Blog

The BCBA assessment is the most important appointment in your child's ABA therapy journey — and the one families feel most nervous about. This complete Maryland parent guide explains what the initial BCBA assessment is, what happens in each session, what the BCBA is actually evaluating across six developmental domains, a complete checklist of what to bring, exactly how to prepare your child, the most common misconceptions families arrive with, and what happens after the assessment — from treatment plan review through insurance authorization to your child's first therapy session.

You have decided your child needs ABA therapy. Now what? This complete step-by-step guide for Maryland families walks through every stage of starting ABA therapy — from your free consultation call through insurance verification, the BCBA assessment, treatment plan review, prior authorization, and your child's very first session. Includes a realistic timeline, what to bring to the assessment, how to choose between in-home, center-based, and school-based services, and what the first month looks like. Everything you need to walk in ready.

School-based ABA therapy is the third service model most Maryland families never know exists. A BCBA-supervised behavior technician comes directly to your child's school — during school hours, in the actual settings where behavioral challenges happen — and delivers evidence-based ABA therapy funded through your health insurance, entirely separate from what the school provides through an IEP. This complete parent guide explains what school-based ABA therapy is, how it works alongside your child's school team, who benefits most, how insurance covers it, and how to start it without navigating the school district system on your own.

Food selectivity in autism affects 50–80% of autistic children — and it is not picky eating. It is a neurologically driven, sensorially complex challenge that typically worsens without targeted intervention. This complete Maryland parent guide explains why food selectivity in autism happens, how it differs from typical picky eating, what ARFID is and how it relates to autism, how ABA therapy uses gradual food exposure and positive reinforcement to systematically expand a child's food repertoire, what families should and should not do at mealtimes, and how to build the right support team in Maryland.

Challenging behavior in autism — hitting, self-injury, elopement, severe refusal — is not defiance, and it is not permanent. It is communication from a child whose nervous system has exceeded its capacity to cope. This Maryland parent guide explains the four functions of behavior, how a BCBA conducts a functional behavior assessment, what a behavior intervention plan includes, how ABA therapy specifically addresses aggression, self-injurious behavior, and elopement, and what families can do right now. Written for families who are exhausted and ready for real answers — with compassion, clinical accuracy, and no judgment.

Anxiety and autism co-occur in up to 80% of autistic children — but anxiety in autism rarely looks like worry. It shows up as meltdowns, rigidity, refusal, and physical complaints that are frequently misread as defiance. This Maryland parent guide explains how to recognize anxiety in autism, why autistic children are neurologically vulnerable to anxiety, and how ABA therapy uses functional assessment, gradual exposure, and coping skill development to build lasting relief. Covers what parents can do at home, the role of CBT and medication alongside ABA, and how The Learning Tree ABA addresses anxiety and autism across ages 2 to 21.