By Arise Autism Center Team
Start with the words, then ask about your child
ABA stands for Applied Behavior Analysis. At Arise, ABA therapy is individualized support for children with autism, designed and supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, or BCBA. The focus is on meaningful skills in everyday life. That can include communication, independence, play, and participation in routines. The exact goals come from an assessment and conversations about your child, rather than a single plan used for everyone.
Hearing new terms can make a first conversation feel complicated. You do not need to know those terms before calling. Ask the team to explain what a proposed goal means in ordinary language and why it matters for your child. General information can help you prepare, but it cannot tell you which services, goals, or schedule are appropriate for an individual child.
An assessment comes before a treatment plan
Before therapy begins, a BCBA assessment helps inform the treatment plan. Families can describe their child's interests, strengths, routines, and the situations where support would be useful. For example, you might want to discuss asking for help, playing alongside others, or participating in a familiar activity. Sharing what already works is just as useful as describing what feels difficult.
Ask how the assessment will be arranged and what information the team needs. During planning, ask how goals will be chosen, how you will discuss progress, and how the plan connects with life outside therapy. These are reasonable questions. A treatment plan should be explained in a way your family can understand; a long list of unfamiliar words is not a substitute for a conversation.
The setting matters
Arise offers center-based services at clinics in Lake Mary, Sanford, Clermont. We also offer in-home ABA and ABA at daycares. Clinic services provide a structured setting, while home and daycare services connect with familiar routines. Ask about availability and which setting may make sense for your child's needs. Offering several settings does not mean every child needs services in all of them.
When discussing a setting, bring practical questions as well as clinical ones. How would getting to a clinic fit your day? Which routines are important at home? What would collaboration with daycare staff involve? You can describe your family's circumstances without having a preferred answer ready. The conversation should help clarify options rather than leave you guessing from a service name alone.
Parents are part of the conversation
Parent training is one of Arise's services. It offers practical strategies and BCBA coaching to connect therapy goals with everyday routines. Ask what parent training would look like for your family and how to raise questions between discussions. The aim is not to make you learn every clinical term. It is to help you understand the plan and participate in supporting the skills that matter to your child.
You might find it useful to keep a few notes about questions or activities you want to discuss. Avoid turning every moment at home into a task or comparison. Your relationship with your child includes play, comfort, and time together, too. If a recommendation feels unclear or does not seem to fit your routine, bring that concern back to the clinical team.
Know the starting requirements
Arise focuses on early intervention for newly diagnosed children up to age 5. An autism diagnosis is required before ABA services can start, and Arise does not provide diagnostic evaluations. If you need an evaluation, ask your pediatrician about a developmental-behavioral pediatrician or pediatric neurologist referral. For families ready to explore ABA, Arise offers a free insurance benefits check. Contact us to discuss the process; benefits verification and assessment do not guarantee a particular outcome or insurance payment.