Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some frequently asked questions that may offer help after reviewing our website if there is something you don't understand. If you would like more information, please call us at 855.startABA (855.782.7822).
APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
How will ABA therapy help my child?
Do you use any other methodologies besides ABA?
What is your success rate in working with children with developmental disabilities?
Does my child have to have a diagnosis to get treatment?
BEHAVIORAL INNOVATIONS QUESTIONS
Are your employees Board Certified Behavior Analysts?
What are your therapist's qualifications?
Do you perform background checks on your therapists?
What is the age range of children you help?
What kind of programs do you have?
Do you offer center-based therapy?
Is your therapy one-on-one with the children?
Can I watch your therapists while they are working with my child?
Do you offer home-based therapy?
Do you offer hourly consulting services to parents?
Do you have any social skills programs?
Can I bring my child in earlier than 9:00 or any later than 4:00?
Can you help with my child's IEP?
Can you help with my child's ARD?
Do you offer consulting for school districts?
Does your company speak at community meetings, events, etc.?
How much does ABA therapy cost?
INSURANCE RELATED QUESTIONS
Will my insurance cover ABA therapy?
Are you in-network with any insurance companies?
My spouse is in the military. Are you approved with Tricare?
Can I just make a co-pay like I do at the doctor's office?
APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
ABA therapy is a term used to refer to a set of methods and techniques derived from the principles of behavior analysis that are used to address skill deficits on the part of individuals with developmental and other learning delays. Treatment for each client is individualized and therefore no two client programs would look exactly the same.
How will ABA therapy help my child?
Our approach to therapy is not to teach a child "everything" they should "know" but rather to teach them "how" to "learn". In every case, we can show documented improvement in learning across every client. If a client seeks our intensive intervention services to address skill deficits, we see skills enhanced. If a client seeks our services to address behavioral challenges, we see those challenges dissipate and the situation improved.
Do you use any other methodologies besides ABA?
Behavioral Innovations supports the use of any evidence based methods used for treatment within the scope of behavior analysis practice.
When I talk to providers about behavioral therapy, how do I figure out which methodology will provide the best help for my child?
The best course of action for any parent, is to be systematic and pragmatic when evaluating treatment options. Parents are confronted by many treatment options, some will work effectively and some will not. The only way to truly evaluate what is effective is to introduce a method and evaluate the outcome. If more than one method is introduced simultaneously, it becomes more difficult to evaluate the efficacy of each method or treatment. Applied Behavior Analysis is one of the most evidence based practices available and it's effectiveness at impacting the lives of those with Autism is unparalleled.
What is your success rate in working with children with developmental disabilities?
Success in treatment is evaluated by how well a child meets or exceeds individual outcome measures. As such, success for each participant is defined differently and individually.
Our doctor said that my child was a little slow in developing and that I should just wait. That's OK, isn't it?
While it's certainly possible that over time your child might continue to improve in their skills, we believe that a "wait and see" approach has little research based validity and therefore would suggest that obtaining an assessment and considering treatment services, if recommended, is always the best course of action.
We have noticed that our child is slow in developing according to the milestones, but his doctor says he is not Autistic. There's no reason he would need help from BI, is there?
We certainly can serve clients with a different diagnosis or no diagnosis, and would suggest that an assessment be conducted by a BCBA in order to determine whether or not ABA treatment is necessary and if so, to what extent.
My child is getting help from other providers such as ECI, a Speech therapist and/or an OT isn't that enough?
At Behavioral Innovations, we view these providers as valuable resources, but not ones that necessarily provide the level of intensity necessary to impact a person diagnosed with Autism or another diagnoses on the Autism Spectrum. It is important that the determination of what amount or type of therapy is most effective for any client is individually determined.
Does my child have to have a diagnosis to get treatment?
Your child does not have to have a diagnosis for treatment, but they would need a diagnosis in order for you to try and access insurance benefits.
BEHAVIORAL INNOVATIONS QUESTIONS
Are your employees Board Certified Behavior Analysts?
Behavioral Innovations employees Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA), Board Certified Associate Behavior Analysts (BCaBA), and therapists who are completing their bachelors and/or masters degrees in Behavior Analysis or a related discipline. The Behavior Analysis Certification Board requirements state that to become a BCBA a person must have obtained a Masters degree and to obtain the BCaBA designation, a person would have to have completed a Bachelors degree.
What are your therapist's qualifications?
Our Direct Therapists are required to be completing their Bachelors degree, to have completed their Bachelors degree, or be pursuing a Masters degree. The Behavior Analysis Certification Board requirements state that to become a BCBA a person must have obtained a Masters degree and to obtain the BCaBA designation, a person would have to have completed a Bachelors degree.
Do you perform background checks on your therapists?
Every employee of Behavioral Innovations is required to complete and pass both a background check as well as drug screening.
What is the age range of children you help?
Birth - 12
What kind of programs do you have?
We offer different programs depending on the location of services. Please review our locations on the website to determine what services are offered at each location.
Do you offer center-based therapy?
We offer center-based therapy at our Las Colinas, Ft Worth, and San Antonio locations.
Is your therapy one-on-one with the children?
Therapy can be one-on-one, one-on-two, or small group.
Can I watch your therapists while they are working with my child?
We have video systems in place at our treatment centers that allows us to both view live and record sessions for parent viewing.
Do you offer home-based therapy?
In-home services are presently being offered at our Las Colinas location (serving the DFW Metroplex) as well as San Antonio, Wichita Falls and East Texas.
Do you have a summer program?
We are open year around and therefore don't offer exclusive summer only programming at this time. However, we do have many clients who choose to enroll in our programs for the summer only, particularly those families who have insurance benefits that are limited to a specific number of visits.
Do you offer hourly consulting services to parents?
We offer consultative services through our Outreach Program provided by our Outreach Coordinators and Consultants. Please review our website to determine which locations offer this service.
Do you have any social skills programs?
At our Las Colinas location, we do offer afterschool social skills training called SAIL (Social Achievement Impacting Lives). In addition, because social skills are a noted deficit all children with Autism display, social skills programming is an integral component of the overall treatment plan from the onset.
Do you offer parent training?
Yes. Parental involvement in treatment is crucial. Every parent who elects to obtain services from Behavioral Innovations receives some form of Parent Training. At our Las Colinas location there is a formal Parent Training class that parents may access. At our other service locations, parents participate in Team Meetings where they are given useful tools to use at home and learn ways to promote the most success for their child.
Can I bring my child in earlier than 9:00 or any later than 4:00?
Schedule availability is dependent upon location, so please visit the location section of our website to learn more about each offering. Behavioral Innovations, is, however, in the process of developing additional care hours at our Irving location.
I don't want to pull my child out of school completely. Do you have programs that are just in the morning, afternoon or on weekends?
We do offer different schedules of services to be accessed at different times of the day or days of the week. Service options are dependent on the location. Many of our clients choose to access our programs in the morning, afternoon, or on alternating days in order to maintain exposure to a school based program while participating in our treatment program.
I want to bring my child to the center, but they attend school during the day. Even though I know they need ABA therapy, doesn't the law say that if they are over six years old they have to be in school?
In 2009 HB(House Bill) 192 was placed into effect which allows families who have children that are over 6 and enrolled in school to access services (off campus). For more information please click here.
Can you help with my child's IEP?
Yes. If your child is attending or you are planning to have them attend the public school district and they will be accessing services from the Special Education programs, we can and will assist you in developing and interpreting your child's IEP.
Can you help with my child's ARD?
Yes. We are able to help you prepare for or attend ARD (Admissions Review and Dismissal) meetings.
Where are you located?
Behavioral Innovations has offices in Las Colinas (Irving), Fort Worth (Benbrook), San Antonio, Wichita Falls, and East Texas.
Can I come see your facility?
You are free to tour our facility by appointment. We offer informational sessions at our Las Colinas location every Monday where interested parties can tour the facility and learn about our programs from our Facility Coordinator, BCBA. Call toll free to 877-750-0ABA (0222) to schedule your appointment.
Do you have a waiting list?
We do not presently have a waiting list at any of our locations, but it typically takes between 1-2 months to begin services. The intake process involves verifying insurance benefits, completing paperwork, conducting the initial assessment, attending a recommendation meeting, developing the treatment plan, and scheduling staff to provide the therapy.
Do you offer consulting for school districts?
We offer consulting for school districts on various levels.
Consultation can be child specific, service specific, based around groupings of staff, or even for entire departments. Our ability to serve school districts is carefully considered and typically created in conjunction with each school district individually.
Does your company speak at community meetings, events, etc.?
We speak at community events throughout the year for a wide array of community organizations. If you would like to request a presentation please contact us today.
I have more questions and would like to talk with someone on your clinical staff. Who should I contact?
If you would like to speak to someone regarding services, contact us via phone at 877.750.0ABA (0222), email at info@behavioral-innovations.com, or complete the Contact Us form on our website at http://www.startaba.com/.
How much does ABA therapy cost?
The cost for services ranges dramatically depending on whether you have insurance benefits or not. The family paying solely out of pocket can anticipate paying as little as $250/month and costs increase depending on what services a family chooses. A family using insurance benefits is responsible for their co-pay or co-insurance.
INSURANCE RELATED QUESTIONS
Will my insurance cover ABA therapy?
Each insurance plan is different, and must be thoroughly evaluated to determine whether or not coverage for Applied Behavior Analysis is covered. Approximately 95% of our clients do access their insurance benefits at some level.
Are you in-network with any insurance companies?
We are a contracted in-network provider for United Behavioral Health, Aetna, Humana Military (Tri-care), LifeSynch (Humana Commercial), and Magellan. We are in the process of becoming a network provider for additional networks, and would encourage you to contact us for the latest information.
If you are not in-network with my insurance company, do I have to wait in order to get insurance benefits?
You do not have to wait until we are in-network to begin services if you are willing to pay for services out of pocket and seek reimbursement from your insurance carrier independently.
My spouse is in the military. Are you approved with Tricare?
Yes, we are approved as both an Echo and Autism Demonstration Project provider.
Do you take Medicaid?
At this time Behavioral Innovations does not accept Medicaid. As new developments in the state of Texas warrant, we may pursue the option.
Do you take CHIPS?
CHIPS, at present, does not cover Applied Behavior Analysis services.
Can I just make a co-pay like I do at the doctor's office?
If you are a member who is insured by a company with whom we contract, you would be required to pay any co-pay or co-insurance fees prior to our rendering services, and we would file claims on your behalf to the carrier who would pay us the balance directly.
How do I get started?
If you are interested in learning more about our programs, please complete the form the client information on our website at http://www.startaba.com/