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Rogue Military Scholarship

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My name is Allie Olmstead and I am one of the owners at Rogue. In my role, I have the opportunity to get to know many of our members and sometimes am blessed to hear their story. Last month, while talking to a new member she briefly mentioned why she had come to Rogue. This glimpse into her life reminded me, and the owners at Rogue, of the service and sacrifice that military families make. This is near and dear to my heart because I am an Army wife. My husband has been in the Army for over a decade. We have weathered deployments, PCS, training, and even disability following combat injuries. Hearing what this Rogue member was experiencing as a military wife instantly pulled at my heartstrings. I remember my husband returning from deployment unable to work due to injuries. He was discharged, as he was in the reserves at the time, and the military did nothing to help our family. I had to work to make ends meet, as he fought to recover. He was able to recover and return to work, but that was only our first deployment. The picture you see below was taken a few weeks before my husband again deployed. He deployed when Eme, our first born, was six weeks old. Eme spent the next 15 months getting to know her Dad through his voice on the phone, or the storybook he recorded for her before he left. The truth is, our family’s story is not special or different, it is a reality that many military families live with.
This Rogue member reminded me and the owners at Rogue how important it is to give back to those that serve. We were blessed to be able to offer this individual a seat in our course, and our study materials. Her story has inspired us to offer a Military Scholarship in future testing cycles. This scholarship will be awarded to one Rogue member who is currently serving, a veteran, or a spouse of a soldier/veteran. Included in the scholarship will be study materials, and a seat in one of our Rogue courses.

Members can be nominated by family and/or friends or can fill out an application themselves. Apply below.

We are looking forward to being able to give back to our Rogue community.

Love,

Sarah, Allie, Lindsey, & Josh

Military Scholarship Application
Name:*
E-mail:*
Military Affiliation:*
Have you tested before?*
How has your affiliation with the military made your journey different and lead you to where you are today?*
How do you think Rogue ABA could make a difference in your journey? (Please include which course you're interested in)*

From one Rogue member to the group…

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I finished my exam today around noon. I spent 6+ months molding my schedule to accommodate studying while trying not to disrupt my family life and allow the activities that would provide respite.

I trained for a marathon to continue doing what I love while giving myself time to think, reflect, and decompress each day. On many occasions this meant running at 5am on weekends so I was back home to spend time with my daughter as soon as she woke up.

I made sure I spent time with my family. It didn’t matter if it was Easter brunch, weekly grocery shopping, or playing games in the backyard. I didn’t see my friends, but that was a sacrifice I knew I could make. I wasn’t willing to sacrifice family time. If that meant a day passed without any studying, I took it as a much-needed mental break.

My weeknights were spent studying - typically 2 hours each after our daughter went to bed. My weekends included studying while she napped and again after she went to bed. It was great for spending time with my family, but not so great for spending quality time with my wife.

The studying was structured, purposeful, and intense. But I also made a conscious effort to separate it as much as possible from the rest of my life. I didn’t want to ask my wife to help quiz me on terms or place stacks of vocabulary cards around the house. All great strategies, but for my own sanity I needed that barrier.

Incredibly, I don’t feel so much exhaustion anymore. I no longer feel stressed. If anything, I’m not sure what to do with my 15+ hours per week that are now free. I think this means I can watch TV again. And spend time with my wife. Maybe sit and stop thinking for more than a couple minutes.

I don’t know if I’ve passed or failed, but I do know I’m not going to stress over the next few weeks about “what could have been.” The exam is over and done with; there’s nothing else I can do to change the result. I have a lot of free time back in my life to do everything I’ve missed out on. Worrying about whether I truly understand behavioral contrast or if maybe that really was a DRL and not a DRD has no room in my life for the next few weeks.

The message I hope to spread here : We’ve all finished this exam cycle, or are about to. Enjoy the fact that, even if it’s just for a few weeks, we’re free. We’re free from constantly thinking, reading, and processing. So please, take the next few weeks and keep yourself busy with people and things you love. I hope to prevent myself from waiting for an email or thinking about a pass/fail grade until at least June 21, 3 weeks from the end of the cycle. I think then I’ll let myself obsess again.

By Brad Winn

Rogue Facebook group member

Posted on May 30th and republished with permission.

The Dreaded F Word: “I Failed the Exam”

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You studied so hard and so long. You put in what felt like as much work as humanly possible. You went through that nightmare of an exam, and now you see the results on the website.

And what do you see?

Failed.

Seeing that word is one of the worst feelings in the world. The discouragement and doubt kicks in, and you think about throwing in the towel. And I beg of you: please don’t. The ABA world needs amazing Behavior Analysts such as yourself.

I saw that word four times and each time I saw it, I felt progressively worse and worse about myself.

The first time I saw the word “Failed”, I knew I deserved it because I didn’t study at all. Writing notecards and doing nothing about it… yeah, not the best way to go about studying for the exam.

The second time, I felt a little worse, but I knew I could have studied more. I could have put in more work than just taking a course and studying a couple of hours outside of it.

The third time, I felt even worse because even though I did the same thing as last time, I put in more hours of studying. When you do the same thing, you get the same results.

The fourth time was when I felt like almost giving up completely. I was so upset. I cried and screamed the day I got my results back. I questioned why I was even in the field. I questioned why I couldn’t pass this exam! I was so mad I could barely think straight.

But, I knew that I had to get back up and fight again. I knew that if I gave up now, that I was never going to get what I wanted. I knew that if I threw my hands up and said “this isn’t for me”, I was going to regret it every single day. And I hope that you feel the same way, too.

This test is not a determination of how great you are in the field. It’s a test, and even though it is very hard, know that you can pass. Know that you can do this, and know that we have your back through all the discouragement.

All My Love,

Michelle

 

Creating a Peaceful Study Environment

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OK, study buddies - let’s get organized. You have all of your materials ready. You have all of your zooms and meet-ups scheduled in your calendar. You’ve got your mock exams purchased & ready to take. There’s one more thing you need to do now… eliminate all of those environmental constraints and create a peaceful study environment!

What makes a peaceful study environment?

To be honest, you have to operationally define that on your own. My peaceful study environment was much different from those who were studying with me during my cycle.

Before I started studying, I had to get very organized. I had an array of resources, so I had to keep up with those around my environment. I had my study materials on my dresser and nightstand so I remembered to refer to those when necessary.

Personally speaking, I have a very attention-seeking pug who would jump on tables, eat anything he can find, and take naps in the place of his choosing. Since it was a constraint on my end, I ended up having my mom take my dog while I was studying. While I love him, he required too much attention for me to give him at that moment.

There are people who can study with music, and even with television shows on. I was able to type a lot of information out with music & television in the background - however, as far as sitting down and writing out examples go, the two became distracting. As a result, I ended up having to eliminate those constraints as well.

The biggest thing I had to do was study outside of my personal environment. My job requires me to travel to different parts of South Florida. Because my drives were so far, I would stop at various places. I remembered stopping at Starbucks on multiple occasions. I would go to the ones in the Barnes and Nobles shops because they were quieter than a standard Starbucks shop.

When you create your own study environment, consider all of the extraneous and confounding variables found within. If you find that they are distracting to your studying, seek to eliminate those. This will help you become even more successful when studying for your BCBA exam.

All My Love,

Michelle

The Wait

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To those of you who just finished their exam this past cycle, you’re going through one of the hardest transitions: post-exam stress. The wait for exam results can be extremely aggravating.

As a five time test taker, I have a few pieces of advice. Here’s my top 3 tips on what you should do while you’re waiting.

Tip #3: Celebrate being done.

I know I’ve said this time and time again, but you’ve literally just spent hundreds, maybe even thousands of hours studying for this dreaded exam. You absolutely deserve to celebrate your accomplishment of even taking the exam. It’s a hard test and it takes a lot of time and effort to make it through the first place.

Tip #2: Take a break from the books for at least a few days.

Some will argue that you should go directly back to studying. I say you should take a break. Why? See the previous paragraph - you just got done taking this crazy exam. It’s good to help others during your cycle and even for the next cycles to come. However, don’t feel that you need to overdo it. There IS such thing as studying too much. Do something for yourself, it’s the least you can do!

And my #1 tip is…don’t check the Portal for results.

This tip is completely contradictory to what I personally did, which is why this is my number one tip. I cannot tell you how many times I
checked the Portal throughout the five times I took the exam to see whether or not I passed. I can’t tell you how many times I got anxious about looking at results. I can’t tell you how many times I told my bosses ” well what if I fail again? I just want to see results already!”.
I get it. This exam makes everybody crazy, and waiting for results could be that much harder. However, stressing yourself out over results won’t get them out any faster. (Trust me, I tried.)
I say this to everyone and I’ll say it again: treat yourself. Take a break. You deserve to be kind to yourself after studying for so long.
All My Love,
Michelle

Dear Multiple Time Test Taker

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So you saw the word “Failed”. And let me tell you, it’s a shitty feeling. If you’re like me, you cried, a lot. You questioned why you even took this exam in the first place. You may have even said “why am I even in this field?” (Me from my failing in May 2016.)

And then you got up… you wiped your tears away, and said “I will not let this exam defeat me. I am not defined by the word ‘Failed’. I will slay the beast, once and for all.” You got right back up and studied again. And we are all so proud of you.

I get it. I saw the word “Failed” four times. It’s a terrible feeling knowing that your studying didn’t pay off. It sucks seeing your score — even if you were 2 points away from passing, it doesn’t mean anything. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen to many people.
Let me tell you something. I was minorly upset the first time I failed but was determined to pass the second time. The second time I failed, but I was so happy that I improved by so many points (because I actually studied the second time…imagine that?). The third time I was disappointed, I cried some, but then I went at it again.
Then the fourth time happened. I studied by writing concepts and writing them out to make it relatable to me. While I did improve once more, I nearly gave up after seeing that dreaded word again. I spent an entire day saying all of the expletives in my vocabulary. I cried out “Why am I in the field if I’m just a failure?” I was beyond upset at this point.
After my day of being upset, I wiped my tears away and started studying like a crazy person. If I wasn’t doing 1:1 ABA therapy with a client, I was on the Rogue board. I was in Zooms hosted by Sarah (I highly recommend her for a tutor!), and I was hosting some of my own with my study group. I met up with a co-therapist of mine to go over one of the BAS exams because we were looking at questions we got right/wrong.
The day before the exam I had a mild panic attack over a question I wrote wrong, and Corrie (another amazing tutor!) talked me off a ledge. After talking with her and getting clarification, I put a response to one of my questions, watched RuPaul’s Drag Race for a couple of hours, took a bath, and then got back into my final hosted Zoom session for the August exam.
I went into the exam: head up, purse first, smile on like I was Mr. Pearson himself. Took the exam in 3 and a half hours with 3 breaks (took 1 break per hour). Was anticipating results towards the end of September, and then boom… Passed.
Multi-Test Takers: I know there’s many of you out there. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE UP! I know it sucks seeing that dreaded F-word, but you WILL pass this exam. I had to change my study habits up COMPLETELY to get there.
No matter what, know that we have your back. We will support you through this process. Do not let this exam defeat you, and remember: you WILL pass.
All My Love,
Michelle

Dear First Time Test Taker

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Dear First Time Taker,

I was once in your shoes. I got an email in October 2014 saying I could officially schedule for my exam (after I turned in all of my paperwork and did my hours) and I was pumped! I immediately scheduled for close to the end of November 2014, I believe it was two days before Thanksgiving of that year.
I remember how I kept writing notecards from a manual, and I believed I could pass on the first try with not a whole lot of studying. Boy was I wrong. I failed, miserably at best. It may have taken two years and five tries, but I achieved that goal - I saw the word “Passed” and now have those four letters after my name.
Chances are you have formed your own study groups with some amazing friends, participated in Zooms, taken some mock exams (Behavior Analyst Supervisor is the best!), and purchased some great products (Rogue ABA rules in this department!). And if you have, you did far more things than I did.
I am not envious of you in the fact that I took this test an endless number of times. However, I wish I had the mindset that you did. I wish I had done even one of these things. And that’s why I’m telling you, first time taker: take this test seriously.
Now go out there, take the exam by the horns, and knock it out of the park. We believe in you!
All My Love,
Michelle

From Struggle to Success-Cassandra’s Story

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As you may know, results came out last week. While we received many messages with good news, there were some who didn’t receive the same. And with those people who didn’t pass this time, we saw messages of discouragement, feeling like they’ve done everything they can, feel like they’re burnt out.

Cassandra Wally, MS, BCBA

If there’s one thing I learned, it’s that giving up isn’t the solution. It especially wasn’t for Cassandra Wally, MS, BCBA — who after taking the BCBA exam 10 times over the course of 2.5 years, she passed in November 2016.

When she was taking the exam, she talked about how she only used one study product and that was it. She had a supervisor who told her “you can’t test the same and expect different results”, and that changed her study habits.

“I met Amy and Kevin (of Behavior Analyst Supervisor),” Cassandra said. “They got my score from a 289 to a 389 … They’re so wonderful; they’re just great people. They really cared about who I was and what I wanted, and that was my first encounter of someone who really cared about me passing other than me or my family.”

Obstacles and Struggles Abound

Throughout her exam journey, she had to fight many battles; one of which being her health. A struggle she highlighted on happened in 2015, when Cassandra took on a new job. What she thought was stress and anxiety turned out to be something much worse — she discovered that she had embolism blood clots in her lungs, and they were over halfway full. It was during this time she met Amy and Kevin of Behavior Analyst Supervisor and received tutoring through them.

Not only was her health at jeopardy, but even her marriage was rocky during her exam journey as well. Each time she was testing starting in 2013, arguments would stir up. While it’s gotten a lot better through time and applied principles, the arguing still happened. However, she still got up and went each time.

Never Give Up!

However, despite these struggles, Cassandra never once gave up.

“When I started my education in 2001 (because I was a non-traditional student), I had 2 children and I was just in the middle of a divorce,” said Cassandra. “I wanted to go back to school and I told myself “I am NOT finishing my education until I reached the end”…And I just told myself I owe my kids this, my husband this, my family, myself, the families I work with… it was all so many things and it’s just like, I can’t. I can’t stop. And I knew that, way back, so I never stopped.”

Despite all of the struggles Cassandra went through, she STILL didn’t give up. She was determined to pass this exam.

So what was so different about this time versus the other nine? She continued to sacrifice her time with her family (even not having a Thanksgiving in 2016), she took on different study habits prior to taking the exam.

“I had joined (the Rogue ABA Study Materials and Exam Prep) group (on Facebook) and there were 10 girls from the group on the West Coast who could meet at the same time,” said Cassandra. “We all joined together Mondays and Wednesdays for 2.5 hours. It was crazy, it was hard. We tackled the task list intensively, came up with questions ,and tried to answer all of the questions.”

November Exam

With that said and done, she walked into the November exam with confidence (and also took a break - something Cassandra never did during her previous attempts).

“I walked in and said ‘you got this!’ and I kept saying to myself, ‘I can do all things through Christ’,” said Cassandra with tears in her eyes. “I’ve prayed before and people have prayed to me before… I don’t know, I guess I just believed more so than last time.”

The belief most certainly paid off. Her struggles turned into successes when she saw the word “Passed” next to her name. Cassandra was overjoyed when she learned of her passing.

Passed!

“It’s still kind of surreal to even say that (I’m a BCBA),” said Cassandra. “They knew I had been taking the exam for a while, but they didn’t know the magnitude of taking this exam…When I (could) finally say I passed, it means it’s permanent. I don’t have to take time away from my family anymore, I don’t have to study anymore.”

Not only was it a Hallmark moment for Cassandra, but it was even more so for her husband.

“When I could finally get a hold of my husband, I asked him ‘do you know who you’re talking to?'” said Cassandra. “He said ‘uhh, Cassey…?’ I (said), ‘your BCBA wife!’ He just started crying. It’s been such a struggle with him. He’s been so patient.”

With her future as a BCBA looking bright, she instilled a very important lesson that we all can learn: seeing the word “Failed” doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel and give up.

“Don’t ever stop,” said Cassandra. “If there was a testing cycle I never tested it, it was a chance that I gave up of passing. Your dream is out there and it’s attainable.”

Cassandra can be reached via Facebook if you want to reach out to her, and she would be happy to lend you a listening ear.

All My Love,

Michelle

Eat, Sleep, Study

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Ever feel like no one understands how the studying journey feels? We at Rogue get that. Each of us represent a
different type of lifestyle and struggle. Working moms, full time teachers, therapists, repeat testers, first time testers, etc. We understand life is not simple, studying is not just going to the library like it used to be in college. I want to give you my top 3 studying tips ofwhat worked for me. Some background on what my studying semester looked like: I was a full time life-skills teacher, part time ABA therapist, and part time respite provider. I was also planning a wedding, looking for a house, packing to move across the state, and searching for a new job.
I so understand busy lives and the struggle of balancing life and prepping for the exam. Choosing to make sacrifices so that this would be (hopefully) a one and done was tough. It meant I did not see many of my friends outside of work. It meant I basically ate, worked, and studied with some small amounts of sleep thrown in the mix. But in the end, it was so SO worth it. I complied my top 3 tips for studying in this list.

My Tips for Studying

1) Zoom. Zoom all the time. Everywhere. Anywhere. Whenever you can. I zoomed with the
free groups on my way home from work on the weekends. Zooms started as soon as my
students were on the bus. I zoomed as soon as I got home. Calls to study members in the
30 minutes between two jobs. I zoomed with my small study group til late at night and all day on the
weekends. I even attended a morning zoom on the way to work. Join our Facebook group
to find these zooms.
2) Find the tiny amounts of free time and study. Run through terms in your head. Break
down contingencies happening at work on your way home. I once called a mock exam
author to go over one of the questions on his mock exam on my lunch break. And if
you’re in public schools, you know that lunch breaks are usually 5 minutes before you’re
called on the radio to come deal with one of your students.
3) Write questions. Do it. It’s hard. It’s scary. BUT, if you can write a question, defend the
reasoning behind your answer, and articulate why it’s correct, you KNOW the material.
Applying the terms to real life can be hard. Especially for the more abstract less used in
daily life terms. Write questions over those. Buy the review of questions product that Rogue offers.
Find a friend. Hold a competition between yourselves. Loser has to do something silly.
Find a way to make it a game and less scary. Send your questions to study partners before
posting them on the Facebook board. But most importantly, write questions!
Those are the three major pieces of advice I can give you heading into the first days of this
testing cycle. Nothing worth having is easy. Hit the studying hard. You can do it.
All the best,
Corrie Mercer

Top 5 Study Tips

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Alright, everyone. We’re halfway into October, and you’re probably wondering “OK, I know I have A LOT to study, but how can I jam all of this information in my head in time for the exam?” I’m going to do a countdown of 5 of my personal best study tips and tricks!

My study tricks are not the same as everyone else’s, but hey, that’s okay! We all study differently. These are the 5 things that I did:

#5 — Answer other people’s questions
Nothing like practicing for that horrid exam like answering other peoples’ questions, right? If you have ever been a participant of my Free Zooms, you know that I require members to answer the questions for a quiz. It’s not because I want to make your life horrible, it’s not because I want you guys to suffer… I promise. It’s because on the day of your exam, you’ll have to analyze 160 questions (this is including the 10 pool questions), and it’s important to practice reading them! Answering questions helped me figure out how I could read them slowly and analyze them objectively.
#4 — Write your own questions
OK, so it’s a lot to step out of your comfort zone and write a question. I get it! I wrote TERRIBLE questions when I first went Rogue. And hey, I’m STILL not the best question writer in the universe. One of the best things about writing your own questions is that you can get effective feedback. The Rogue Girls on board arephenomenal about giving you feedback in a quick, effective, and friendly manner. If you’re ever too afraid to publish a question on the board, the Rogue girls have your back and would love to look over your questions.
#3 — Take the BAS Exams
I cannot stress enough how much I love Behavior Analyst Supervisor. Their exams are so close to the real thing. They have Mini Mocks (currently over A, B, K, and ethics), they have their Timed exam, and their Untimed exam. One of the main reasons why I loved them was because they give you a Score Report the first time you take it. It highlights what your strongest and weakest areas were. Personally, I took the Timed Exam the week before my exam and I also did Mini Mocks B, K, and Ethics (only because A wasn’t out before I sat). There were a few people I knew who took the BAS exams for the first time as a Baseline of what they need to study, and then took them again a week before the exam. I wish I had done that route, personally, because I think it would have helped me figure out more of a focus for studying!
#2 — Join a Study Group
Rogue has an amazing pool of study groups — between the courses, small interactive groups, and our free Zooms that we do 4x/week, Rogue has got it all! Before Rogue came to life, Sarah had a group called Behavior Bosses that focused on the multi-test takers. I also joined study groups and even formed a few. It was effective for me. These were amazing for me, personally, and I learned a ridiculous amount of information in just over a month in a half. (And passed!)
#1 — Lead a study group
OK, you thought writing questions was going outside of your comfort zone? Try leading a zoom! .. OK guys, both are a little uncomfortable, I completely get it. Anyways, my most effective tip is to lead a study group. Why? First of all, you can get all of that knowledge out, and share it with your fellow study members. Second of all, it opens the floor for feedback. I know when I led study groups prior to passing that exam, I wasn’t always right. And heck, I might not always be right now, but the feedback is especially helpful for the next time.
That’s all I have for now. I hope my study tips have been helpful!
I’ll leave you all with a question: What are some of YOUR favorite study tips? Leave a comment and we’ll be sure to read them!
All My Love,
Michelle