Accessing ABA Therapy Services

So what is ABA Therapy? ABA Therapy is short for Applied Behavior Analyses Therapy.  Applied behavior analysis (ABA) uses techniques and principles that explain how learning takes place, like positive reinforcement, to bring about meaningful and positive change in behavior.  ABA Therapy is provided daily for up to 4 hours a day, 12 - 40 hours a week.

How do I get my son access to these services? The Early Steps program had only provided him with OT and speech therapy. The Pre-K ESE Program only provided him with OT and speech therapy. But he didn't really benefit from speech therapy services at all. He went from speaking a few words like "more" and "bubbles" to eventually not saying anything at all. In my opinion, for students like Reagan, the federal monies spent for speech therapy are wasted.  What he really needed was behavioral therapy services.  At his IEP meeting I asked the school whether they could provide these services to my son. They said they do not offer them and they don't allow a private therapist to work with their students at their school. 

I called my health insurance provider and they couldn't tell me what I needed to do.  They said they would send me information in the mail, which I never received. I would search their online provider directory and not find any behavioral therapists listed.  I ended up accessing speech therapy services for my son instead.  He went twice a week for 30 minute intervals.  I knew he needed more, I just didn't know how to navigate the system to get him what he needed.

In the Fall 2011, on Reagan's 4th birthday to be exact, my husband had a stroke that led to renal (kidney) failure.  He was hospitalized for almost a month on dialyses and eventually made a miraculous partial recovery where he was removed from dialyses.  I say partial because he still suffers from permanent ailments today as a result of his renal failure.  Ironically while at the hospital I met a nurse supervisor who also had a child with autism.  Her son was already 12 years old and she had already been through all the experiences and lessons I had only begun to experience myself.  Because she happened to have the same health insurance provider as I had and had already accessed ABA Therapy services for her son, she know exactly who I needed to call - the mental health provider contracted by the insurance company.  They had their own separate provider directory which is why I had not been able to find a list of behavioral therapists.  She also gave me the name of her son's provider.  Right away I made the call.  

She also advised me of Florida Medicaid Waiver - she told me that I needed to call and get his on the wait list right away.  The Florida Medicaid Waiver is supposed to cover behavioral therapy services once all your benefits with your insurance provider have been exhausted.  It was then that I understood how valuable other parents’ experiences and knowledge can be to a parent with special needs.  Eventually other parents of children with autism became my guides.  Teachers, doctors, and case managers couldn’t give me the answers I needed.  Other parents did.