01/24/2026
Parents who want a traumaâinformed, assentâbased, neurodiversityâaffirming ABA program deserve a clear, empowered checklist â not guesswork. These questions help families quickly see whether a providerâs values match their marketing.
đą Foundational Philosophy & Approach
- How do you define âtraumaâinformedâ in your practice, and what does that look like dayâtoâday?
- How do you ensure my childâs autonomy, dignity, and emotional safety during sessions?
- What does assent look like in your program, and how do you respond when a child withdraws assent?
- How do you incorporate neurodiversityâaffirming principles into goal selection and intervention?
- How do you avoid complianceâbased teaching or coercive practices?
đ§ Assessment & Goal Setting
- How do you include the childâs interests, sensory profile, and communication style in the assessment?
- How do you ensure goals are meaningful to the child and family, not just âageânormedâ?
- Do you assess for trauma history, sensory needs, and emotional regulationânot just behaviors?
- How do you collaborate with parents, teachers, and other providers when creating goals?
đŹ Communication, Behavior, and Emotional Regulation
- How do you support communication without forcing speech or masking?
- What is your approach to behaviors that signal distress, overwhelm, or unmet needs?
- How do you teach emotional regulation in a way that honors the childâs natural coping strategies?
- Do you use any extinctionâbased procedures? If not, what do you do instead?
đ¨ Session Experience & Environment
- What does a typical session look like, and how flexible is it based on the childâs needs that day?
- How do you incorporate play, sensory regulation, and childâled activities?
- How do you ensure sessions never become overwhelming or coercive?
- How do you train staff to recognize signs of stress, shutdown, or overload?
𧊠Assent & Autonomy
- How do you teach and respect boundaries, consent, and selfâadvocacy?
- What happens if my child says âno,â walks away, or refuses an activity?
- How do you ensure my child has real choices throughout the session?
đ§ââď¸ TraumaâInformed Safety Practices
- How do you prevent retraumatization during therapy?
- What is your policy on physical prompting, and how do you ensure it is safe and respectful?
- How do you handle transitions, new environments, or unexpected changes?
- How do you support children who have experienced medical trauma, school trauma, or sensory trauma?
đ¤ Parent Partnership
- How often do you communicate with families, and in what format?
- How do you support parents without blaming or pathologizing them?
- Do you provide parent coaching that focuses on connection, coâregulation, and strengths?
đ Staff Training & Oversight
- What training do your RBTs receive in traumaâinformed care, neurodiversity, and assent?
- How often does the BCBA observe sessions and provide supervision?
- How do you ensure staff use gentle, respectful, childâcentered language?
- How do you handle concerns if a parent feels something in a session didnât feel right?
đ Inclusion, Identity, and Respect
- How do you support autistic identity, sensory differences, and stimming as valid forms of expression?
- How do you ensure goals do not promote masking or suppress natural autistic traits?
- How do you incorporate cultural, linguistic, and family values into therapy?
đ Transparency & Accountability
- Can I observe sessions or review session notes?
- How do you measure progress in ways that honor the childâs wellâbeing, not just behavior change?
- What practices do you never use, and why?
- How do you repair trust if a child becomes distressed or overwhelmed during therapy?
Parents who want a traumaâinformed, assentâbased, neurodiversityâaffirming ABA program deserve a clear, empowered checklist â not guesswork. These questions help families quickly see whether a providerâs values match their marketing. Below is a parentâfriendly, deeply attuned set of ques...
