For years I've received emails or phone calls from parents wanting to begin ABA services for their child, and full of more questions than answers. Even for people who know how ABA therapy can help, they usually don’t know how to get started. Most parents who contact me are confused and frustrated, and still dealing with their emotional state after the diagnostic appointment.
Some parents have told me they wish the Autism diagnosis came with a fact sheet, or road map of what to do next. That would be pretty difficult to do.
Autism impacts each person differently, and an Autism
diagnosis is somewhat like a gemstone with many different facets and depths to
it. There is no “Autism prescription”. The treatment package will vary from one
child to the next. (I keep saying "child", because usually parents seek out ABA for young children. However, teens and adults do receive Autism diagnoses, as it isn't unusual that symptoms could be misdiagnosed or missed when the person was younger).
I'd also like to add, it's important to not confuse the diagnosis of Autism with the worst news ever. There is no need to demonize the diagnosis; it is simply giving you information about how your child's brain works and functions. No professional can tell you that based on a diagnosis your child will never talk, have friends, use a toilet, attend college, etc. Professionals are not prophets, and they cannot predict your child's future. Yes, there may be challenges ahead but Autism is a spectrum. The full impact of the diagnosis will vary from one person to the next.
I'm going to generalize a lot in this post because ABA services vary so greatly based on location. If your child is newly diagnosed and you want to pursue ABA therapy, here are some general steps:
- The first thing you need to do is locate the ABA providers in your area. There may be agencies that send therapists to your home, private Autism schools, or centers where you drop your child off for therapy. If your child is under 3 there should be free Early Intervention services available to you, although early intervention doesn’t always offer ABA. Contact the ABA providers to determine who has availability. It isn’t uncommon to contact an agency and be told there is a long waiting list. If there are no ABA providers in your area, I suggest starting your own in-home ABA program. Parents will often ask me where to go to find ABA therapists. There is no easy answer to that question. You may need to put up flyers on college campuses, ask other parents for recommendations, or hire non-trained individuals and pay an experienced Consultant to train them.
- The next step will be securing funding. The provider will inform you if they accept insurance, have a sliding fee scale, offer scholarships, or they may even tell you about grants available in your local area. If there are Regional Centers in your area, they are the ones who typically pay for ABA so you should contact them first. If the provider does accept insurance, you may have to secure the funding before services can even start. This is because sometimes insurance companies take months and months to approve services, so the provider may need to determine up front that the insurance company will actually pay the claim. If you live in an area without ABA mandated services, you will need to locate funding sources yourself, or possibly pay out of pocket for therapy.
- Now that you have a provider and funding, you are ready to begin ABA therapy. Whether the provider comes to your home, or you take your child to the center/school, you (by “you” I mean all caregivers) will need to receive ABA training. For many agencies and companies this is mandatory—families cannot begin therapy until they have completed initial family training. If you are working with an independent contractor (they work for themselves, not an agency) then I highly recommend you request initial training from that person. It will be very important that the family learn how to apply the fundamental techniques of ABA. In order to see the most benefit from the ABA therapy, the family must reinforce what the therapists are teaching. This will be very hard to do without ongoing caregiver training.
- Lastly, what is most important about beginning ABA therapy is understanding that ABA is a commitment. It isn’t something you “kinda sorta” do. You will likely have a team of professionals coming in and out of your home multiple times each week, and it can be annoying, frustrating, and overwhelming.
ABA therapy is a commitment, and I can quite honestly say that parents who don’t understand or agree with that commitment do not see the progress they are expecting to see from ABA therapy.
**Quick Tip: For those of you still on the fence about if ABA therapy is necessary for your child, I suggest reading my “What is ABA?” post.
Awesome Resource: "A Parent's Guide - Before Starting ABA Therapy" This 31 page eBook helps parents learn what they can do, right NOW, to help their child learn and improve while waiting on therapy services to begin.
I'd also like to add, it's important to not confuse the diagnosis of Autism with the worst news ever. There is no need to demonize the diagnosis; it is simply giving you information about how your child's brain works and functions. No professional can tell you that based on a diagnosis your child will never talk, have friends, use a toilet, attend college, etc. Professionals are not prophets, and they cannot predict your child's future. Yes, there may be challenges ahead but Autism is a spectrum. The full impact of the diagnosis will vary from one person to the next.
I'm going to generalize a lot in this post because ABA services vary so greatly based on location. If your child is newly diagnosed and you want to pursue ABA therapy, here are some general steps:
- The first thing you need to do is locate the ABA providers in your area. There may be agencies that send therapists to your home, private Autism schools, or centers where you drop your child off for therapy. If your child is under 3 there should be free Early Intervention services available to you, although early intervention doesn’t always offer ABA. Contact the ABA providers to determine who has availability. It isn’t uncommon to contact an agency and be told there is a long waiting list. If there are no ABA providers in your area, I suggest starting your own in-home ABA program. Parents will often ask me where to go to find ABA therapists. There is no easy answer to that question. You may need to put up flyers on college campuses, ask other parents for recommendations, or hire non-trained individuals and pay an experienced Consultant to train them.
- The next step will be securing funding. The provider will inform you if they accept insurance, have a sliding fee scale, offer scholarships, or they may even tell you about grants available in your local area. If there are Regional Centers in your area, they are the ones who typically pay for ABA so you should contact them first. If the provider does accept insurance, you may have to secure the funding before services can even start. This is because sometimes insurance companies take months and months to approve services, so the provider may need to determine up front that the insurance company will actually pay the claim. If you live in an area without ABA mandated services, you will need to locate funding sources yourself, or possibly pay out of pocket for therapy.
- Now that you have a provider and funding, you are ready to begin ABA therapy. Whether the provider comes to your home, or you take your child to the center/school, you (by “you” I mean all caregivers) will need to receive ABA training. For many agencies and companies this is mandatory—families cannot begin therapy until they have completed initial family training. If you are working with an independent contractor (they work for themselves, not an agency) then I highly recommend you request initial training from that person. It will be very important that the family learn how to apply the fundamental techniques of ABA. In order to see the most benefit from the ABA therapy, the family must reinforce what the therapists are teaching. This will be very hard to do without ongoing caregiver training.
- Lastly, what is most important about beginning ABA therapy is understanding that ABA is a commitment. It isn’t something you “kinda sorta” do. You will likely have a team of professionals coming in and out of your home multiple times each week, and it can be annoying, frustrating, and overwhelming.
ABA therapy is a commitment, and I can quite honestly say that parents who don’t understand or agree with that commitment do not see the progress they are expecting to see from ABA therapy.
**Quick Tip: For those of you still on the fence about if ABA therapy is necessary for your child, I suggest reading my “What is ABA?” post.
Awesome Resource: "A Parent's Guide - Before Starting ABA Therapy" This 31 page eBook helps parents learn what they can do, right NOW, to help their child learn and improve while waiting on therapy services to begin.
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