps the relationship professional.
RBT Task F-5: Respect and Protect Client Dignity
Every decision you make should uphold dignity. You aren’t just teaching skills, you’re respecting a person.
- Protect privacy. Don’t share client stories outside of professional settings. No casual chatter with friends about what your client did today.
- Offer choices. Even small options like “blue marker or red marker?” build autonomy.
- Respect culture. A family’s traditions or values should guide how you interact in their home.
- Value assent. If a client resists a procedure, you pause and adjust under your BCBA’s guidance.
Example: You’re teaching a child to brush teeth. They push the toothbrush away and cry. Instead of forcing the task, you stop and consult your BCBA. Respecting their “no” protects their dignity while still working toward progress.
Why Unit F Matters
This unit makes up over a quarter of the exam. More importantly, it’s the heart of ethical ABA practice. Anyone can memorize terms, but not everyone can handle boundaries, respect dignity, and take feedback.
That’s why this section carries so much weight.
Quick Quiz With Explanations
- True or False: You can skip supervision if your BCBA trusts your skills.
- Answer: False. Supervision is required monthly regardless of experience.
- A caregiver asks for strategies to stop tantrums. What do you do?
- a) Give them tips you think might work
- b) Refer them to your BCBA
- Correct Answer: b. Offering strategies without guidance is outside your scope.
- A parent offers you a $20 Starbucks gift card. What’s your move?
- Answer: Politely decline—it’s above the $10 limit. This avoids dual relationships.
- Your supervisor tells you to change how you deliver prompts. What’s the best response?
- Answer: Accept the feedback, ask for a quick demo, and apply it right away.
- How long do supervision logs need to be kept?
- Answer: Seven years. This protects you and your supervisor legally and ethically.