Questions to ask an ABA centre before you sign up

Ask the same questions of every provider, so you compare answers rather than impressions. Take your spouse, a grandparent or a friend to the meeting, one to ask and one to write. You do not need to cover everything in the first conversation: mark the questions that matter most for your child and send the rest by email afterwards, so the answers come back in writing.

Ask to see documents, not just descriptions: a sample plan and progress report with identifying details removed, the fee schedule and the agreement you would sign. If the provider runs a centre, ask whether you can see a session in progress, with other children's privacy respected. A good provider will be glad you asked. A provider who is irritated by questions now is unlikely to welcome them later, and our guide to red flags in an ABA programme covers the answers that should make you pause.

The most important questions are about who will work with your child and who checks their work.

• Who will design and supervise my child's programme? What is their full name, their credential and the body that issued it?
• Can I check that credential on the issuing body's public registry?
• Who will deliver the sessions? What training or credential do they have, and how long have they worked with children like mine?
• How often will the analyst see my child, in person or by video, and how often will they review the data?
• What happens when the therapist is on leave, falls ill or leaves the organisation?
• What background checks and safeguarding training do staff have?

A good answer names people, gives specific frequencies and offers to put them in writing. 'Our team is highly qualified' is not an answer. Our guide to ABA credentials explains what each credential means and how to check it.

Goals decide how your child's hours are spent, so it is worth understanding how they are chosen before anything starts.

• What assessment will you do first, and can you confirm it is a skills assessment rather than a diagnosis?
• How will goals be chosen, and will we write them together?
• Will goals cover communication, independence, play, safety and the routines that matter to our family?
• How will my child's own preferences shape the goals, especially as they get older?
• Are any goals about stopping harmless stimming, or making my child look at people's eyes?
• How often will goals be reviewed, and who decides when one is met?

Listen for goals that make your child's life easier and happier: asking for help, getting dressed, joining a game, managing the school van. Be cautious about goals that are mainly about looking less autistic. Good programmes do not target harmless stimming or eye contact by default, because goals like these can teach a child to hide discomfort rather than communicate it.

These questions tell you what a session will actually feel like for your child.

• What does a typical session look like? How much is at a table, and how much is play and everyday routines?
• How do you know my child is willing to take part, and what do you do when they want to stop?
• How do you respond to crying, distress or a meltdown?
• Do you ever use punishment, restraint, or withholding of food, water, toilet breaks or comfort items? Under what circumstances?
• What rewards do you use, and how do you move from rewards towards natural motivation over time?
• Can I watch sessions, in person, through a window or on video?

A good answer describes a mix of structured teaching and play, and explains how the therapist reads your child's signals. It treats assent seriously: the BACB's Ethics Code asks analysts to obtain 'assent from clients when applicable' and to 'prioritize positive reinforcement procedures'. Expect a clear no to withholding food, water, toilet breaks or comfort, and positive approaches first. If a provider describes any restrictive procedure, ask to see it in writing, ask which less intrusive approaches came first, and talk it over with your child's paediatrician before agreeing. Under the code, restrictive or punishment-based procedures are allowed only after less intrusive means have failed, or where the risk of harm outweighs the procedure's risk, and they must be reviewed.

ABA is meant to be measured, which means you should be able to see whether it is working.

• What data will you collect, and how often will I see it?
• Will I receive graphs and a written progress report, and how often?
• How do you decide that a skill is mastered?
• How do you check that a skill lasts and shows up at home and school, not only in sessions?
• What happens if progress stalls for several weeks?

You should be able to see your child's data and have it explained in plain language. A skill that appears only at the therapy table is not yet secure, so ask how carrying skills into home and school is planned from the start rather than left to chance.

Parents and schools spend far more time with a child than any therapist, so these answers decide whether skills reach ordinary life.

• How will you coach us as parents? Will we practise with feedback, not just watch?
• Can grandparents, a helper or the driver who does the school run be included?
• Can the therapist work in our home language as well as English?
• What will you ask us to do at home each week, and is it realistic alongside work and school?
• Do you work with schools? How do you get the school's agreement, and what will you share with the class teacher or shadow teacher?
• How will you coordinate with my child's speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist and paediatrician?

In a joint family, it helps when everyone at home uses the same few words and responses, and a good provider will help you agree them. Whether your child attends a CBSE, ICSE, IB or state-board school, a provider should work there only with the school's agreement and through the people the school names, such as the inclusion coordinator.

Money and endings are the questions families most often leave until after they have signed. Ask them before, and ask for the answers in writing.

A provider should be able to tell you, before you start, what would lead them to recommend fewer hours or a different setting. A programme with no picture of its own ending can drift on for years. Our guide to ABA therapy cost in India explains what drives fees and how to compare quotes.

Families are welcome to ask Special Minds every question on this list. Our ABA programmes are designed and supervised by a BCBA, whose name you can ask for and check on the BACB's public registry, and delivered at home, at school with the school's agreement, online with parent coaching or at a centre. See ABA therapy in India or ABA therapy at school.