ABA Therapy in Kansas City Missouri

If your child was recently diagnosed with applied behavior analysis (ASD), you likely have a lot of questions. Many of those may revolve around what support and treatment services are available and recommended to help support them in the unique ways they need.

Following an ASD diagnosis, professionals typically prescribe applied behavior analysis. Also known as ABA therapy, it’s considered the leading treatment for children on the autism spectrum.

If you’re new to ABA therapy, you probably are wondering what it is, what it does and where it might be available in your region.

In this article, we’ll provide a general overview of ABA therapy as well as provide information on what we do at Blue Gems ABA to support children with autism and their families in Kansas City, Missouri.

Find ABA Treatment in Missouri
Find ABA Treatment in Kansas City MO

Table Of Contents

What is ABA Therapy?

ABA therapy is a science-based approach to learning and behavior. It helps children gain social, communication and daily life skills they may struggle with, while also helping them manage their emotions, sensory sensitivities and modify behaviors that may be harmful or negative.

ABA therapy teams rely on scientific evidence and data to inform them about the specific interventions that work best for each individual child. In fact, all treatment plans are targeted to address the unique challenges, strengths, needs and preferences of each child.

All treatment plans begin with a thorough initial assessment and evaluation period, which helps the therapy team get to know your child. In-depth treatment plans with well-stated goals are then developed, which help to guide the treatment.

Therapists then use various strategies, tools and approaches to help your child gain the skills with which they struggle so they can reach their stated goals.

How Does ABA Therapy Work?

In most cases, ABA therapy is administered on a one-to-one basis between a child and therapist. This is especially true for new patients, as they require more attentive care as they get introduced to the therapy.

Over time, there may be opportunities to integrate group activities into ABA therapy, such as mingling with peers to help them practice social skills they learned during sessions.

At Blue Gems ABA, we offer therapy services in Kansas City, Missouri, in at-home settings.

Home-based ABA can be very beneficial for both children with autism and their families. Not only is it very convenient, but it also helps children get the treatment they need in an environment they are typically very comfortable with.

No matter where the therapy is administered, therapists will follow the treatment plan for the targeted interventions with your child. Most of this is play-based and will integrate positive reinforcement to reward them for attempting different skills, and to keep them engaged and motivated to keep learning.

As this is going on, the therapist will be collecting a wealth of data that will be analyzed by the team later. This provides an objective way to assess how well your child is progressing toward their goals.

A big part of ABA therapy is parental and family involvement. Integrating parents, caregivers, siblings and others into the therapy sessions provides you and others with the tools you’ll need to help support your child when the therapist is not around.

This will help your child to generalize the skills they’re learning in sessions to real-world scenarios they will encounter every day.

How Long Does ABA Therapy Last?

Each child on the autism spectrum is unique and will have unique needs. That being said, ABA therapy is typically considered intensive.

Some children, for example, get up to 40 hours of ABA therapy each week. That can be quite the dedication from a time perspective, which is another reason why many families prefer Blue Gems ABA’s home-based therapy.

In addition, ABA therapy can be costly because of how much is required. Luckily, state law in Missouri mandates that most insurance companies provide coverage for autism-related services.

Insurance companies that must adhere to the law have to provide coverage for ASD diagnoses, habilitative or rehabilitative care such as ABA therapy, and more. Since every insurance carrier and insurance plan differs, it’s important that you check with your carrier to find out what coverage is available to you and your child — and what you need to do to ensure you get that coverage.

Blue Gems ABA is the Top Provider of ABA Therapy in Kansas City, Missouri

ABA therapy is the leading treatment option for children on the autism spectrum. It has proven to help children with ASD gain new skills and modify behaviors so they can live as independently as possible.

At Blue Gems ABA, we are dedicated to serving children with autism and their families in Kansas City, Missouri. We provide a wealth of support and services, including home-based and clinic-based ABA therapy.

To learn more, please contact us today.