As parents of a child with autism, you have been the individuals primarily responsible for helping and supporting your child. As your child begins ABA therapy, this is also the beginning of a relationship between you and your child’s Case Manager, the Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), that will result not only in the BCBA helping your child but also the BCBA supporting and helping you, the parents.
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Insurance Company Requirements
Most ABA therapy is covered by medical insurance. The insurance companies who pay for the therapy expect that certain requirements be met, including that the parents of the child with autism receive one hour a week of parent training. The training must be provided by the BCBA, who will review the child’s programming with the parents and have the parents work with their child in the therapy setting. Just as their child has targets and goals, there will be goals for the parents to work towards to help their child improve behavioral, social, and communication skills.
The BCBA may also ask parents to take data of their child’s behaviors at home. The data will help the BCBA learn more about how the child is behaving in the home environment. This information will be used by the BCBA to modify parent training and/or the child’s programming as needed to help the family.
Parent Support
Parent goals and parent training are important, but for many parents of children with autism, that may not be enough support to help them help their child. As the child’s Case Manager, the BCBA is there to help parents on an ongoing basis with their child. Children with autism may have a variety of issues with sleep, restrictive diets, the continuation of potty training at home, specific behavior problems, and other issues that require more frequent communication between the parents and BCBA and more involvement by the BCBA.
BCBAs will also want to work with parents to coordinate care between the BCBA and the child’s other providers. This may include the child’s speech therapist, occupational therapist, psychiatrist, pediatric neurologist, or any other providers who see the child. Communication and sharing of information between all of the professionals who are working with the child can help to ensure that the child is receiving the best care from all of the providers.
When the child is ready to begin attending school, BCBAs can support parents by communicating with staff at the prospective school, helping school staff understand specific behavioral issues, reviewing the proposed Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), and participating in Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings. The BCBA’s involvement can help ensure that the child has a smooth transition to school services.
ABA Supports Parents and Children
To summarize, the beginning of ABA therapy for a child with autism is also the beginning of a relationship between parents and their child’s BCBA that will support the parents and their child. Together the BCBA, team of therapists, and parents will work together towards their goal of helping each child with autism achieve their potential!
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