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

Early intervention or ABA: which one first?

Call Early Intervention Colorado first if nobody has evaluated your child yet. The referral line is 833-733-3734. Your county's agency sends a coordinator, and the evaluation is free.

Call an ABA provider at the same time if your pediatrician has already raised autism or a behavior concern. The two programs run side by side. An approved prior authorization covers up to six months of ABA at a time.

What a toddler session looks like at home

Most of it is play on the floor. The therapist follows what your child reaches for and builds words, pointing and turn-taking into it. Parents sit in. Good providers coach you between visits so the gains carry into the day.

Ask each provider how many hours a week it recommends for a two-year-old, and who writes the plan. A named BCBA on the plan is a fair thing to ask for.

Early signs, developmental delay and the assessment

You don't need a formal autism diagnosis to be assessed. A speech delay, little pointing or eye contact, a strong reaction to sounds or textures, or a pediatrician's note about a developmental delay is enough to make the call. The provider's board certified behavior analyst does a play-based assessment and writes a treatment plan with a small number of goals: communication, daily routines like meals and sleep, and the behaviors that make the day hard.

A registered behavior technician then delivers most of the hours under the BCBA's supervision. For a toddler, many providers keep sessions short and frequent rather than long, and they build parent training into every week so the plan runs when the technician isn't there.

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.