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Questions You Should Ask Your In-Home ABA Therapist

If your child is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), they are likely to need a lot of specialized support. Many times, this support comes in the form of applied behavior analysis, or ABA therapy, which is considered the gold standard treatment option for children on the autism spectrum.

In-home ABA therapy can help your child gain communication and social skills they might struggle with, as well as learn how to modify behaviors that are either negative and/or harmful.

When you hire an in-home ABA provider, you need to feel comfortable with who they are, their experience and exactly how they’re helping your child build these skills. This is true even if the therapy is being conducted in your own home, where you can observe much of it, if you wish.

A great way to become comfortable and gain trust with your child’s in-home ABA therapist is to ask questions to gain information and knowledge about whatever it is you’re interested in. Here are some questions that you should ask them before the therapy begins.

Table Of Contents

Questions to Ask the ABA Provider About Their Staff

The success of in-home ABA therapy, and how comfortable you feel about it, lies directly with the staff that will be interacting with you and your child on a consistent basis. As such, you should probe prospective ABA therapy providers about the details of their staff.

Some questions you might want to ask are…

  • How many therapists will be working on your child’s team and what their credentials are?
  • How many of them are BCBAs and what are their roles, and how many are RBTs and what are their roles?
  • Are your therapists fully licensed?
  • Do you conduct background checks on your therapists?
  • What type of training do they receive, and do they have any areas of specialty?

These questions will give you a good overview of the ABA therapy provider as an organization so that you know what they stand for, how they approach ABA therapy and much more.

Questions to Ask the ABA Therapists Working with Your Child

Being fully comfortable with the ABA therapy provider is step one.

The next step is being fully comfortable with the therapists who will be on your child’s team — including the RBTs who typically will administer the therapy in person as well as the BCBAs and any others who will be working “behind the scenes” to help analyze data, set up goals and adjust treatment plans.

At this point, you should have conversations directly with these people who will be involved with your child’s therapy, and specifically the RBT who will be visiting your home for the in-home ABA therapy sessions.

Some questions you might want to ask are …

  • How long have you been working in ABA therapy?
  • What is your personal approach to ABA therapy, and would you say you’ve been successful?
  • Do you have experience with children who have needs that are similar to what my child and my family needs?
  • Are you confident you could work with my child and help them?
  • What are some general strategies that you use to help children like mine gain the skills they need? What are some of the tools you use to do so?
  • What goals would you set up for my child, and how would you help them achieve them?
  • How will you involve us (meaning the parents and other family members) into the treatment plan?
  • What happens if you have a safety concern, or if my child has a tantrum and won’t calm down?
  • Will you always be the therapist working with my child?

The answers to these questions will give you much more insight into the therapists who will be working on a hands-on basis with your child the most. Because of this, it’s important that you get a good feel for not just what they do and their qualifications, but also who they are as a person and whether you “click” with them.

The ultimate success of ABA therapy really does rely on the trust that needs to be established between the therapy team and family of the child with autism. And much of that trust comes from the direct interactions between the therapist and child, as well as the therapist and family members.

Topic Key Question Why It’s Important / Follow-Up Tip
Therapist’s Background What experience do you have with children on the autism spectrum? Ensures they have relevant experience; you can ask for specific examples or certifications.
Program Personalization How do you individualize therapy plans for each child? Confirms that therapy is customized and not one-size-fits-all. Ask for sample goals or strategies.
Therapy Methods What techniques or interventions do you use most often? Understand the style of therapy your child will experience. Ask about positive reinforcement methods.
Family Involvement How do you involve parents or caregivers in the therapy process? Shows if collaboration is a priority. You might ask about training or home exercises.
Progress Monitoring How will you measure and report my child’s progress? Clarifies how often updates will happen and in what format (written reports, meetings, etc.).
Handling Challenges How do you handle challenging or aggressive behaviors? Important to ensure their crisis management style aligns with your family’s values and safety concerns.
Supervision & Oversight Will there be a BCBA supervisor overseeing the program? How often? Supervision ensures quality and that programs stay on track. Ask about supervisor credentials too.

Blue Gems ABA Cares for Each Patient We Serve

It’s very important that you feel completely comfortable with your child’s in-home ABA therapy team. Asking some of the questions above, and any others you might have, will help you gain that comfort and start to build the trust that is necessary for the therapy to be successful for your child.

At Blue Gems ABA, we have an experienced team of BCBAs and RBTs who work hard every day to support children on the autism spectrum and help them grow as individuals. We work directly with parents, caregivers and family members to create ABA therapy sessions that specifically target your child’s strengths and challenges, while also meeting the needs of the family as a whole.

To learn more, please contact us today.