Hire An ABA Professional to Jump-Start Your Program

An ABA consultant (Applied Behavior Analysis) should be a qualified professional behavior analyst who will help set up your child’s individual program. The consultant will look at your child’s strengths and weaknesses and determine what skills to work on and how they should be approached. The goal is to have the consultant teach you and your therapist as a “team” the programs and techniques needed for your child. A “workshop” is when a consultant comes to your home, evaluates your child and your team, and recommends programs and techniques be taught.

These are some of the things to consider when hiring a consultant:

	Find a list of professionals. Refer to our Resources page and select "Service Providers" category for links to consultants.
	Network with parents to find out their experiences. Some consultants may be better for some than others.
	Call the consultant and ask questions. How much do they charge per day? Do they charge for telephone or emails? After the initial workshop or visit (in the future) how much do they charge for looking over videos and reporting back to you with suggestions? How long is the wait period until we can have the workshop? How long will we wait for any reports or written suggestions after the workshop or visit? How far away are they? Are there any other families that are having the consultant come to your area in which you can share travel expenses? What is their academic experience and how much hands on experience do they have working with children one-on-one? What is their experience training others (therapists)? Can you give me some references?
	Get your name on their waiting list and set up a workshop date, even if you do not have your team in place. You can set up your team (recruit people to be therapists) while you wait for the consultant to come.
	Hire therapists to attend the first workshop. Refer to other articles on qualities to look for in therapists.

Don't let the process scare you off or become overwhelming. Many parents are struggling through this with you. It is a lot of work, but the rewards for your child, you and your family will be worth the cost.

Autism Treatment Info
Treatment Tips for Children with Autism, PDD & Asperger's Syndrome

Hire An ABA Professional to Jump Start Your Program