Aloha and thank you for your interest in ABC Group Hawaii ABA Clinic! Please take 20 minutes to read this introduction and fill out the Waitlist Application Form.
For over 19 years we have have provided ABA on Oahu, and intensive clinic-based Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) treatment for children at our clinic near Mapunapuna/Honolulu. We are an "alternative school setting" that requires attendance Monday-Fridays. We do not conduct diagnostic evaluations to obtain a diagnosis.
Families in our intensive (full time, Monday-Friday) ABA programs often spend several years (between 1-4 years) working very closely with our treatment team where we will teach your child new skills, test out needed accommodations, and learn compassionate acceptance in order to enjoy your child's life- for lasting change after therapy.
After graduating out of our intensive programs, we transition children to home-based sessions, or afterschool only sessions if we recommend transitioning back to school! We reserve these "after school sessions" for those who have graduated out of our intensive full time programs and therefore do not generally do "after school only" sessions for new clients.
We are currently accepting the following sources of funding for those children with an Autism diagnosis:
1. HMSA (Commercial PPO/HMO or Federal),
2. HMSA (MedQuest),
3. Aloha Care (MedQuest)
4. DOE Placement via Your Child's IEP (non-insurance based)
5. Cash Payments through our Concierge Program (non-insurance based and no diagnosis of Autism needed)
*WE DO NOT TAKE TRICARE, KAISER, OR HMAA OR ANY OTHER FUNDING SOURCE
For those children with suspected autism (eg. who have symptoms of autism, but no formal diagnosis yet, we can help your Primary Care Provider (PCP) or physician make a referral to while you are awaiting your diagnostic evaluation appointment to obtain a diagnosis of autism- there is no need to wait for a diagnosis to begin ABA treatment).
For patients without an Autism diagnosis or other insurance coverage we accept cash payments via our Concierge Program, and we also collaborate with Hawaii Department of Education Schools (HDOE) and can be selected as a Special Education Placement in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) by a child’s IEP team.
Once you have completed this Waitlist Screening Form, you can expect a follow-up text and email from us within 2-3 weeks to set up an interview phone call with our Director to learn a little more about your child. This conversation will also provide you with: additional information about our clinic-based ABA program, opportunities to ask questions, as well as provide you with an estimated wait time that we anticipate being able to schedule your child's Intake Assessment/Evaluation.
The Intake Assessment will be an opportunity for a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) to:
1. talk with parents/caregivers and ask questions,
2. directly observe your child and conduct some direct testing to determine their baseline ( to determine at what level your child is functioning at now, and to determine where our starting point would be with treatment)
3. develop an individualized Treatment Plan for your child as the road map for the next 6-12 months. This plan will outline our steps to work to build skills and reduce problem behaviors that interfere with learning. For some children, this treatment plan will outline our path forward to close the gap between your child's developmental and chronological levels as much as possible. For other children, it would mean outlining and mapping out the focused ABA treatment needed to develop some functional language, and skills towards independence.
4. develop a prescription for ABA treatment dosage (recommended hours needed per week to accomplish the goals we have set forth to ameliorate your child's symptoms of autism).
ABA is based on medical-necessity. It is a prescription based and intensive treatment. The prescription/dosage is based on the severity of autism and the potential for benefit from therapy. The less language a child has, and if there are problem behaviors that the child demonstrates, the prescription for ABA dosage will be higher- sometimes up to 40 hours per week. When ABA can be started at a young age (between the ages of 2-5 years old), and with intensity of 40 hours/week consistently, for 2-4 years in duration, the better the outcomes usually are. Our job is to ameliorate the symptoms of autism. ABA can be an alternative to special education classroom placement, and we will be targeting functional skills that your child will need for the rest of his life (communication, social relationships and self help skills).
Scheduling with us to complete an Intake Assessment is neither a commitment or a guarantee to join our ABA program, but will provide you with valuable information and recommendations from us. If you accept services and the schedule we prescribe, children usually start services within 4-8 weeks following the completion of the Intake Assessment, and parents can begin meeting with the case supervisor (if available) for parent education and parent training sessions pretty immediately prior to your child to starting in-clinic sessions.
To best prepare for your child's program to start, we can provide Parent/Caregiver/Family Guidance (eg. Parent Training/Parent Education/Parent Coaching) at your convenience immediately following our Intake Assessment as well as ongoing throughout your child's ABA program. The modality of the Parent Training can be telehealth (Google Meet), and/or in person at our clinic in combination with your home setting depending on what you need help with.
Things to Consider:
* We do not offer "after school" only treatment hours. Please reach out to home-based providers in your area if you believe you only need "after school" ABA.
* We have a 3 session/day cancellation maximum per month. If you have transportation or logistical issues that you expect to interfere with your child's prescription of ABA, and consistently transporting daily to ABC Group, please problem solve these issues prior to beginning treatment or consider a home-based provider.
If you'd like to read more about ABC Group and browse the resources on our website, you can click on this link: http://www.abcgrouphawaii.com and open it in a new tab right now so it will be there when you've completed this form. Additionally we can be found on social media on Facebook, or Instagram @ABCGroupHawaii or TikTok @ABCGroupHawaiiABA where you can follow our current events!
Thank you again for taking the time to share with us about your child. We look forward to meeting your family soon and partnering with you to improve your child's future by using the science of ABA.
