ABA therapy in Colorado for teenagers with Health First Colorado (Colorado Medicaid)

What to ask about a teen program

Ask who the technician will be and whether they have worked with teenagers. Ask whether sessions can happen in the community, at a job site or after school. Ask how the plan involves your teen's own goals, not only yours.

What a teenager's ABA plan usually covers

Daily living skills come first: cooking a meal, laundry, a phone, money, getting somewhere on a bus. Then social and communication goals for school and work, and a plan for the frustration that comes with being 15. A BCBA writes it with your teen in the room; a registered behavior technician works it in the kitchen, the store and the community, not only at a table.

The state's benefit is the same one younger children use, through age 20, with the same prior authorization and six-month renewals. What changes is the provider's own age range, and that's the number printed on each card above.

How to start ABA therapy in Colorado with Health First Colorado

Call a provider from the cards above. It assesses your child, writes the treatment plan and files the prior authorization request with Colorado Medicaid; an approved request covers up to six months of therapy sessions. You don't file anything, and no autism diagnosis is required when the therapy is medically necessary. The three steps, with who to call.

Pick your city

Every city page has the full state list for that place and the local facts: Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, Lakewood, Boulder, Pueblo, Greeley, Longmont, Thornton.