ABA therapy in school

[Tricia]

Hi all!

My son is utilizing ABA therapy this summer due to behavioral issues at home as well as school. He will be continuing ABA therapy clinic hours once school starts, but his ABA therapist would like to work with him at school (apparently she has provided ABA therapy to other kiddos in our state at school with positive results) as well as she feels his BIP is not sufficient and she feels she can better help him “in the moment” during school hours to provide him with the behavioral support he needs. 
 

Has anyone ever worked with their school to have a ABA therapist come in and do ABA therapy at school? What did you need to provide to help the school approve this need request? This is all new to us and I just want to make sure we go in with all our ducks in a row to ensure this service is provided to him. 
 

Thanks!

[JSD24]

I have seen this done.  I'm in PA & an IBHS agency can write an IFSP that provides ABA support at school.  This can be done because Medicaid pays for this.  (If parents are paying, it's not free and therefore not FAPE.)  In other words, it depends on how this is funded if this would be allowed.  If you are paying for ABA, the best you can do is invite the ABA therapist to an IEP meeting so they can tweak the sort of 1:1 support your child gets at school.

They can write a letter saying that your child needs a certified RBT as an aide.  The school can also hire this ABA therapist to work with your child at school.  This process can take a while because vendors of services like this need to be OK by the school board at a school board meeting.  If this therapist has done this in other schools, they might know the process in your state better than I do.  I'm not even sure which state you live in.

[Tricia]

Hi! We are in Nebraska. My insurance has approved paying for the BCBA to provide ABA therapy at school. We don’t qualify for Medicaid, but if they can’t approve her to provide the school hours I like the idea of providing him a RBT through the school. Thanks for the idea!

[Lisa Lightner]

I've seen it done, but it's also a hurdle to cross with the district. Your district likely has a BCBA and other behavioral staff. 

Egos get involved, and the schools often don't like outside people coming in and doing things differently.

Or, the school is then admitting that your child needs these services, and they don't want to provide them.

 

Most importantly--almost all negative behaviors are due to lack of skills or sensory needs or other needs not being met. Make sure all of that has been addressed in the IEP.