Questions To Ask Your Child’s ABA Therapy Center

Depending on where you live, the accessibility to ABA providers may vary. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t find the best therapy center for your child. Working with a trustworthy and professional autism center will greatly impact your child’s success. Your child can flourish and grow tremendously through positive reinforcement, early intervention, and multiple therapy sessions.

Set your child up for success, and don’t hold back your curiosity! Here are a few questions to ask your child’s ABA therapy center.

Are Your Analysts Board Certified?

Before enrolling your child into a facility, you should ask your child’s ABA therapy center if their therapists are board certified in behavioral analysis. If not, that’s a red flag, and you should report the facility.

A Board-Certified Behavioral Analyst is a specially trained therapist with the qualifications to manage your child’s case and instruct their treatment. They know how to plan and oversee your child’s success plan properly. Here are a few questions to ask to ensure your child is getting the best treatment:

• How often does a BCBA meet with my child’s team?
• Do you require your staff to receive ABA training?
• Do you require your staff to undergo ongoing training?

What Are Your Facility’s Safety Measures?

Our biggest priority as parents is to make sure our children are safe. We wouldn’t dare to send them somewhere that doesn’t guarantee their safety. Don’t be afraid to ask your child’s therapy center if they require background checks and how they handle inappropriate actions.

You should also ask:

• About their abuse prevention and safety measures.
• What their reporting procedure is for parents and guardians.
• If they encourage the parents’ involvement.

How Can Your Center Prepare My Child for School?

Finding a facility that will help prepare your child for multiple scenarios, including school, is important when searching for an ABA therapy center. While autism manifests in children differently, and they may begin ABA at different ages, the center must prepare them to transition to a traditional classroom setting and everyday scenarios. This is the perfect time to ask about the common treatments used in ABA therapy and the techniques they may use for your child.

Some additional questions to ask your child’s ABA provider to ensure their facility is the right choice are:

• What techniques will you use to prepare my child for the classroom?
• How do you measure their social skills?
• What life skills will you teach to prepare them for school?
• What’s this center’s transition success rate?
• How will you monitor my child’s progress?
• How often do you collect and analyze this data?

Do You Encourage Parent Involvement?

Your child’s ABA therapy center should encourage parent participation. You can positively impact your child’s success by learning alongside your child. How? Attend parent training courses, sit in on sessions, and ask for additional resources. While working together, you and your child’s team can help instill long-term behavioral changes.

If the ABA center doesn’t encourage involvement, that’s a big red flag. As a parent, your support will help aid your child’s development. You know them best and can offer your child’s therapists valuable information. Sharing what works best, what doesn’t, or other observations that could contribute to your child’s growth is key.