For Families

For Families

Why KBH?

Improving the lives of children with autism

Kind Behavioral Health has provided high-quality services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) since 2006.

The primary goal of our staff is to increase our clients’ and their families’ quality of life.

Some of the steps we take to serve our clients include:

  • Creating individualized programming, specific to your child’s needs, behaviors, and skills
  • Frequently measuring response to treatment to ensure meaningful progress
  • Teaching skills in the situations where they are used
  • Providing family training on topics to address your family’s specific needs and questions
We’re proud to offer local learning opportunities. Contact us to join an Intro to ABA session.

WHAT we do

Available programs

Early Intervention
For young learners (under 4-years-old) who need to acquire foundational communication and behavior skills
General Treatment for ASD
For clients older than 4-years-old who need to acquire communication and social interaction skills and who engage in restricted or repetitive behavior
Classroom Readiness

Behavioral therapy to help clients prepare to transition into school settings
(typically ages 4- 7)

Social Skills Groups
Provides structured opportunities to learn complex social and communication skills with similar-age peers
Group Family Training
Provided directly to families in a group setting, focusing on how to apply ABA principles when interacting with your child

insurance coverage

Accepting most major insurance carriers

Kind Behavioral Health accepts most major insurance carriers with an ABA benefit. If you aren’t sure or need assistance confirming your coverage, one of our Authorization Specialists can help.

Where do I start?

Selecting a service provider can be challenging

Selecting a service provider can be challenging for people who are new to the field of ABA. To help families navigate the process, a list of examples questions and KBH’s position on the topics are provided below.

At KBH, a client’s services are provided with a treatment team, including Registered Behavior Technicians, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and parents/caregivers. Registered Behavior Technicians provide the majority of the one-on-one services during sessions, but each member has important roles. The BCBA’s role is primarily supervisory. She or he is responsible for collecting information about the client’s needs, identifying which skills therapy should focus on, designing programs to teach those skills, providing training to other team members about how to use the programs, and monitoring progress. In addition to providing the majority of one-to-one services, Registered Behavior Technicians also share insight with the BCBA about the rate of progress and make suggestions on how the session can be structured to maximize success. Parents and caregivers share ideas and provide input about what skills the client will learn and what those skills should look like. They also implement the behavioral programs outside of therapy sessions.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts must

  • Hold a master’s degree
  • Completed a series of graduate-level courses on ABA approved by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB), which is the organization in charge of credentialing for the field of applied behavior analysis.
  • Demonstrated the ability to use the principles of ABA effectively in a university practicum or supervised fieldwork experience
  • Pass an exam based on standards outlined by the BACB

Behavior Technicians must

  • Hold a high school degree
  • Complete a series of courses on basic ABA content
  • Demonstrate the ability to implement procedures commonly used in ABA

At KBH, we work with all of our team members to ensure they meet an even higher standard, obtaining the Registered Behavior Technician (“RBT”) Certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. This credential requires demonstration of conceptual knowledge and skill competencies that ensure proficiency and effectiveness in their role. To support this, KBH provides specialized, in-person and virtual training on the content covered on the certification exam.

As a general standard of care, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) recommends that Board Certified Behavior Analysts supervise 2 hours for every 10 hours of direct treatment hours (~20%). For example, if a client receives 20 hours of direct treatment per week, a BCBA would typically be recommended to provide the client’s case at least 4 hour each week of direct observation, family training or other dedicated support. The level of case supervision may vary based on a variety of factors, including the stage of treatment, changes in protocols, changes to a client’s other therapies or medications or a transition of care.

Given this high level of expected involvement by BCBAs, many organizations struggle to meet this threshold given their efforts to expand access to as many families as possible. We would encourage all families to directly discuss this topic with any prospective provider. At KBH, we are working hard to expand our access, but we foremost have an obligation and commitment to the quality of our services. With that, we require our BCBAs to oversee their client’s care at an average rate of at least 20% of the direct treatment hours, with many cases well over this threshold due to the complexity of their care programs.

The KBH onboarding experience

Our intake process

The steps to acquire services from KBH are outlined below. 

01.

Clinical Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Aquire a formal assessment from a licensed diagnostician. (e.g., pediatrician, developmental psychologist)

02.

Apply for ABA Services

You may request our services after receiving your child’s ASD diagnosis.

03.

Verify ABA Coverage
One of our Authorizations Specialists will assist you with confirming your coverage for ABA services, and understanding your potential out-of-pocket costs for treatment.

04.

Request Pre-Authorization for Initial Assessment
An initial authorization request will be sent to your insurance provider by our team.

05.

Complete an Initial Assessment and Develop an Individualized Plan of Care
A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (in partnership with a Licensed Psychologist) will work with you to establish your child’s individualized plan of care with behavioral goals and priorities

06.

Request Pre-Authorization for ABA Treatment
A member of our team will send an ABA treatment request and required documentation to your insurance provider.

07.

ABA Treatment begins!
Our clinical team will work with your child and family to ensure outstanding outcomes across contexts and environmental settings.

for parents

Caregiver Involvement

When caregivers are active members of the treatment team, clients make greater gains.

Parents and other care providers are the experts on their child and the environments where they spend time. They are uniquely able to share information about:

  • How family members greet each other
  • The structure of mealtimes (e.g., eating at the kitchen, eating in the living room)
  • The expectations in school
  • The types of behavior (e.g., specific words spoken) that are commonly used among peers or family members

Moreover, given the importance of the outcomes for specific behaviors, caregivers can ensure that other people in those environments are providing the same consequences outside of therapy.

For example, if a child is learning how to request toys from other children, encouraging other children in the home (e.g., siblings, cousins) to share a toy when an appropriate request occurs will increase how quickly a new skill is learned and increase the likelihood of it continuing as the focus of treatment shifts to other skills.

FAQS

More Info on ABA

No, there is not currently a cure for autism. However, the socially significant detrimental effects of ASD can be minimized through ABA therapy.
No, in fact, we incorporate your child’s interests throughout treatment. One of the main goals of ABA therapy is to increase our clients’ functional language, which means being able to ask for their favorite toy, a hug, or for a break.
Each client has an individualized number of treatment hours. The number of hours is based on his or her needs. Research shows that earlier and more intensive services, which can in some clients’ cases reach up to 40 hours per week, typically produce the most meaningful and successful clinical outcomes.
The staff at KBH is available to provide service to your family. Let's get started!