What to Expect During an Initial Assessment at Circle City ABA

You’ve made it through the whirlwind of an autism diagnosis. You’ve read all the books, you’ve checked out all the resources, and you’ve been in touch with an ABA provider. Now, you have an initial assessment scheduled. Don’t worry, help is on the way!

Here is what you can expect from the assessment process:

Schedule

The initial assessment will take roughly 2 to 3 hours. Parents will spend half of the time with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) to gather all relevant information. The other half of the time, the Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) will be with your child getting to know them and completing an assessment.

Assessment

The direct assessment tool will be chosen by the Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) prior to the initial assessment based on different factors such as age or current skill level. The direct assessment tool will focus on foundational language skills and functional living skills.

Checklists

By this point in the process you have filled out so many checklists, but we will have a few more. These checklists will help the BCBA understand more about your child’s behaviors and daily living skills. These things aren’t always observed during the initial assessment, so they are very helpful when writing individualized goals for your child!

Always Be Honest

Sometimes, it is challenging to talk about different things as it pertains to your child. Always be honest about your child’s behaviors and current skills with the BCBA. Make sure that we can serve all our clients safely and are aware of any challenging behaviors. This also helps us ensure that our reports are as accurate as possible.

Next Steps

After the initial assessment, the Behavior Analyst will spend time writing up all the information gathered from the interview with parents and assessment completed with your child. After it is submitted to your insurance provider, it will take a few weeks for them to grant an authorization to begin services. Once an authorization is granted, we will be able to see your child again and begin services!