5 Things to Look For When Finding a Quality ABA Provider

Your child has been referred for ABA services but now what? Depending on your location there may either be many ABA providers to choose from or hardly any. How do you know who will really help you and your child? What are questions you should ask of your potential provider? See the 5 top items and questions that you should look for when considering providers for your child.

1.Licensure & Certifications – Check to ensure that the therapists are properly licensed and certified for your state. The program for your child should be written and supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). They should be certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) and they should be able to provide you with credentials. Quality programs will be implemented by therapists certified as Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs). All individuals coming into contact with your child should be certified and registered with the BACB. Always ask for this information!

2.Individualized — Treatment plans and recommendations should all be individualized and based on your child. Are their strengths as well as their challenges included? Did you get the opportunity to share what your goals for therapy are and are they included in some way? Goals that are written should be based on individual assessments completed with your child. Ask to see these results!

3.Parent/Caregiver Guidance –Treatment plans should include how parents will be included in therapy. This is a necessary component of any quality ABA program. This allows teams to effectively plan for generalization of skills. Ensure that the provider has included specific goals, in collaboration with you, that they will provide guidance on to you.

4.Data Based – All programming should be based on data collection! You should ask for monthly updates that are based on consistent and clear data collection that is measuring clear and objective goals. This data will guide how to move forward, when to move forward and when systematic changes are needed.

5.Approach – Does the BCBA utilize antecedent based interventions and motivating activities to decrease the value of unwanted behaviors? Quality ABA programs will focus on the therapist taking time to build a rapport with your child (pairing) and having a planned and systematic reinforcement system that includes a variety of types of reinforcers. Consequences are necessary but what happens BEFORE the behavior is so very important for your child!

While there are more questions and items that you may want to explore, these items are so important when beginning your experience with ABA.