Intake Steps

To find out more about the clinic please give us a call at (757) 609-2795 or email us at office@childrenfirstabaclinic.com.  Our Office Manager can answer basic questions and set up a tour if you are interested.  

Wait List Timing

• The one question our Office Manager cannot answer is "how long is the wait list?"  ABA therapy is not the same as physical medical appointments or even mental health counseling sessions in which you can be given the next available appointment or fit in if a slot opens up.  

• Until our intake team has reviewed your child's history and intake paperwork, they will not know your child's availability or how many service hours your child may need each week.  Until this is determined, we cannot provide a realistic waitlist timeline.

• Depending on your child's availability and the level of services needed, your child may be able to begin services immediately or it may be 12+ months until appropriate time slots are available.  

• Our wait list time is always changing as clients begin, progress and complete therapy.  In addition, some time slots (late afternoon hours especially) are more in demand than others.  

The first step to beginning therapy would be to complete and return our intake packet, along with a copy of your child's insurance card(s) and diagnosis report (if available).  A downloadable copy of of our intake packet can be found below.  (If you are unable to download, print and return a completed copy of the intake packet, please contact our Office Manager.  She can provide a copy when you come in for a tour or can mail one to you.)

Once we receive a completed intake packet our Office Manager will provide your documentation to our Intake Team for review and add your child's name to our "Potential Clients" list.

Once we have availability that meets your schedule and your child's estimated needs, our intake team will submit any necessary paperwork to your insurance to obtain authorization (if required by the child's insurance) to provide a formal, comprehensive assessment. 

After authorization is received, our intake team will contact you to set up an intake assessment.  Assessment appointments are usually scheduled for a two hour block of time.  At the assessment appointment:

• • • you will be given a tour of our facilities if you have not already had one.

    • our intake team will take your child to one of our therapy rooms and interact with your child while completing various assessments.  While you will not be a part of the formal assessment, you may observe if you wish.

Within two weeks after the assessment, one of our Behavior Analysts will review the previous history and use data taken from the assessment to develop a Behavior Treatment Plan.  Once completed, the Intake Team will review the proposed Behavior Treatment Plan (BTP) with you.  After a plan is agreed upon, it will be sent to your insurance for authorization to provide treatment.  

As soon as authorization for services is received, a member of our Intake Team or our Office Manager will contact you with your child's start date and schedule.

Each child is assigned to a therapist or a team of therapists, depending on the child's individual need.  Each child will also have a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst who oversees the treatment.  Daily data and the program goals are reviewed regularly by our Behavior Analysts and the interventions are adjusted as needed to help each child meet their individualized goals. 

For the first couple of weeks the RBTs work on pairing (developing a relationship) with your child by doing fun activities at the clinic.  Once a therapeutic bond has been established, the therapist will begin to fade in interventions as directed by the supervisor, based on the child's individual treatment goals.

It is important that parents are involved as a partner in their child's treatment.  During the course of treatment, appropriate parent input will always be considered.  Informal updates are given by the therapist after each appointment.  Formal parent training will also be provided, as determined by the parent and the child's supervisor.

As every child is unique, each child's treatment will vary both in the intensity (amount of weekly service hours) and the total duration needed.  Successful treatment may take a few months or may take several years.

The ultimate goal of therapy is to provide teaching and intervention that allows the child to reach a level of skill that validated assessments consider normal for the child's age.  Once the child has met all treatment goals and is considered developmentally age appropriate, treatment will be discontinued.

Treatment will also be discontinued if one of the following takes place:

1. The child no longer has insurance that will cover ABA and the parent does not wish to pay out of pocket.

2. The child is not making progress on their goals despite changes in interventions and we do not feel we can help the child make further progress.