FAQ Page
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1. What Is Autism?

Autism (also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder) is a selection of conditions that include difficulty with nonverbal communication, repetitive behaviors, and hardships in understanding or using social skills. Also, conditions categorized as autism can include other individual differences and strengths.

Unlike previous understanding of autism, we now know that there are many types of ASD. They can be caused by a variety of combinations between environmental and genetic influences. The use of spectrum in the wording of ASD highlights the variety of challenges and strengths that children possess.

While autism can be detected as early as 18-months of age, obvious signs will tend to appear by age two or three. We encourage parents who may be concerned about their child to seek out an evaluation as early as possible. Early intervention has been shown to improve outcomes.

2. How Do I Know If My Child Has Autism?

Autism is a neurological disorder that may be shown through an array of characteristics. Children who show cognitive impairments is one example. Another characteristic is difficulty with verbal and non-verbal communication. ASD children may display repetitive behaviors. Often, autism is seen with social impairments.

Autism Spectrum Disorder can manifest with minor or severe symptoms. It may be found in all ethnic groups and age ranges. Autism does not affect a particular socioeconomic group more than the other. Data shows that males are four times as likely to develop autism than females are.

While some characteristics can manifest as early as 18-months of age, most children develop signs by the age of two or three. Children who have developed communication and social skills to this point may lose them, which is known as the regressive type of autism.

3. What Does It Mean To Be On The Spectrum?

The term “On the spectrum” is often used to describe behavioral and developmental problems. It is also used to refer to the challenges or problems that are characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Most people, including doctors, use the term to refer to children that have a varying degree of a type of ASD.

Originally, it referred to Autistic Disorder which is considered the most severe form of autism. Less severe forms of ASD may be referred to as Asperger’s Syndrome, while PDD-NOS describes an average level of autism. While a child described as being “On the spectrum” may show characteristics of autism, only an assessment will be able to determine this diagnosis for sure. Keep in mind that only 20-percent of ASD children are diagnosed with “Classic” autism while most endure less-severe forms.

4. What is ABA?

ABA stands for Applied Behavior Analysis. This discipline uses techniques that are concerned with behavioral and social learning abilities. Once referred to as Behavior Modification, it was renamed in part to highlight environmental considerations in relation to behavior. While it has been used on criminal behavior and gerontology, it is often associated with the diagnosis and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This science is employed to develop observable changes in behavior. It treats emotions and thoughts as behaviors that are similar to overt responses. Analysts view ABA as a natural science more than they do a social science. It is often used with patients who have not developed a proper level of communication or social skills. This makes it ideal to use with children diagnosed with ASD.

5. How Do I Know If My Child Needs ABA?

ABA is a form of therapy such as occupational therapy, that is used to improve a child’s well-being. Unlike occupational therapy, however, ABA is used to improve cognitive thinking, communication, and social skills. This treatment is used to address the inappropriate or troublesome behaviors. It is also employed to reinforce appropriate behaviors and to teach new skills.

ABA may benefit your child if they have problems with communication or interacting in social settings. Children who display bad or out of place behaviors might be in need of the strategies created using ABA. If a child struggles with learning and does not pick up on things as quickly as other children their age, they may show improvement with ABA. Concerned parents should ask for an assessment as early as possible to determine if ABA would help.

6. What Locations Do You Cover?

We currently have three offices with convenient locations in New Jersey and New York. These locations include our Inwood location, our Forest Hills office in Queens, and the Fair Lawn office in Jersey. With our strategic locations we cover the greater NYC area of Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, NYC, Staten Island, Long Island, Westchester, NJ, and upstate NY.

These locations are able to provide social group activities as well as the patient intake process. You can contact our office at (516) 299-1194 for information on our in-home ABA therapy.

Besides our ABA home care, we also are able to provide school consultations as well as BIP plans for ASD children.

7. Is It Covered By Insurance?

You will be happy to know that we provide insurance accepted ABA therapy. Our staff will assist you with the often confusing insurance paperwork when you come to one of our offices for an initial consultation (including or Inwood location in Nassau County). A majority of the major insurance carriers will cover ABA services and will provide up to 100-percent coverage or reimbursement.

Insurance that covers Autism Spectrum Disorder will cover all types of autism, including Asperger’s Syndrome and “Classical” autism. Some of the insurance carriers that we partner with include Aetna, Amerigroup, Child Health Plus, Cigna, Emblem Health, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Fidelis Care, GHI, Health Plus, as well as others. Contact our office to verify if your insurance provider covers our in-home or social group services.

8. How are we different from our competitors?

We pride ourselves on taking things to a whole new level. We differentiate ourselves from our competitors by providing…

1. Expedited enrollment process: No long waiting period for assignment of staff
2. Insurance processes all handled by our internal billing team
3. Quick staffing with the most experienced technicians
+ Academic Concepts
4. Owned and operated by BCBAs
5. Mature agency with individual attention for each patient
6. Round the clock access for emergency situations
7. Weekend hours available
8. We treat your children as our own
9. We provide parent support groups online & community outings