Questions To Ask Your ABA Therapy Provider

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1. What is your proposed treatment plan?

The approach the BCBA takes to developing treatment plans is also of critical importance. The more tailored and personalized a treatment plan is to your child’s specific needs, the more effective it will be. Therefore, avoid therapy providers that take a cookie-cutter approach to developing a treatment plan.

Treatment plans also need to be focused on the root cause of behavioral problems, not just on the behavior itself. For example, perhaps your child has difficulties every Monday morning before starting school for the week. An effective treatment plan would focus on what’s triggering this challenge and how your child can better manage it, rather than just trying to treat the behavior.

2. What do we need to do during therapy?

Make sure to ask the therapist how they involve parents in the treatment process. For treatment to be effective, parents and therapists need to take a joined-up approach, with parents continuing many of the techniques between each therapy session.

Ask what type of feedback the BT/RBT will provide you with after each session and what instructions they may provide to help you incorporate ABA techniques into your everyday routines. Ask the BCBA how you’ll fit into the bigger picture of the treatment plan and how they see you working together to achieve behavior goals.

You should also assess if the therapist’s treatment plan and the demands it will place on you and the rest of your family can be accommodated.

If you feel that the plan the therapist proposes could be overwhelming, you should raise these concerns with the therapist rather than taking on something that could be too much to maintain long term. Your therapist will be able to adapt the strategy to ensure it’s manageable.

3. How is data collected?

The only way to determine if behavior goals are being achieved is through data, so subjective measurement such as observing behavior and providing general feedback is not robust enough.

Specifically, you should ask to see examples of how a therapist collects and analyzes data. You should also have them walk you through an example report and explain how they use this data to make adjustments to therapy sessions.

ABA therapy is a behavioral science; therefore, data collection and analysis is vital in order to track progress and make ongoing adjustments to the treatment plan. Check with your therapist about how they collect data, what metrics they use to measure progress, and how they report their findings to you.

4. What’s their personality like?

When choosing a therapist, many people overlook a therapist’s personality, but it is a critically important part of the selection process. It’s vital to choose someone you feel completely at ease with, as this will help you communicate with the therapist and learn from their feedback. Having strong communication with the therapist will help you to build confidence in the therapy process as you and your child progress with it.

The best way to assess a therapist’s personality is to have a meeting with the therapist you have in mind so you can get to know them and hear from them what their individual style and approach to therapy is.

A therapist must be fun and engaging, with plenty of energy to get them through each session. Patience is also a virtue, as sessions can sometimes be slow and challenging.

If you feel comfortable after this meeting, you can then progress to a trial period where you’ll be able to monitor how your child interacts with the therapist during each session. For therapy to be effective, your child needs to build a good rapport with the therapist. If you can’t imagine that happening, then the therapist isn’t a good fit for your needs.

5. One last (but important) point.

Take your time. Resist choosing a therapist as soon as possible and don’t set deadlines for yourself. It’s fine to take your time until you find an ABA therapist partnership that’s right for you.

Ultimately, you need to trust your instincts. If you have doubts about someone’s personality, style, or approach to therapy, or if you feel that your child won’t get on with them, then speak to other therapists and repeat the process until you find the right therapists for you and your child.