ABA Home Therapy, Fort Lauderdale, FL (2025)

11/07/2025

How 1,000 families funded ABA

I've helped over 1,000 families get coverage for ABA therapy since 2004, starting when my daughter was diagnosed at four and I had to decode this system myself.

Most families I talk to think they have to pick one funding source and pray it works out.

That's not how the families who got approved did it.

They stacked three approaches. In this order:

→ Employer health plans (your primary coverage)
→ Medicaid waivers (covers the gaps insurance won't touch)
→ State mandates (your legal foundation when denials come)

The sequence matters.

You start with employer coverage because that's primary insurance, but here's what trips people up... employer plans technically cover ABA yet they almost always require prior authorization, and they cap the hours. Sometimes at 10 hours weekly when your kid needs 25.

So while you're waiting on that prior auth (which can take weeks), you apply for Medicaid waiver simultaneously. Not after. At the same time.

Because Medicaid waivers in most states pick up what private insurance refuses to cover. The hourly overages, the co-pays that add up to hundreds monthly, the specific services your plan excludes. And Medicaid waiting lists can stretch months, so starting early changes your timeline completely.

Then your state's autism mandate becomes the thing you reference when insurance inevitably pushes back. Federal law now requires ABA coverage in all 50 states as of 2021, but insurers still try to limit hours or deny medical necessity.

The families who got fastest approval?

They called HR benefits first, got the prior auth requirements in writing. Then applied for Medicaid waiver that same week. Then downloaded their state autism mandate and highlighted the coverage language.

Submitted everything as one coordinated package.

Insurance companies saw Medicaid listed as secondary coverage. Medicaid saw insurance as primary. Neither could claim the other should pay first... and the state mandate backed up the medical necessity when either tried to deny.

I've watched this pattern play out across hundreds of cases. Insurance caps at 10 hours, Medicaid waiver covers the additional 15 the BCBA recommended, state mandate stops the denial letters.

Three sources working together.

The system shouldn't force families to become insurance strategists just to access care that's scientifically proven to help their kids. You're already managing therapies, school IEPs, daily routines... now you need a law degree to get coverage?

But until the system fixes itself, this stacking approach is what worked.

What's blocking your approval right now? Insurance denials, prior auth delays, something else? Comment below and I'll point you toward the next step.

Like and share if you know a family stuck in the coverage fight. This stacking strategy cuts months off the process.

10/10/2025

Match the plan to the pathway.

Cambridge just published research on 45,000+ autistic individuals across Europe and the United States, and honestly... it confirms something I've been watching unfold since my daughter's diagnosis in 2004.

Autism isn't one condition.

The study identified two completely different developmental pathways, and if you're a parent navigating this, understanding which one your child is on changes everything about how therapy should work.

First pathway: Some children show clear difficulties with social interaction and communication early in life. These patterns stay relatively stable. Diagnosis typically happens in early childhood, and the trajectory is consistent.

Second pathway: Early years look manageable, difficulties aren't obvious, then adolescence hits and challenges spike dramatically. Diagnosis comes later, often from late childhood onward.

Now here's what matters for your child's treatment.

Later-diagnosed individuals show genetic profiles closer to ADHD, depression, and PTSD than to early-childhood autism. The genetic overlap is significant enough that researchers believe we're dealing with fundamentally different conditions that happen to share the autism diagnosis.

Think about that for a second.

A child diagnosed at age three with stable early-onset challenges needs a completely different therapeutic approach than a child diagnosed at ten whose difficulties emerged in adolescence. Their genetic profiles differ, their co-occurring conditions differ, their developmental trajectories differ.

The system wasn't built for this reality. It was built on the assumption that autism is autism is autism... one diagnosis, one basic approach, maybe some modifications.

Your child's treatment plan should start with understanding which developmental pathway they're on:

→ Are we looking at early-onset patterns that have remained consistent?
→ Or adolescent-emergent challenges that might share more genetic overlap with ADHD or anxiety disorders?

The answers reshape the entire intervention strategy.

At ABA Home Therapy, we've spent 20 years prioritizing understanding behaviors at their core rather than just deterring them, and this research provides the genetic foundation for why that approach works. You can't understand core behaviors without understanding the underlying biological and developmental profile.

Here's what that looks like in practice: A child with genetic markers closer to ADHD might benefit from interventions that address executive function and attention regulation differently than traditional early-onset approaches. A child whose genetic profile overlaps with anxiety needs therapeutic strategies that account for those vulnerabilities from day one.

We customize ABA programs to each learner's skills, needs, interests, preferences, and family situation. That's not marketing language, it's biological necessity based on what the research now proves.

Whether your child received their diagnosis at age three or age thirteen, we're here throughout Florida with no waiting lists because we understand that every family's timeline is different.

Different autism subtypes require different therapeutic strategies, different developmental monitoring, different support structures.

Your child deserves treatment designed for their specific profile, not a generic protocol applied to everyone with the same diagnosis code.

Parents have been saying this for years. The science finally validated what you already knew from watching your own child.

Like this if you've felt your child's autism looks different from other kids' experiences, and comment with where you are in your journey... early diagnosis, later discovery, or still figuring things out.

10/03/2025

From waitlist to first session.

$50M just went to understanding why autism happens. Meanwhile, a family in Tampa learns their 3-year-old has autism... and faces a six-month wait just to start therapy.

Development doesn't wait for research answers.

The NIH announced major funding for autism cause research through their Data Science Initiative, with the goal of identifying origins and improving outcomes. That work has value, but there's a disconnect families feel every single day.

Autism now affects 1 in 31 children. Five times higher than when the CDC started tracking in 1992. The numbers keep climbing, the need for services accelerates, and 75% of caregivers report spending an average of 5.7 months on waitlists for ABA therapy services.

Some families wait over a year just for diagnostic evaluation.

Then face another waitlist for quality providers.

Dr. Anna Krasno from UC Santa Barbara's Koegel Autism Center captured the tension perfectly when she told ABC News: "It feels like we've done the work around the causal piece, and now we really need to be thinking about how to support autistic individuals."

We've spent two decades in this space, and the families we serve throughout Florida face this reality constantly - a system that often feels designed to create barriers instead of removing them, insurance complexity that adds stress instead of solutions, and waiting periods that eat away at the narrow window when early intervention delivers the strongest outcomes.

When a parent receives an autism diagnosis, they need access to evidence-based intervention immediately. They need providers who accept their insurance, therapists who can start services without months of delay, and guidance through a process that shouldn't be this hard.

Every month spent waiting is a month of potential progress lost.

At ABA Home Therapy, we built our model around eliminating that wait - no waitlists, immediate access to qualified BCBAs and RBTs, acceptance of most major insurance providers and Medicaid because financial barriers shouldn't determine who gets care.

We create stress-free, punishment-free environments where therapy becomes something children actually engage with.

We currently serve families throughout Florida with plans to expand to ten additional states.

Research funding and treatment access both matter. But the balance feels wrong when millions flow toward understanding origins while families struggle to access proven interventions that already exist.

The autism community needs both answers and action.

If your family needs ABA therapy, we provide evidence-based services with no waitlists and immediate access to qualified professionals who can start helping your child today, not six months from now.

Can we support the families who need help today while we search for tomorrow's answers?

We think so.

Comment below if you've experienced therapy waitlists or like this if you believe families deserve immediate access to care.

09/26/2025

Ask this before any autism treatment decision:

Does it have peer-reviewed evidence improving communication, daily living, and social skills? If yes, we use it. If no, we move on and start what works.

That's it.

Recent policy announcements have parents asking about acetaminophen and autism links. I get the concern... when conflicting information emerges about your child's future, you want real answers.

Here's what the research shows.

A Swedish study of over 2.4 million children found no association between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability. The American College of Obstetricians states that in more than two decades of research, not a single reputable study has concluded acetaminophen causes neurodevelopmental disorders in children.

Meanwhile, autism rates keep climbing → 1 in 31 children now identified with ASD.

These numbers make one thing clear: families need proven interventions, not theories.

Applied Behavior Analysis has over 89% success rate improving communication and socialization skills. More than 20 studies show intensive ABA therapy improves outcomes in intellectual functioning, language development, and daily living skills.

Real results.

I've been helping families navigate autism services since 2004, starting with my own daughter's diagnosis at age 4. The difference between speculation and proven treatment becomes obvious when you watch a child make breakthrough progress through evidence-based intervention.

Policy debates will continue.

Your child needs care today.

We focus on stress-free, punishment-free environments where positive relationships meet clients where they are in their journey. When therapy becomes fun, it becomes a catalyst for progress. We go beyond surface behaviors to understand core origins... providing interventions that create lasting change.

Early intervention leads to the most significant long-term progress, but starting is never too late.

The question remains simple: does it have peer-reviewed evidence showing real improvement in communication, daily living, and social skills?

If yes → we use it.
If no → we focus on what works.

Like this approach? Comment below if you think evidence should guide treatment decisions 👇

09/19/2025

The bottleneck no grant can fix

HHS just announced $50 million for autism research over the next 2-3 years. Families calling me today need services now, not research results in three years.

I've been watching this exact pattern since 2004 when my daughter was first diagnosed. Policy announcements generate headlines while parents hit the same walls: insurance delays, waiting lists, and finding qualified providers who actually understand what they're doing.

The math here is brutal.

$50 million sounds impressive until you break it down - that's roughly $25 million per year spread across over 2 million children with autism nationwide. About $12.50 per child annually for research while families pay thousands out of pocket because they can't wait for insurance approvals.

Meanwhile, the phone calls I get every week tell a different story. Parents describing 6-month waiting lists for ABA providers, insurance companies requiring multiple authorizations, and BCBAs who are so overbooked they can barely return calls.

New dollars will not create seasoned BCBAs and RBTs this month. The choke point isn't understanding autism better - research already demonstrates that 50-75% of children receiving intensive ABA therapy show significant improvements.

The choke point is access and navigation.

At ABA Home Therapy, we eliminated waiting lists entirely because we focused on what families actually face: insurance systems that feel designed to confuse, provider networks that don't communicate, and authorization processes that drag on while children miss critical intervention windows.

Since helping thousands of families navigate these systems, I can tell you every barrier has a workaround. Every insurance denial has an appeal process. Every "no" from a provider usually means they're not the right fit anyway.

Government funding represents important recognition, but recognition doesn't help the parent whose 4-year-old needs intervention today.

Your child's development doesn't wait for policy solutions.

Comment "ACCESS" if you think funding should target immediate solutions for families instead of future research. Like this if you've experienced these barriers firsthand.

09/16/2025

From price anxiety to day one clarity.

Most ABA therapy providers hide their rates until families complete full evaluations.

One charges $120 per hour. Another demands $250. The guessing game starts before therapy even begins.

I've navigated these waters since 2004, when my daughter received her autism diagnosis at age 4. Even with my healthcare industry background, obtaining quality ABA services proved challenging and cumbersome.

The lack of upfront pricing? It added financial stress during an already overwhelming time.

Think about it.

Families can't budget effectively when rates stay hidden. Providers struggle with sustainable business models. Insurance companies face unpredictable claim patterns.

Meanwhile, children wait.

Here's what we changed at ABA Home Therapy in Florida.

We eliminated the mystery completely. Clear pricing from day one... no hidden costs, no evaluation requirements before families know their investment.

When financial stress drops, something powerful happens. Therapy starts sooner. Families make informed decisions instead of playing guessing games with their children's futures.

The numbers tell the story: ABA therapy averages $62,400 annually for just 10 hours weekly. For intensive 20-40 hour programs, yearly costs can exceed $100,000.

Transparency creates trust.

Trust enables progress.

Over two decades, I've helped thousands of families across Florida access ABA therapy without pricing anxiety. We accept most major insurance and Medicaid, making quality care accessible when families need it most.

Because the economics work when everyone understands the investment upfront.

Like this if pricing transparency matters to you. Comment below with your experience navigating therapy costs 👇

ABA Home Therapy

11/07/2025

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