Parent Resources

What is ABA Therapy?

Applied Behavioral Therapy (ABA) is the scientific study of behavior. It is a social science that focuses on increasing or decreasing specific behaviors by manipulating or changing the environment. ABA uses reinforcement strategies, prompting and fading procedures, discrete trial training, natural environment training geared towards generalization, and maintenance strategies to help clients thrive. ABA therapy also focuses on teaching replacement behaviors so when one behavior is being decreased, another one is being taught in its place.

All this means that ABA is a way to teach and increase new behaviors (e.g. social skills, communication skills, etc.), and decrease other behaviors (tantrums, aggression, non-compliance, etc.).

Is ABA Covered by My Health Insurance?

We work with most major commercial insurance companies in Florida. Below is a list of insurance providers we are currently partnered with:

• • AETNA
  • CIGNA
  • Advent Health / Health First Health Plans
  • Orlando Health with UMR
  • UNITED Healthcare
  • BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD (depends on your plan)
  • Step Up Scholarship

If you do not see your insurance company, or have any questions, please call us:

321-247-5165 for Downtown Orlando,

407-347-0132 for Winter Garden.

We can tell you about more options. We also offer private pay rates.

How Does My Insurance Plan Work?

Every health insurance plan is different, so it is important for you to know how your plan works. Every insurance plan has a co-pay or co-insurance, deductible (individual or family), and an out-of-pocket maximum. Call your insurance company to discuss the details of whether ABA is covered by your plan, and to what degree.

How will ABA therapy help my child and family?

Receiving therapy at an early age can have direct effects on your child’s brain development which can change the course of your child’s life. With early and intensive therapy, your child will improve on their communication skills. This would include basic signals, such as letting you know (the parent) what may hurt, or what they want at that given moment. This reduces challenging behaviors like tantrums and can boost your child’s ability to learn.

This therapy is designed to provide your child one on one therapy in a warm and nurturing environment. Prior to beginning at ABA Alliance, we assess your child’s learning needs and we work to understand how your child learns best. We then implement that knowledge to use ABA research-based strategies to teach your child in a manner that works best for them, since every child is different. This program could help your child to prepare for their next steps in the community, such as school, day care or a long-term ABA program.

Depending on what your child needs to work on, the following are a few examples of skills we would cover:

1. Toilet training
2. Functional communication skills
3. Following directions such as verbal instructions
4. Social skills such as interacting and playing with others
5. Acquiring self-soothing skills
6. Reducing challenging behaviors and much more!

How to get started with ABA:

Please fill out the form provided in the link below. As part of the process, we will need you to upload a front and back copy of your insurance card and your child’s diagnosis. This information will allow us to check your insurance ABA benefits and determine the next steps

1. Click Here to get Started  
   Call our Downtown Orlando clinic at 321-247-5165 or Downtown Winter Garden clinic at 407-347-0123, if you have any questions.

2. Provide us with your insurance/scholarship information.

3. We require your child’s medical diagnosis via email at admin@abaalliance.com or Fax us at 208-693-4755.

4. Once all documentation has been received, we will request authorization from your insurance company to begin the process for enrolling your child in early intervention program. When the authorization is received, we will set up an Intake appointment.

What to expect on your first visit?

1. Intake at our clinic- Our BCBA will sit with your family to learn background information on your child along with what your biggest concerns and goals for therapy are. We gather medical information and what issues your child may be having at home, school, day care or any other environment.

2. Assessment- We observe your child in various environments and how they react to new people. We assess their current social and communication skills, along with prerequisite skills for learning. We also test any daily skills they may already have or need to acquire through therapy, such as toilet training. We watch for any challenging behaviors you mentioned during the intake process and try to figure out why they are occurring. Once the assessment is completed by the BCBA, we go over the results with you to help you understand current skills levels.

3. Treatment Plan – Once the assessment is completed, we use all information from the intake and assessment to create an individualized treatment plan for your child. You will receive a copy to read over and sign off at the bottom to consent for treatment to begin.

4. Authorization to begin ABA services – If you are using insurance, we then send this treatment plan to your insurance and they must authorize for services to begin. This process of waiting for insurance to approve the treatment authorization can take anywhere from 1-3 weeks depending on your insurance company.

5. Authorization Received! – Your child is officially ready to start at ABA Alliance Therapy.

6. We will get in contact with you to inform you that we have received the authorization and we will schedule your child for consistent therapy.

Scholarships to look into:

As a parent you are your child’s biggest advocate, and we want to provide you with the resources you may need. Two scholarships for special needs individuals you should look into are “The Gardiner Scholarship” which is also known as PLSA or Step up for Students https://www.stepupforstudents.org/for-parents/special-needs/how-the-scholarship-works/ and the McKay scholarship http://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/k-12-scholarship-programs/mckay/mckay-parent-info.stml These two may help you fund your child’s education and we highly recommend looking into them.

The Gardiner Scholarship:

http://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/k-12-scholarship-programs/gardiner/

This scholarship is for anyone who is not in public school, who may be attending private school or being home schooled.

The Mckay Scholarship:

This scholarship is for anyone who is in public school.

We are a Gardiner Scholarship provider.

We also encourage all parents to look into joining UCF CARD. UCF CARD (Center for Autism and Related Disabilities) is a nonprofit organization that can help your family and child receive services and resources around Central Florida. UCF CARD can go into Public Schools for observations to make suggestions on how to help your child in school.

http://cfl.ucf-card.org/

We also encourage all our families to find support groups near you! If you need help finding a support group, please let us know or reach out to UCF CARD.

Special Events:

ABA Alliance Therapy offers various camps through out the year. Please reach out to us via Admin@abaalliance.com to get more information about the following:

• Annual Summer Program
• Holiday Camps/Holiday parties
• Date Night for Mom and Dad
• Field Trips