By Free RBT Practice Test Editorial Team | Updated October 2026
The Question
A Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) is providing behavior technician services to a 5-year-old client on the autism spectrum in a home setting. The RBT’s supervisor, a BCBA, instructs them to implement a new behavior reduction program involving extinction of tantrum behavior. During an extinction burst, the child throws a toy across the room, narrowly missing the RBT’s head. What should the BACB encourage the RBT to do?
A. Continue implementing the extinction program as instructed
B. Report the incident to the child’s parents and continue with the program at their discretion
C. Immediately pause the program and discuss safety concerns with the supervisor
D. Implement a safety contingency plan while continuing the program with modifications
The Answer: C
C is right. A toy that nearly hits your head isn’t just a bigger tantrum. It’s a safety risk. Section 2.07 of the RBT Ethics Code (2.0) says that when a client is at risk of harm, RBTs take action to protect them, report it to their supervisor, follow their organization’s policies and document what they did. And section 2.06 sends any concern about your services straight to your supervisor.
Notice what C doesn’t do. It doesn’t scrap the program or rewrite it. It pauses, and hands the decision to the person who owns the plan.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
- A. Continue implementing the extinction program as instructed. Extinction bursts are expected, so this one’s tempting. But “expected” doesn’t mean “safe”. Carrying on as if nothing happened ignores a real risk to you and to the child.
- B. Report the incident to the parents and continue at their discretion. Parents matter, and they’ll need to know. But the clinical decision belongs to the supervisor, and section 2.06 says RBTs take concerns about their services to their supervisor first.
- D. Implement a safety contingency plan while continuing with modifications. Sounds proactive. The trouble is “with modifications”. Changing the program is your supervisor’s call, not yours. If the written plan already includes crisis steps, you follow those exactly. You don’t build new ones mid-session.
Why Extinction Bursts Catch People Out
When a behavior stops getting its usual reinforcer, it often gets worse before it gets better. That’s the extinction burst. The 3rd-edition outline asks you to know it, along with response variation, resurgence and emotional responding (task D.6). Read more in our Behavior Reduction guide.
So a short spike is normal. A spike that puts someone in danger is a different problem, and that’s what this question is really testing.
What This Looks Like in a Real Session
- Make the space safe first: move throwable items, step out of range, and follow your agency’s crisis procedure if things escalate.
- Pause the program rather than pushing on.
- Contact your supervisor right away.
- Document it objectively: what the child did, when, how close the toy came, and what you did next.
- Let your supervisor decide what changes, whether that’s added safety steps, a different procedure or more training for you.
Which Exam Tasks This Tests
This question sits across D.4 (extinction), D.6 (its secondary effects) and D.7 (crisis and emergency procedures) in the RBT Test Content Outline (3rd Edition), with E.1 and E.2 on reporting to your supervisor.
Final Thoughts
When an RBT question mixes a plan with a safety risk, safety wins. Then your supervisor decides what happens next. Ready for more? Try the free Behavior Reduction quiz, or work through a worked question on a learner who gets upset during DTT. You’ve got this!
Another extinction question that trips people up: which RBT action would violate procedural integrity?
