HOW IT WORKS
Your Actify action plan:
While every ABA journey is unique for each individual, all treatments follow this pathway
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Individualized Approach
Individualized Approach: At Actify ABA, every treatment plan is tailored to your child. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, each treatment plan is designed around your child’s unique needs, preferences, and what works best for your family. Just as no two children are the same, no two treatment plans are alike.
Family Centered
At Actify ABA, we believe that families are at the heart of your child’s ABA team. While our clinicians bring expertise in behavior, you are the expert on your child and your family. True progress happens when skills learned in sessions carry over into your child’s daily life, where they spend most of their time. Our treatments are designed to create meaningful change that fits your family’s unique needs and routines. You will play an active role in your child’s care, collaborating closely with your BCBA to ensure strategies are practical, personalized, and effective.
Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration
We understand that to achieve meaningful outcomes, collaboration with your child’s interdisciplinary team is essential. When all providers involved in your child’s care are aligned, progress is more meaningful and consistent. With your consent, we collaborate closely with your child’s other providers to ensure everyone is on the same page and working together to support your family’s goals.
Assent Based Practice
Assent, or your child’s willingness to participate in therapy, is essential for valuable progress. We tailor our treatments to meet your child where they are while keeping interventions therapeutic and effective. Before beginning any treatment, we focus on building a trusting relationship, so your child feels safe and respected during therapy. We honor your child’s autonomy and dignity and never force participation. Through understanding what motivates your child and building rapport, we encourage them to engage with the therapist to participate in and enjoy therapy.
High-Quality Clinical Treatment
Our rigorous Quality Assurance and Training programs equip staff with the resources and support they need to provide excellent, evidence-based treatment. Our Clinical Leadership team collaborates closely with clinicians to provide clinical guidance and education to achieve high-quality clinical care. All treatment plans and protocols are peer-reviewed to ensure they follow best practices and are tailored to each child’s unique needs.
Actify at a Glance
Service Areas
Service Areas: We currently serve the following Maryland counties: Montgomery County, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Queen Anne’s County, Frederick County, and Prince George’s County. We may be expanding into your area – contact us for more details.
Insurance Plans
Accepted Insurance Plans: We accept Maryland Medicaid (Aetna Better Health of Maryland, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Community Health Plan of Maryland, Jai Medical Systems, Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States (KPMAS), Maryland Physicians Care (MPC), MedStar Family Choice, Priority Partners, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan (Maryland), Wellpoint Maryland (formerly Amerigroup)).
Service Locations
Therapy Locations: Direct, in-person ABA services with your child may occur at your home, at your child’s daycare, or in the community as appropriate. The BCBA assigned to your family’s care may provide in-person or telehealth (virtual) services for assessing your child’s medical needs, overseeing implementation and effectiveness of the developed treatment program, as well as training and collaborating with caregivers and community providers.
Who’s who:
Your ABA team
ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
The Administrative Team is responsible for all aspects of your child’s care behind the scenes, such as communication with your insurance provider and billing, scheduling needs (e.g., managing session cancellations), and taking client intake calls. They are available to support your family throughout your entire ABA therapy journey.
EXECUTIVE CLINICAL DIRECTOR
The Executive Clinical Director (ECD) oversees the service provision of all clients at Actify ABA. The ECD assigns families to clinicians in their area, supports the members of your child’s treatment team so that they can provide the highest quality of clinical care, and helps families and clinicians navigate any complex clinical or administrative concerns. The ECD will touch base with you throughout treatment and is available to meet with you via appointment.
CAREGIVER (YOU)
You are the most important member of your child’s treatment team here at Actify ABA. Your family values and priorities will factor heavily into the development of your child’s treatment, your areas of concern will be addressed, and your knowledge of your child’s unique needs will help our clinicians select the best ABA treatments to meet your family’s goals.
BCBA (Qualified Health Professional)
The Board Certified Behavior Analyst is a Master’s level clinician and licensed health professional dedicated to providing your family high-quality, individualized care utilizing the evidence-based practices of Applied Behavior Analysis. They will work with you to assess your child’s medical needs, develop the treatment approach best suited for your family, and evaluate your child’s progress to ensure your child is always receiving the therapy they need to thrive. The BCBA is entirely responsible for all assessment activities, treatment development, and oversight of RBTs and caregiver/community provider training and collaboration. You will meet directly with the BCBA 1–4 times a month at minimum to stay up to date on all progress within therapy sessions and to learn how to implement the treatment strategies within your home.
RBT (Direct Services Provider)
The Registered Behavior Technician is a paraprofessional that is highly trained by Actify ABA BCBAs to directly implement your child’s treatment plan with the utmost care. They work 1:1 with your child during therapy sessions to provide the treatments as designed by the BCBA. The BCBA will supervise the RBT for approximately 15% of all direct sessions to ensure that the protocols are working as intended.
Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
Leads assessments, creates the treatment plan, and oversees your child’s progress.
Registered Behavior Technician (RBT)
Works directly with your child during sessions and implements the BCBA’s plan.
Intake & Insurance Support
Guides you through onboarding and manages insurance approvals for services.
Clinical & Family Support Team
Ensures high-quality care, coordinates scheduling, and provides ongoing support to your family.
Who’s who:
Your ABA team
BCBA
Your BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) assesses your child and works with you set goals and create a unique therapy plan. The BCBA oversees and guides the RBT, joining sessions periodically, to ensure quality care.
RBT
During sessions, your child will practice and master skills with an experienced RBT (Registered Behavior Technician). They’ll use skill and creativity to personalize the therapy to your child’s needs and learning style.
Getting Started with ABA Therapy
Timeline for Initiating Services
Initial Call
Call our intake specialist to find out more information about Actify ABA.
Seek Intake Approval
If we are a good fit for you, Actify ABA will contact your insurance provider on your behalf for approval to start the ABA therapy process.
Case Connection
Actify ABA’s Executive Clinical Director will match you with a dedicated treatment team for your child’s care.
Initial Assessment Process
The BCBA on your treatment team will evaluate your child’s needs to determine how ABA therapy can support your family in meeting your treatment goals.
Initial Call
Call our intake specialist to find out more information about Actify ABA.
Case Connection
Actify ABA’s Executive Clinical Director will match you with a dedicated treatment team for your child’s care.
Development of Treatment Plan
The BCBA will develop a comprehensive and individualized treatment plan for your family. This process can take 2–4 weeks.
Seek Insurance Authorization
Actify ABA will contact your insurance provider on your behalf to request approval for funding to begin ABA Therapy services. The approval process can take up to 21 days.
Seek Intake Approval
If we are a good fit for you, Actify ABA will contact your insurance provider on your behalf for approval to start the ABA therapy process.
Initial Assessment Process
The BCBA on your treatment team will evaluate your child’s needs to determine how ABA therapy can support your family in meeting your treatment goals.
Informed Consent
The BCBA will review the results of the assessment process and treatment plan with you and collaborate on next steps and determine a schedule for services.
Start ABA Therapy
Following authorization from insurance, ABA Therapy services can begin on the approved schedule.
Development of Treatment Plan
The BCBA will develop a comprehensive and individualized treatment plan for your family. This process can take 2–4 weeks.
Informed Consent
The BCBA will review the results of the assessment process and treatment plan with you and collaborate on next steps and determine a schedule for services.
Seek Insurance Authorization
Actify ABA will contact your insurance provider on your behalf to request approval for funding to begin ABA Therapy services. The approval process can take up to 21 days.
Start ABA Therapy
Following authorization from insurance, ABA Therapy services can begin on the approved schedule.
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PROVEN TECHNIQUES
ABA in Action
Explore some of the methods and techniques used in ABA therapy.
Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
DTT breaks big skills into small, manageable steps to help your child learn more easily. It works especially well for multi-step skills or when a child needs a focused, distraction-free environment to master a new concept.
Natural Environment Teaching (NET)
NET uses everyday activities and real-life situations to teach new skills in meaningful ways. It works best for children who are curious and motivated by their surroundings, allowing learning
to happen naturally throughout their day.
Functional Communication Training (FCT)
FCT teaches safe and reliable way communication to access their wants and needs. The most important tool we can provide your child is to self-advocate using a method that others can understand; FCT focuses on motivating children to use words, pictures, or signs instead of behavior that may be
unsafe or considered challenging.
Prompting
Prompting is a way we support your child learn new skills using different methods, such as verbal cues, gestures, or physical guidance, tailored to the task at hand. Our clinicians determine which teaching procedures and prompts are most effective for your child’s individual needs, gradually reducing support as your child becomes more independent.
Positive Reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement is reliably providing an outcome that your child likes for a particular behavior so that they are more willing to engage in that specific behavior again. We will identify what
motivates your child and what outcome they are attempting to receive (i.e., why behavior is happening), so that we can provide the right outcomes for the right behaviors. This is our most important tool to create positive behavior change throughout treatment.
Rapport Building
Rapport building involves establishing trust, creating a comfortable and fun atmosphere, and showing your child that therapy can be fun – not a time during which they must do a lot of work repeatedly. Rapport will be built prior to initiating any interventions so that your child feels comfortable during therapy.
Rapport will continue to be built over time to encourage willingness to participate, which increases our chances of
success.
Modeling
The ABA therapist will show your child the wanted behavior so they fully understand what they should be doing. For example, an ABA therapist will show your child how to use a pencil correctly. They’ll point out how their fingers hold the pencil and where, and how much pressure it takes to draw a line. Your child will then be guided to use the pencil in the same way.
Exercise
Exercise helps the following:
– Gross motor skills (like throwing a ball and skipping)
– Fine motor skills (like holding a pencil and using a fork)
– Improve memory and recall
– Improve sleep quality
– Helps your child calm down and channel their energy
– Encourage social and verbal skills
– Give overall feelings of happiness and success
Functional Communication Training (FCT)
This method teaches your child to replace unwanted behaviors with positive behaviors and communication. For example, a child gets frustrated so they’ll throw their lunch across the kitchen. The ABA therapist works with the child to replace that behavior with expressing themselves. They’ll identify the emotion and share it. “Mom, I don’t like these food choices!”
Redirection
By breaking an unwanted habit while it’s happening, your child will learn the appropriate behavior. For example, your child gets upset so they’ll hit and throw something. The therapist will step in and redirect the child’s attention by doing an action (such as a tap on the shoulder) or say something. This will break the behavior. Then, the child will practice saying, “Excuse me. I didn’t like that you did that.”
Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
DTT breaks down a behavior or skill into very small, discrete pieces. The ABA therapist will help your child master the steps one at a time so they’ll be able to gain the full skill without getting overwhelmed.
Extinction
Often, unwanted habits are accidentally reinforced. The method of extinction in ABA therapy involves gradually reducing a specific behavior by removing the reinforcement (outcome) that maintains it. For example, if a child throws a tantrum to receive attention, the therapist would ignore the tantrum (no attention given) to extinguish that behavior over time. Similarly, if a child screams for a toy, rather than giving them the toy immediately, the adult can wait until the child calms down before providing it. Now, the expected behavior of requesting calmly instead of screaming gets reinforced. By consistently applying extinction, the undesired behavior becomes less frequent since it no longer has the results the child was hoping for.
Modeling
The ABA therapist will show your child the wanted behavior so they fully understand what they should be doing. For example, an ABA therapist will show your child how to use a pencil correctly. They’ll point out how their fingers hold the pencil and where, and how much pressure it takes to draw a line. Your child will then be guided to use the pencil in the same way.
Exercise
Exercise helps the following:
– Gross motor skills (like throwing a ball and skipping)
– Fine motor skills (like holding a pencil and using a fork)
– Improve memory and recall
– Improve sleep quality
– Helps your child calm down and channel their energy
– Encourage social and verbal skills
– Give overall feelings of happiness and success
Functional Communication Training (FCT)
This method teaches your child to replace unwanted behaviors with positive behaviors and communication. For example, a child gets frustrated so they’ll throw their lunch across the kitchen. The ABA therapist works with the child to replace that behavior with expressing themselves. They’ll identify the emotion and share it. “Mom, I don’t like these food choices!”
Redirection
By breaking an unwanted habit while it’s happening, your child will learn the appropriate behavior. For example, your child gets upset so they’ll hit and throw something. The therapist will step in and redirect the child’s attention by doing an action (such as a tap on the shoulder) or say something. This will break the behavior. Then, the child will practice saying, “Excuse me. I didn’t like that you did that.”
Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
DTT breaks down a behavior or skill into very small, discrete pieces. The ABA therapist will help your child master the steps one at a time so they’ll be able to gain the full skill without getting overwhelmed.
Extinction
Often, unwanted habits are accidentally reinforced. The method of extinction in ABA therapy involves gradually reducing a specific behavior by removing the reinforcement (outcome) that maintains it. For example, if a child throws a tantrum to receive attention, the therapist would ignore the tantrum (no attention given) to extinguish that behavior over time. Similarly, if a child screams for a toy, rather than giving them the toy immediately, the adult can wait until the child calms down before providing it. Now, the expected behavior of requesting calmly instead of screaming gets reinforced. By consistently applying extinction, the undesired behavior becomes less frequent since it no longer has the results the child was hoping for.
Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
DTT breaks big skills into small, manageable steps to help your child learn more easily. It works especially well for multi-step skills or when a child needs a focused, distraction-free environment to master a new concept.
Natural Environment Teaching (NET)
NET uses everyday activities and real-life situations to teach new skills in meaningful ways. It works best for children who are curious and motivated by their surroundings, allowing learning
to happen naturally throughout their day.
Functional Communication Training (FCT)
FCT teaches safe and reliable way communication to access their wants and needs. The most important tool we can provide your child is to self-advocate using a method that others can understand; FCT focuses on motivating children to use words, pictures, or signs instead of behavior that may be
unsafe or considered challenging.
Prompting
Prompting is a way we support your child learn new skills using different methods, such as verbal cues, gestures, or physical guidance, tailored to the task at hand. Our clinicians determine which teaching procedures and prompts are most effective for your child’s individual needs, gradually reducing support as your child becomes more independent.
Positive Reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement is reliably providing an outcome that your child likes for a particular behavior so that they are more willing to engage in that specific behavior again. We will identify what
motivates your child and what outcome they are attempting to receive (i.e., why behavior is happening), so that we can provide the right outcomes for the right behaviors. This is our most important tool to create positive behavior change throughout treatment.
Rapport Building
Rapport building involves establishing trust, creating a comfortable and fun atmosphere, and showing your child that therapy can be fun – not a time during which they must do a lot of work repeatedly. Rapport will be built prior to initiating any interventions so that your child feels comfortable during therapy.
Rapport will continue to be built over time to encourage willingness to participate, which increases our chances of
success.
