Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a scientifically proven approach to addressing challenging behaviors by reducing problem behaviors and making socially significant changes in an individual’s life.
By using the principles of ABA, Epicenter clinicians can identify what motivates our clients and use these reinforcers to teach new skill sets.  Epicenter works to increase the social and communication skills of our clients in a natural and creative environment.  Epicenter also works to support our client families too.  Family values and feedback is incorporated into our behavior plans to improve the overall quality of life.
Click here (LINK to ecommerce website/training) to learn more about ABA and how it can help support your family.

ABA can be used for all children whether they have a diagnosis or not. ABA focuses on manipulating the environment to encourage learning. See the Epicenter model (LINK) to better understand how ABA can be naturalistic in nature.

ABA is covered by most insurances.  Currently Epicenter accepts the following insurance companies: Aetna, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield, Caresource & Caresource Marketplace Plans, Cleveland Clinic Insurance Plans, Medical Mutual, United Health Care & UnitedHealthCare Community Plan. Other Options: Please call us at (216) 508-4050 (LINK to call us) to schedule an intake call and find out information about Out of Pocket Payments, Autism Scholarship, Payer of Last Resort, or Jon Peterson Grant, or to get a Single Case Agreement with your insurance company.

The basic foundational skills we look at for your child to be ready to go to preschool or Kindergarten include, but are not limited to: responding to their name, gaining attention of others, single step directions (i.e., sit down with the class), multiple step directions when moving into kindergarten (i.e., put your backpack away and sit down for circle time), plays next to peers, takes turns with peers, glances at others play activities, initiates peers, responds to peers (This can be nonverbal responses), waits for attention (waiting time varies by age), stays in the learning area, accepts no.

Depending on how many hours you and your clinical team have decided is appropriate for your child,  your child will work in both Discrete Trial Training (DTT) and in Natural Environment Teaching (NET).  In DTT skills are broken down into small steps and run in a way that there is a clear start and end to each program.  NET skills are taught naturally and typically in a play based setting. You may not notice that a program is being run because it is very natural. 

At Epicenter we use the trial base format of DTT combined with the NET model so that your child gets the most natural experience possible similar to their own natural environment (i.e., across their own home, school, and community). It is important that there is a mix of both types of treatment in order for your child’s day to look similar to any natural environment in your child’s future. We want your child to move along their day as if they were in school or in their community. Whether we see your child for services in your home or in our clinic, the environment we create will be similar to your child’s school environment to give your child many opportunities to build school readiness skills needed for school and their daily life.

Our mission is to graduate your child into a classroom with their peers. As such, we work on school readiness skills that will allow your child to be successful in a school environment.

Every client has an individualized treatment plan that addresses the specific hours needed to ensure your child’s success.  Typically, each session lasts between two and four hours five days a week.  Most of our clients receive a comprehensive treatment plan having two to three sessions per day.

A schedule of two comprehensive treatment plans (26-40 hours) may look like this: 

A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) will be able to review your child’s IEP and work towards those goals, as well as using our comprehensive assessments to build your child’s individualized goals. Although not required, your BCBA will be a crucial team member on your IEP team as an advocate for your family. Typically Epicenter will be using Autism Scholarship or Jon Peterson Grant funding when working on goals in the IEP. For more information about Autism Scholarship & Jon Peterson Grant CLICK HERE. (Open to “resources” page).

Epicenter is available to work with your child’s school whenever possible.  Currently Epicenter ABA delivers therapy in all settings (i.e., home, school, daycare, clinic, and community settings).

Your therapist can go out into the community with your child. Your Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) can design programs with your family to work on skills and challenging behaviors in a wide range of locations in the community (i.e., going to the dentist, grocery store, swimming pool, etc.).

ABA has proven to be effective for many behavioral disorders and if you pediatrician has recommended it for your child we are here to help.You can receive ABA therapy without an autism diagnosis although insurance has restrictions that ABA is only covered with an autism diagnosis. However, there may be alternatives to utilizing insurance if your child needs ABA treatment due to behavioral concerns or if your child has an educational diagnosis through their school of either ADHD or autism.  Please contact us for more information on how you can get ABA therapy for your child.

We find that it is important to understand what other treatments your child is participating in and to make goals as a team. Epicenter is collaborative and  provides your family with what is clinically the most beneficial for your child at any moment in their development.

To start services with Epicenter ABA please contact our Client Service Coordinator at (216) 508-4050 or email us at intake@epicenteraba.com.  We will walk you through our intake process and schedule a time for you to meet with one of our clinicians. They will be able to answer any additional questions you have about Epicenter or ABA. Click (here) for more information on our intake process.

At Epicenter we pride ourselves on the amount of oversight your child will receive. Our BCBAs provide an average of 10% supervision of each RBT. They will be present for at least 10% of the total direct therapy your child receives per week. Plus you will see your BCBA for at least 1 hour of family training per month. We typically pair a BCBA and Case Manager (student enrolled in their Master degree program to become a BCBA) to provide additional supervision and better support your child’s team of behavior therapists. To understand how many hours your child will receive CLICK HERE or call us at (216) 508-4050 to set up an intake call with our clinicians.

For “CLICK HERE” from above: Can we do something like this (LINK – internal developmental checklist) and use assessments that we typically use for under 5?!  This can lead to an intake process and someone to reach out to them or place on the newsletter?

If you feel as though your child may have Autism, reach out to your pediatrician for a referral.  You can also visit: https://www.metrohealth.org/behavioral-health-services/child-and-adolescent-behavioral-health or call Metrohealth at 216-778-3745

Yes, however, this is an educational diagnosis in order to obtain an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for your child. With this diagnosis from your school, you can receive an Autism Scholarship or Jon Peterson Grant funding to use towards ABA. You will need a medical diagnosis of autism by a PsychD or PhD to receive ABA therapy through your insurance plan.

There are a lot of ways we can support your family with telehealth services. Telehealth services require that the parent be coached by one of our seasoned therapists to perform the session. There are also other opportunities for telehealth services within family training sessions. Epicenter’s clinicians have been trained on providing telehealth services and has been using telehealth as a tool since 2018.