06/06/2026
We’ve received an increasing number of questions from families about ABA services and what to look for when choosing a provider. As a pediatric Speech, Occupational, Physical, and Feeding Therapy clinic, we believe families deserve clear information so they can make informed decisions for their children.
Every child is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to intervention. There are many excellent ABA providers, and there are important questions families should ask to ensure services are individualized, collaborative, and centered on the whole child.
🚩 Red Flag: Behaviors are targeted for reduction before underlying causes have been explored.
✅ Green Flag: The team investigates potential contributing factors and asks, “Why is this behavior happening?” before deciding how to address it.
Behavior is communication. Before attempting to reduce or eliminate a behavior, providers should consider whether the child may be communicating an unmet need. Is the child overstimulated? Understimulated? Experiencing pain or discomfort? Struggling to communicate? Demonstrating a sensory need? Lacking an appropriate replacement skill?
Quality providers recognize when additional expertise is needed and collaborate with the child’s therapy team. If sensory processing concerns are suspected, they seek guidance from the child’s occupational therapist. If communication challenges may be contributing to behaviors, they collaborate with the child’s speech-language pathologist. When feeding, motor, medical, or other developmental concerns are present, they involve the appropriate professionals to ensure the child’s needs are fully understood.
Children should not be expected to stop communicating a need until we have ensured that need is being appropriately addressed.
🚩 Red Flag: Recommending 30-40+ hours per week for every child without clearly explaining why that amount is necessary.
✅ Green Flag: Recommendations are individualized to the child’s specific needs, strengths, goals, age, and ability to participate.
While some children may truly benefit from intensive services, families should understand how those recommendations were determined. Therapy should enhance a child’s quality of life—not unintentionally limit opportunities for family time, community participation, peer relationships, rest, play, and learning through natural everyday experiences.
🚩 Red Flag: You aren’t sure who is actually treating your child.
✅ Green Flag: The provider clearly explains the role of the BCBA and the RBT, including how often the BCBA directly observes your child, supervises treatment, and updates programming.
Parents should be able to confidently answer the question: “Who is overseeing my child’s treatment plan?”
If you cannot clearly answer whether your child is receiving services from an RBT, a BCBA, or both—and how often the BCBA is directly involved—that is a sign you need more information before making a decision.
🚩 Red Flag: The behavior plan is not discussed with parents or shared with other professionals involved in the child’s care.
✅ Green Flag: The behavior plan is clearly explained, and the team actively collaborates with parents, teachers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, physicians, and other professionals when appropriate.
Consistency across environments often leads to the best outcomes for children.
🚩 Red Flag: Behaviors are intentionally provoked or escalated during sessions without a clear clinical rationale and appropriate safeguards.
✅ Green Flag: Intervention focuses on understanding the function of behavior, preventing unnecessary distress, teaching replacement skills, and creating successful opportunities for the child.
Children learn best when they feel safe, supported, and engaged.
🚩 Red Flag: The child is expected to comply without consideration of sensory, communication, developmental, or emotional factors.
✅ Green Flag: The team recognizes that regulation, sensory processing, communication abilities, emotional well-being, and developmental readiness all influence behavior and adjusts expectations accordingly.
🚩 Red Flag: Therapy is primarily adult-directed, with limited consideration of the child’s interests, communication style, sensory needs, or autonomy.
✅ Green Flag: Therapy incorporates the child’s interests, motivations, developmental level, and communication style while building meaningful functional skills.
Child-led does not mean a lack of structure—it means using the child’s strengths and interests to promote learning, engagement, and meaningful participation.
🚩 Red Flag: Progress updates are vague or difficult to understand.
✅ Green Flag: Families receive clear information about goals, progress, challenges, and next steps and are encouraged to ask questions.
At Cutting Edge Therapy Services, we believe the strongest outcomes occur when therapy is individualized, collaborative, transparent, and centered on the whole child—not just a diagnosis or behavior.
Families should feel empowered to ask questions, seek explanations, and advocate for services that align with their child’s unique needs. Informed parents are powerful members of a child’s team, and every child deserves a team that works together to help them thrive.
