Roadmap
Knowing what to expect and how to prepare for your child’s therapy is a proactive way to improve the overall quality of treatment. Your child is diagnosed with Autism, what’s next? Review steps 1-10 for more information.
If you’re a parent questioning whether your child may have autism , a developmental delay , learning disability or simply needs extra support with developmental milestones, there are key indicators to consider. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms can vary in severity, with some children exhibiting typical development early on, only to experience a regression in skills such as language or social interaction. This phenomenon is known as regressive autism.
Early signs of autism may include your child not responding when called by their name, failing to point to objects they find interesting, avoiding eye contact, or displaying atypical play behaviors with toys. However, it’s essential to note that this information serves as a guideline and should not replace a formal diagnostic evaluation conducted by a qualified medical or health professional. If you suspect your child may have a psychiatric or learning disorder, it’s imperative to schedule an appointment with a professional for accurate assessment and guidance.
If your child has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or any other developmental disability and you’re seeking therapy to address skill deficits or concerning behaviors, the first step is to contact your insurance provider and request a list of network providers that provide ABA therapy. Once you’ve selected a team and confirmed coverage, you’ll need to request a referral for a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) to determine if Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy is the appropriate treatment for your child.
Insurers typically require the FBA to authorize ABA therapy and determine the number of hours that are clinically recommended. ABA therapy has proven effective in reducing disruptive behaviors and teaching new skills to enhance daily functioning and overall quality of life for children with ASD and other developmental disabilities.
Taking proactive steps to educate yourself about your child’s diagnosis, such as reading, researching the diagnosis given and familiarizing yourself with ABA therapy, can significantly benefit your understanding and interactions with your child. BX offers various courses on ABA therapy, breaking down its concepts for easier comprehension. Additionally, our Resources page provides access to current research topics and recommended books to stay informed about Autism.
FBA or Functional Behavior Assessment is used by Behavior Analysts to determine the level of intervention programming and hours needed to address the deficits in skills or behavior concerns you may have for your child. This is usually done either in person at your home or via telehealth. There will be 2-3 observations or more if clinically recommended. The observations will be conducted in a natural setting for the child such as their school or home. If there are behaviors in the community setting such as supermarkets or parks, the clinical team is recommended to observe in that environment to ensure proper plan of action to ensure support and guidance is also provided in that setting.
The BCBA will ask you questions regarding communication, social, self-help, and behavior skills and deficits. This is the opportunity to communicate all your concerns and what you would like to help your child learn. Once the observations and clinical interview are complete, the Behavior Analyst will write a report that will consist of goals and behavior intervention plan for any behaviors of concern as well as the hours recommended for treatment.
Once the FBA-Functional Behavior Assessment is complete it should be reviewed with you. The clinical team and provider will then submit it to your insurance for approval on the recommended hours per week. It is important to know that an assessment is not an indicator that direct services will be guaranteed to be recommended. Direct therapy for ABA will only be recommended if the clinical team assesses the need for it.
There can be a recommendation of only Parent Consultation without direct therapy to the child. This is based on individual needs and should be specific to each child. The waiting time from the assessment to services can vary from weeks to months and is dependent on your available schedule and the available staff for that schedule. Please see preparation information below this section to understand what you can do to help make process smoother.
Preparing for ABA would be beneficial for ease into services. Below I break down how you can prepare your environment, scheduling , and supportive areas of your life. This step is important to consider as many families start ABA and find themselves not ready to commit to it. The list below will help you consider if ABA therapy is appropriate for your family.
Keeping notes on your family’s current behaviors, skills, and overall parenting style will be beneficial for the therapy team at the outset. Additionally, it allows you to track growth throughout the services. Taking initiative and responsibility to organize your child’s therapy and monitor progress ensures that the process aligns with the family’s goals
The clinical team is ready and has a set day to get started with services. A provider will contact parents and send intake packages or client service agreements. These are simply company policies to share with families to ensure agreement. Once the team has these documents signed they will be ready to start with the in home therapy. Upon starting clinical teams start by building rapport with your family and child to ensure your child is comfortable with the team members. The team members consist of a therapist; they provide the direct one on one intervention.
The supervisor is a graduate level clinician that is providing instruction to the therapist a few times a month to ensure smooth implementation of goals. The BCBA oversees the team to ensure that everything is effective and quality aba therapy is being provided. This is a good time to have a meeting with the team and ask questions on how you can help and what your role is in the therapy process. ABA therapy is so individualized that parent involvement can look different. To learn more about what ABA therapy is and the role of each member of the clinical team the ABA Therapy Introduction course on the Services page discusses this in detail.
When the clinical team starts the therapist, supervisor , and behavior analyst will be building rapport with your child. This looks like the team getting to know your child by playing and making them feel more comfortable.This process is overlooked by many parents in terms of its importance. This is the foundation and the pairing process. It is also an observation on the current behaviors your child displays without any demands being made.
As the clinical team settles into their role over the first few months, certain expectations arise. For parents new to this field, understanding what constitutes normal practice and identifying signs of a competent team are key considerations.
Initially, expect the team to take several weeks to a month to establish a suitable rhythm or flow for running programs. This adjustment period is inherent to ABA therapy, which is tailored to each child and family’s unique needs. Behavior analysts should collaborate with caregivers/parents to review goals and expectations, ensuring they align with sustainable practices.
Supervision by a behavior analyst (BCBA) should occur at least once a month, with weekly to biweekly supervision provided to therapists. Effective communication between the supervisor and parents regarding any program or goal changes is essential.
It’s important to recognize that therapy is intensive and may initially lead to an increase in your child’s behaviors before improvements occur. Understanding this pattern is crucial for maintaining implementation. With consistency, behaviors will gradually decrease in frequency and intensity.
BX offers a Behavior Intervention course to better prepare families for the interventions provided. However, it’s important to note that this course should complement, not replace, any intervention program recommended by the clinical team.
How can you determine when your child no longer requires ABA therapy? Typically, the clinical team will provide progress reports every six months to assess the level of care your child still needs. If your child has successfully addressed all areas of concern and your team suggests graduation, or if your family believes that the remaining areas of concern can be managed without intensive therapy, discontinuing ABA therapy might be appropriate.
Another reason for considering termination of ABA therapy could be if the therapy becomes overwhelming for your family dynamics. It’s important to recognize that this decision is completely acceptable, and some families may choose to end therapy earlier than the suggested graduation timeframe.
However, it’s crucial to discuss the possibility of graduating from ABA therapy with your clinical team through a meeting to ensure that this decision aligns with your family’s needs and the child’s progress.
This Roadmap provides step-by-step guidance to prepare you and your family for ABA therapy or a self-paced ABA program. Additionally, you will gain insight into what to anticipate throughout this journey. Given the comprehensive and occasionally intricate nature of ABA therapy, many parents may feel overwhelmed. The Roadmap aims to simplify this process, ensuring ease and clarity every step of the way.
Roadmap Overview
Flourish and grow as you are waiting for ABA services
After the Behavior Assessment is completed there are things you can do to maximize the impact, quality, and overall success of the program.
ABA services are typically administered in the home setting. Thus, ensuring preparedness and readiness for these services at home is paramount to fostering comfort among the clinical team. Creating a safe and conducive work environment for the team aligns with many company policies and is indispensable. This entails designating a dedicated area for sessions, maintaining minimal noise levels and distractions, and ensuring that any potentially distracting animals are kept away from the workspace.
Moreover, investing in necessary materials for the program is advisable, especially since some companies may expect parents to provide all learning materials. These materials can include essentials such as paper, pencils, crayons, sensory toys, group games, balls, puzzles, a designated workstation or table, an uncluttered floor area, scissors, preferred toys, and ideally, an outdoor area for more dynamic activities.
The amount of time dedicated to ABA therapy can vary significantly, ranging from as little as 2 hours per week to potentially as much as 30 hours per week, depending on the child’s needs and age. Establishing a clear and consistent schedule is crucial for the clinical team involved. Typically, if a child attends school and does not require therapy during school hours, the average weekly therapy time ranges from 10 to 15 hours.
Therefore, it is important to allocate and plan time thoughtfully, which should be considered during the assessment process or when determining the authorized treatment hours by your insurance provider. For instance, a sample schedule could be Monday to Friday from 3pm to 8pm. Consistency in scheduling is vital for the effectiveness of the therapy
ABA therapy is an intensive therapy that is geared toward providing an emersive learning environment for your child to learn new behaviors. This can at times challenge parents as thier lives are also affected by this. For this reason preparing for this commitment is important to prepare for this transition. Talk to your family and discuss the pros and cons of what this therapy can provide fro your family.
Having a support system during ABA therapy is just as important as the other preparations. One way to address this is to speak with all family members that interact with your child and letting them know what interventions are being implemented so that they can attempt to follow this as well. Consistency is number one in regards to the effectiveness in therapy and if all family members collaborate the progress will be more successful.
Flourish and grow as you are waiting for ABA services
After the Behavior Assessment is completed there are things you can do to maximize the impact, quality, and overall success of the program.
ABA services are typically administered in the home setting. Thus, ensuring preparedness and readiness for these services at home is paramount to fostering comfort among the clinical team. Creating a safe and conducive work environment for the team aligns with many company policies and is indispensable. This entails designating a dedicated area for sessions, maintaining minimal noise levels and distractions, and ensuring that any potentially distracting animals are kept away from the workspace.
Moreover, investing in necessary materials for the program is advisable, especially since some companies may expect parents to provide all learning materials. These materials can include essentials such as paper, pencils, crayons, sensory toys, group games, balls, puzzles, a designated workstation or table, an uncluttered floor area, scissors, preferred toys, and ideally, an outdoor area for more dynamic activities.
The amount of time dedicated to ABA therapy can vary significantly, ranging from as little as 2 hours per week to potentially as much as 30 hours per week, depending on the child’s needs and age. Establishing a clear and consistent schedule is crucial for the clinical team involved. Typically, if a child attends school and does not require therapy during school hours, the average weekly therapy time ranges from 10 to 15 hours.
Therefore, it is important to allocate and plan time thoughtfully, which should be considered during the assessment process or when determining the authorized treatment hours by your insurance provider. For instance, a sample schedule could be Monday to Friday from 3pm to 8pm. Consistency in scheduling is vital for the effectiveness of the therapy
ABA therapy is an intensive therapy that is geared toward providing an emersive learning environment for your child to learn new behaviors. This can at times challenge parents as thier lives are also affected by this. For this reason preparing for this commitment is important to prepare for this transition. Talk to your family and discuss the pros and cons of what this therapy can provide fro your family.
Having a support system during ABA therapy is just as important as the other preparations. One way to address this is to speak with all family members that interact with your child and letting them know what interventions are being implemented so that they can attempt to follow this as well. Consistency is number one in regards to the effectiveness in therapy and if all family members collaborate the progress will be more successful.
Roadmap
Knowing what to expect and how to prepare for your child’s therapy is a proactive way to improve the overall quality of treatment. Your child is diagnosed with Autism, what’s next? Review steps 1-10 for more information.
If you’re a parent questioning whether your child may have autism , a developmental delay , learning disability or simply needs extra support with developmental milestones, there are key indicators to consider. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms can vary in severity, with some children exhibiting typical development early on, only to experience a regression in skills such as language or social interaction. This phenomenon is known as regressive autism.
Early signs of autism may include your child not responding when called by their name, failing to point to objects they find interesting, avoiding eye contact, or displaying atypical play behaviors with toys. However, it’s essential to note that this information serves as a guideline and should not replace a formal diagnostic evaluation conducted by a qualified medical or health professional. If you suspect your child may have a psychiatric or learning disorder, it’s imperative to schedule an appointment with a professional for accurate assessment and guidance.
If your child has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or any other developmental disability and you’re seeking therapy to address skill deficits or concerning behaviors, the first step is to contact your insurance provider and request a list of network providers that provide ABA therapy. Once you’ve selected a team and confirmed coverage, you’ll need to request a referral for a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) to determine if Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy is the appropriate treatment for your child.
Insurers typically require the FBA to authorize ABA therapy and determine the number of hours that are clinically recommended. ABA therapy has proven effective in reducing disruptive behaviors and teaching new skills to enhance daily functioning and overall quality of life for children with ASD and other developmental disabilities.
Taking proactive steps to educate yourself about your child’s diagnosis, such as reading, researching the diagnosis given and familiarizing yourself with ABA therapy, can significantly benefit your understanding and interactions with your child. BX offers various courses on ABA therapy, breaking down its concepts for easier comprehension.
FBA or Functional Behavior Assessment is used by Behavior Analysts to determine the level of intervention programming and hours needed to address the deficits in skills or behavior concerns you may have for your child. This is usually done either in person at your home or via telehealth. There will be 2-3 observations or more if clinically recommended. The observations will be conducted in a natural setting for the child such as their school or home. If there are behaviors in the community setting such as supermarkets or parks, the clinical team is recommended to observe in that environment to ensure proper plan of action to ensure support and guidance is also provided in that setting.
The BCBA will ask you questions regarding communication, social, self-help, and behavior skills and deficits. This is the opportunity to communicate all your concerns and what you would like to help your child learn. Once the observations and clinical interview are complete, the Behavior Analyst will write a report that will consist of goals and behavior intervention plan for any behaviors of concern as well as the hours recommended for treatment.
Once the FBA-Functional Behavior Assessment is complete it should be reviewed with you. The clinical team and provider will then submit it to your insurance for approval on the recommended hours per week. It is important to know that an assessment is not an indicator that direct services will be guaranteed to be recommended. Direct therapy for ABA will only be recommended if the clinical team assesses the need for it.
There can be a recommendation of only Parent Consultation without direct therapy to the child. This is based on individual needs and should be specific to each child. The waiting time from the assessment to services can vary from weeks to months and is dependent on your available schedule and the available staff for that schedule. Please see preparation information below this section to understand what you can do to help make process smoother.
Preparing for ABA would be beneficial for ease into services. Below I break down how you can prepare your environment, scheduling , and supportive areas of your life. This step is important to consider as many families start ABA and find themselves not ready to commit to it. The list below will help you consider if ABA therapy is appropriate for your family.
Keeping notes on your family’s current behaviors, skills, and overall parenting style will be beneficial for the therapy team at the outset. Additionally, it allows you to track growth throughout the services. Taking initiative and responsibility to organize your child’s therapy and monitor progress ensures that the process aligns with the family’s goals
The clinical team is ready and has a set day to get started with services. A provider will contact parents and send intake packages or client service agreements. These are simply company policies to share with families to ensure agreement. Once the team has these documents signed they will be ready to start with the in home therapy. Upon starting clinical teams start by building rapport with your family and child to ensure your child is comfortable with the team members. The team members consist of a therapist; they provide the direct one on one intervention.
The supervisor is a graduate level clinician that is providing instruction to the therapist a few times a month to ensure smooth implementation of goals. The BCBA oversees the team to ensure that everything is effective and quality aba therapy is being provided. This is a good time to have a meeting with the team and ask questions on how you can help and what your role is in the therapy process. ABA therapy is so individualized that parent involvement can look different. To learn more about what ABA therapy is and the role of each member of the clinical team the ABA Therapy Introduction course on the Services page discusses this in detail.
When the clinical team starts the therapist, supervisor , and behavior analyst will be building rapport with your child. This looks like the team getting to know your child by playing and making them feel more comfortable.This process is overlooked by many parents in terms of its importance. This is the foundation and the pairing process. It is also an observation on the current behaviors your child displays without any demands being made.
As the clinical team settles into their role over the first few months, certain expectations arise. For parents new to this field, understanding what constitutes normal practice and identifying signs of a competent team are key considerations.
Initially, expect the team to take several weeks to a month to establish a suitable rhythm or flow for running programs. This adjustment period is inherent to ABA therapy, which is tailored to each child and family’s unique needs. Behavior analysts should collaborate with caregivers/parents to review goals and expectations, ensuring they align with sustainable practices.
Supervision by a behavior analyst (BCBA) should occur at least once a month, with weekly to biweekly supervision provided to therapists. Effective communication between the supervisor and parents regarding any program or goal changes is essential.
It’s important to recognize that therapy is intensive and may initially lead to an increase in your child’s behaviors before improvements occur. Understanding this pattern is crucial for maintaining implementation. With consistency, behaviors will gradually decrease in frequency and intensity.
BX offers a Behavior Intervention course to better prepare families for the interventions provided. However, it’s important to note that this course should complement, not replace, any intervention program recommended by the clinical team.
How can you determine when your child no longer requires ABA therapy? Typically, the clinical team will provide progress reports every six months to assess the level of care your child still needs. If your child has successfully addressed all areas of concern and your team suggests graduation, or if your family believes that the remaining areas of concern can be managed without intensive therapy, discontinuing ABA therapy might be appropriate.
Another reason for considering termination of ABA therapy could be if the therapy becomes overwhelming for your family dynamics. It’s important to recognize that this decision is completely acceptable, and some families may choose to end therapy earlier than the suggested graduation timeframe.
However, it’s crucial to discuss the possibility of graduating from ABA therapy with your clinical team through a meeting to ensure that this decision aligns with your family’s needs and the child’s progress.