Mileage Reimbursement Is Not a Myth, Right?

Sooooo let me just clarify something. If I drive 38 minutes to a session… and then 42 minutes to the next one… and then 27 minutes home… that’s called WORK. It’s not “a scenic tour of the county.” I swear, sometimes I feel like my car is the true frontline employee of this company. Gas prices are OUTRAGEOUS. My tires are tired. I am tired. But somehow mileage reimbursement feels like a mythical creature… talked about in onboarding, rarely spotted in real life.

And can we talk about cancellations?!?! You wake up early. You drive across town. You mentally prepare for 3 hours of DTT and NET and managing tantrums like a behavioral ninja. You pull into the driveway. Text message: “Hey, we’re not feeling it today.” NOT FEELING IT?!?! I am in. your. driveway. Now I get it kids get sick. Families have emergencies. Life happens. But when that cancellation means….No pay….No session…..No stability… And now a random 2-hour gap in my day. And then my company says, “We try to encourage families to honor their scheduled time.” UGH!! TRY HARDER!!!! Because I cannot budget my life around “maybe” paychecks.

I love the work. I love seeing a kid mand for “help” for the first time. That’s magic. But I also love paying rent!! If I’m expected to maintain professionalism, show up on time, take data with precision, and follow the behavior plan exactly.. Then can we also have consistent policies that protect RBTs from losing income every time someone “isn’t feeling it”? We are clinicians..We are trained. We are not ride-share drivers with flashcards.