Your child has just received a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and you’ve been referred to ABA therapy. However, you have no clue what that is, let alone what to do to get your child started. That’s where a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) comes in. A BCBA will contact you and walk you through the entire process, from beginning to end. So, today I want to walk you through the process of starting therapy here at Bright Futures ABA Therapy.

Here at Bright Futures, the process starts with an initial meeting called an Intake. This is where you and I sit down together to discuss your child’s needs. I will gather some information from you (personal information, medical history, other therapies, behaviors of concern etc.).

From there, I will conduct an Assessment. This is where I will spend some time with your child, observing their behaviors and identifying any skills we will need to work on.

The Intake and Assessment process helps me gather information I need in order to create an individualized Treatment Plan. This plan lays out all of the behaviors and skills that we will work on together and exactly how we will do it.

Once the Treatment has been written and approved by your insurance, we will schedule recurring therapy sessions. During these sessions, a BCBA or Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) will implement the Treatment Plan directly with your child in a one-on-one setting. Each week you will meet with the BCBA for Parent Training. This is where the BCBA will update you on your child’s progress and work with you on techniques to use at home in order to ensure progress goes beyond just the therapy setting.

I hope this gives you a better understanding of the process of getting started with ABA therapy. While the process explained above is how we do things here at Bright Futures, the steps above are relatively similar for any clinic. The next thing you need to know as a parent is how to make sure your BCBA is right for your family. Next time, I will give you some tips on how to choose the right BCBA and ensure your child is receiving quality services.