Behavioral Consultants-Unfairly Treated?

Are behavioral consultants generally under-paid and over-worked?

My wife has been working as a behavioral consultant treating autism & other disorders for the past 3 years. She holds a B.S. degree in Speech Therapy and is now pursuing her master degree in ABA. Let me get to the point:

She is not allowed to charge the actual number of hours she spends doing her job, although she is working as efficiently as she can. Her pay is $20/hr., but it feels more like $12/hr. since she cannot charge 40 hours of work like most other professions. Parents are always calling our home, and every call is always considered as an "emergency." Basically, she works even during non-working hours.

According to what she tells me, rumor has it that some behavioral consultants are fleeing this field in search of decent pay & less stress. Most of her peers live still live at home with their parents. With the kind of pay they are earning, there is no way that they can financially support themselves.

This is absolutely absurd & wrong. I would like to know if what I have described above is in general true. I would also appreciate it if somebody can inform me of any professional organizations/support group that my wife can join to better her career. There are hundereds of websites our there serving as resources/support for parents with special needs kids. But I have yet to find any that offer support for weary professionals like my wife!

Many thanks.

Peter

Replies:

Re:Behavioral Consultants-Unfairly Treated?--Have to Wake Up to Reality Folks!!, by D. Blankenship, 09/27/01

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