Behavior Specialist

Classification: Full-Time, Salaried

Professional Level: Behavior Specialist – Advanced Program Support

This is a professional-level position responsible for direct behavioral services, assigned caseload management, behavioral consultation, staff coaching, team training, program observation, documentation, and collaboration with Neuroaffirming Program Specialists. Candidates are expected to enter the position with demonstrated experience supporting neurodivergent individuals and/or individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including individuals with more complex behavioral support needs.Compensation within the established range will be determined by relevant education, years of experience, specialized behavioral training, leadership and staff-development experience, and applicable professional credentials.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Behavior Specialist is responsible for providing direct behavioral support, consultation, staff development, and program guidance to strengthen the quality of services provided by LEAPS Services.This is a hands-on position. The Behavior Specialist will maintain an assigned caseload and is expected to work directly with self-advocates across the LEAPS Hub, community settings, vocational programming, social programming, camps, and other service environments as appropriate.

The Behavior Specialist works collaboratively with Neuroaffirming Program Specialists, Inclusion Assistants, Program Leadership, families, caregivers, and other members of the support team. The position is designed to strengthen the newly restructured Specialist model by providing additional expertise in understanding behavior, identifying support needs, developing practical strategies, and helping team members implement those strategies consistently. The Behavior Specialist is also responsible for developing and facilitating team training. Training should be based on the actual needs observed within LEAPS programs and should provide staff with practical strategies they can apply during everyday interactions with self-advocates.

LEAPS uses a neuroaffirming, person-centered approach. Behavioral support should focus on understanding the function and context of behavior, strengthening communication and self-advocacy, teaching meaningful replacement skills, increasing independence, and creating supportive environments rather than relying solely on compliance-based approaches.

ASSIGNED CASELOAD

The Behavior Specialist will maintain an assigned caseload of self-advocates requiring behavioral support, consultation, skill development, or additional program oversight. Caseload responsibilities include becoming familiar with each self-advocate's goals, strengths, communication style, support needs, known triggers, environmental considerations, and current strategies.

The Behavior Specialist will be expected to:

DIRECT SUPPORT WITH SELF-ADVOCATES

Direct work with self-advocates is an essential function of this position. The Behavior Specialist must be comfortable entering programming, working alongside the team, and demonstrating strategies in real situations.

Direct support may include working on:

Emotional regulation and coping skills
Supporting self-advocates in identifying emotions, recognizing escalation, requesting support, taking appropriate breaks, and developing individualized regulation strategies.

Communication and self-advocacy
Teaching ways to communicate wants, needs, boundaries, discomfort, frustration, and requests for assistance.

Social understanding and boundaries
Teaching appropriate greetings, personal space, consent, social boundaries, conflict resolution, and understanding expectations across different environments.

Transitions and flexibility
Developing strategies for changes in routine, unexpected events, transitions between activities, waiting, and navigating less-preferred tasks.

Community safety and participation
Supporting safe decision-making, community navigation, appropriate interactions, problem solving, and participation in community-based activities.

Vocational behavior and workplace readiness
Addressing behaviors that may interfere with employment readiness while teaching workplace communication, accepting feedback, task persistence, requesting assistance, professional boundaries, and problem solving.

Independent living and functional skills
Supporting routines, organization, task completion, decision-making, and other functional skills that contribute to greater independence.

SUPPORT OF THE NEUROAFFIRMING PROGRAM SPECIALIST ROLE

A primary responsibility of the Behavior Specialist is supporting the effectiveness of LEAPS' Neuroaffirming Program Specialists. The Behavior Specialist will serve as a behavioral resource to Specialists while maintaining clear role boundaries.Neuroaffirming Program Specialists remain responsible for overseeing their assigned self-advocates, monitoring goals, coordinating programming, communicating with families, and ensuring overall service implementation.The Behavior Specialist provides additional behavioral expertise when a self-advocate requires more individualized behavioral assessment, intervention, staff coaching, or support planning.

This collaboration may include:

BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT & SUPPORT PLANNING

The Behavior Specialist will assist LEAPS in developing proactive, individualized behavioral support strategies. When behavioral concerns arise, the Behavior Specialist should examine the full context surrounding the behavior rather than focusing exclusively on stopping the behavior.

Areas considered may include:

Recommendations should prioritize prevention, skill development, environmental support, communication, dignity, and meaningful replacement behaviors. When appropriate, the Behavior Specialist will develop written behavioral protocols, support plans, visual supports, response guidelines, or other resources that provide the team with clear and consistent direction.

TEAM TRAINING & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing the skills of the LEAPS team is a core responsibility of the Behavior Specialist. The Behavior Specialist will be expected to identify training needs through direct observation, staff feedback, incident trends, case discussions, and program needs.The Behavior Specialist will develop and facilitate trainings that are practical, interactive, and directly applicable to the LEAPS environment.

Training topics may include:

Training should include opportunities for staff to discuss real scenarios, practice strategies, ask questions, and receive feedback.The Behavior Specialist may also develop written training materials, quick-reference guides, behavioral protocols, case examples, role-playing exercises, and other staff resources.

BEHAVIORAL SKILLS TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Training is not limited to formal meetings. The Behavior Specialist is expected to provide coaching while observing actual programming.When appropriate, the Behavior Specialist should model an approach, allow the staff member to practice the strategy, and then provide constructive feedback.The objective is to create a team that understands why a strategy is being used rather than simply following instructions. Coaching should strengthen staff confidence and independence over time.

CASE CONSULTATION & TEAM COLLABORATION

The Behavior Specialist will participate in collaborative case reviews involving self-advocates who require additional behavioral support.

During case consultation, the Behavior Specialist may review:

FAMILY & CAREGIVER COLLABORATION

When appropriate, the Behavior Specialist may participate in meetings or consultations with parents, guardians, caregivers, and other members of the self-advocate's support system.The Behavior Specialist should communicate behavioral information in a respectful, understandable, and solution-focused manner.The goal is to create greater consistency between environments while respecting the self-advocate's autonomy, preferences, age, and individual support needs.

INCIDENT REVIEW & FOLLOW-UP

The Behavior Specialist may assist leadership with reviewing significant behavioral incidents. This may include reviewing documentation, speaking with involved team members, observing the self-advocate, identifying patterns, and recommending preventive strategies.Following significant incidents, the Behavior Specialist may be responsible for developing or updating staff guidance so that the team has a clear plan moving forward.

PROGRAM OBSERVATION

The Behavior Specialist will regularly observe LEAPS programming rather than limiting involvement to scheduled consultations.

Observation may occur during:

DOCUMENTATION

The Behavior Specialist is responsible for timely and professional documentation related to assigned responsibilities.

Documentation may include:

EXPECTATIONS OF THE POSITION

The Behavior Specialist is expected to be visible, accessible, and actively involved in programming.This position requires someone who is comfortable working directly with self-advocates and team members rather than functioning exclusively from an administrative or consultation role.The Behavior Specialist must be able to move between four important responsibilities:

Direct Support → Behavioral Consultation → Staff Development → Program Improvement

The successful Behavior Specialist should be able to recognize a concern, observe it directly, develop an appropriate strategy, model that strategy with the self-advocate, train the team to implement it, and evaluate whether the strategy is producing meaningful improvement.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Candidates for the Behavior Specialist position must demonstrate advanced education and professional preparation in behavior analysis and the support of neurodivergent individuals and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Minimum qualifications include:

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

Preference may be given to candidates who have experience developing or overseeing individualized behavioral support plans; conducting functional behavior assessments; supervising or mentoring behavioral support staff; developing organization-wide training; supporting adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities; and providing behavioral services within community-based, vocational, social-skills, or independent-living programs.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate the ability to move beyond traditional clinical environments and apply behavioral expertise within real-world settings while supporting autonomy, self-advocacy, meaningful skill development, and quality of life.

The Behavior Specialist should demonstrate strong skills in:

ROLE SUCCESS

Success in this position will not be measured simply by whether behavioral incidents decrease.

Success should also be reflected through:

LEAPS SERVICES APPROACH

Our approach is centered on understanding the individual, identifying what their behavior may be communicating, teaching meaningful skills, supporting autonomy, creating accessible environments, maintaining appropriate safety and boundaries, and helping each self-advocate build the skills necessary to participate more independently in their community.