12 Questions to Ask an ABA Provider Before You Sign
The questions that reveal how a provider actually operates, plus the answers that should reassure you and the ones that should give you pause.
Choosing an ABA provider is one of the bigger decisions you will make for your child, and most families make it with very little information, often while exhausted.
These are the questions worth asking. Ask them of every provider you consider, including us.
About the people with your child
1. Who will actually be in the room with my child?
Most direct sessions are delivered by a behavior technician, often an RBT, not by the BCBA who writes the plan. That is normal and fine. What you want to know is who that person is, what training they have, and how they are supported.
Reassuring answer: a clear description of qualifications, training, and supervision. Concerning answer: vagueness, or discomfort with the question.
2. How often will a BCBA observe and update the plan?
The behavior analyst should be watching sessions regularly, not just writing a plan and disappearing.
Reassuring answer: a specific rhythm, and a named person. Concerning answer: only at authorization renewals.
3. What is your staff turnover like, and what happens if my child and the therapist are not a good match?
Turnover is the industry's real problem. Children form attachments and lose them. You deserve honesty about it.
Reassuring answer: an honest number and a clear process for changing therapists. Concerning answer: claiming turnover never happens.
About the program
4. How will you decide what to work on?
Reassuring answer: an assessment, plus a real conversation with you about your priorities. Concerning answer: a standard curriculum every child receives.
5. How will I know if it is working?
Reassuring answer: specific measurable goals, data you can see, and regular review meetings. Concerning answer: you will see progress.
6. How do you make sure skills work outside of sessions?
A skill that only appears with one therapist is not really learned.
Reassuring answer: deliberate practice across people and places, and parent coaching.
7. What is your approach when my child is distressed or refusing?
This question matters enormously. Listen for whether they talk about understanding the reason behind the behavior and teaching an alternative, and whether the child's comfort and dignity come up on their own.
Concerning answer: anything centered on compliance, or on pushing through distress.
8. Do you use any procedures I should know about in advance?
You are entitled to know exactly what will be done with your child, and to say no.
About your role
9. What will you expect from me?
Good ABA involves parents. It should not depend on you running sessions.
10. How will you keep me informed?
Reassuring answer: regular updates, session notes you can read, and an easy way to reach someone.
About the practical side
11. What will this cost me per month, and what happens when authorization is reviewed?
Get a real number, not a percentage.
12. When can we actually start?
Coverage is meaningless if the wait is nine months. Ask for a realiztic date, and ask what happens between now and then.
Two questions for yourself
After the call, ask yourself two things.
Did they talk about my child as a person, or as a case? The language people use when they are not being careful tells you a lot.
Did they say anything that was not in their interest to say? A provider willing to tell you that another program fits you better is a provider you can trust on other things.
Our answers
We think families should compare providers properly, so here is where we stand.
Sessions are delivered by trained behavior technicians with BCBA supervision built into the schedule, not squeezed in at renewal time. We work in your home and by telehealth across Orange County and Southern California. We are in network with Anthem Blue Cross and Aetna, and we take private pay. We handle authorization paperwork rather than handing it to you. We do not run a waitlist, so we can give you a real start date on the first call.
And if your child's needs point somewhere else, we will say so. Call (657) 678-9020 and ask us all twelve.
Written by the BehavioTech clinical team. BehavioTech provides in-home and telehealth ABA therapy across Orange County and Southern California, in network with Anthem Blue Cross and Aetna. Call (657) 678-9020 or start an intake.