Ten is old enough that a hard week can look like a step backward. Budding Futures works in your Colorado home on the aggression, the regulation, and the independence a 10 year old is ready for. We verify Medicaid or insurance first, run sessions between 8 AM and 8 PM, and there is no waitlist right now. Hablamos Español.
Yes. Budding Futures provides in-home ABA therapy for 10 year olds across Colorado.
| Ages served | Toddlers through teens, including 10 year olds. |
| Insurance accepted | Health First Colorado (Medicaid), Aetna, and Anthem BCBS. We verify other plans before you start. |
| Where we work | In your home, across 13 Colorado cities from Denver to Grand Junction. |
| Hours | 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, so sessions fit around the school day. |
| Waitlist | No waitlist right now. The BCBA assessment is scheduled once benefits are verified. |
| Cost | Usually $0 on Health First Colorado. We confirm your cost before therapy starts. |
The calls we get about 10 year olds tend to sound alarmed. A kid who was managing suddenly is not. There is more hitting, or school reports a slide, and nobody can point to what changed. Ten is still well within range for ABA, and a behavior that appears out of nowhere almost always has a reason behind it. Our job is to find the reason before we try to change the behavior.
ABA is short for applied behavior analysis, an evidence-based therapy for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. A board certified behavior analyst (BCBA) writes an individualized treatment plan, a registered behavior technician (RBT) delivers the sessions, and the plan can run alongside speech therapy and occupational therapy. We use positive reinforcement, we treat the caregiver as part of the team, and we never force eye contact or push a child through compliance drills.
Yes. By ten, other diagnoses are usually in play alongside autism, and they drive a lot of what looks like defiance. In a landmark study of autistic youth ages 10 to 14, 70% met criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder, including social anxiety at 29.2%, ADHD at 28.2%, and oppositional defiant disorder at 28.1% (Simonoff and colleagues, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2008). Therapy at this age targets regulation and communication rather than compliance drills.
Real Google reviews from the Colorado families we work with.
"My son loves his RBT Dani, she is a super star. As well as Mark and Rachel always keeping in check and checking in."
BadBry 48, verified Google review"Wonderful in-home therapy provider in Denver. Thank you so much!"
Ariel Becker, verified Google review"Budding Futures ABA gives amazing in-home ABA therapy in Colorado. Would definitely recommend for anyone with children with autism."
Mindee Meyer, verified Google review"The support they bring to the families is insane. You'll feel so supported and valued. They truly do care for these kids and I couldn't feel better anywhere else."
Bella Calvillo, verified Google review"This is a company that truly supports their clients, clients' families, and staff members in a way I've never seen."
KyRa Lee, verified Google review"Mark and the team at Budding Futures are truly the type of team I want to work with my child. Compassionate, driven, and they strive for excellence."
David Brody, verified Google reviewShe writes and reviews every treatment plan, and supervises the therapists who work in your home.
Read Rachel's profileHe founded Budding Futures and runs the day to day, from a family's first phone call onward.
Read Mark's profile
Every ABA therapy program starts from an assessment, so goals are individualized rather than copied from a template. These are the goals Colorado families of 10-year-olds ask about most, and they usually cluster around social interaction, life skills, and daily routines.
| What is hard right now | How in-home ABA helps |
|---|---|
| Aggression that came on suddenly | We look for what set it off, whether that is pain, a change at school, or a demand your child cannot escape any other way. |
| Losing skills your child had | Regression is worth taking seriously. We assess, then rebuild the routines that slipped. |
| Emotional dysregulation | We teach coping and self-advocacy for transitions, frustration, and being told no. |
| Self-care and independence | Showering, dressing, and organizing a backpack are all teachable, worked on gently at home. |
Parents of school-age kids want the whole sequence up front, not just the therapy part.
| Before: the diagnosis | We do not diagnose. Families come to us with an evaluation from a pediatrician, Children’s Hospital Colorado, or JFK Partners at CU Anschutz. Through school, Colorado’s Child Find covers ages 3 through 21. |
| Insurance and authorization | We verify your Health First Colorado or commercial benefits and handle prior authorization, so you know your cost before anything is scheduled. |
| The BCBA assessment | A behavior analyst meets your 10 year old at home and uses tools such as VB-MAPP or ABLLS-R to find the real gaps, then writes an individualized treatment plan. You help set the goals. |
| During: the sessions | A registered behavior technician runs sessions in your home around school hours, working on social skills and daily living skills. A BCBA supervises at roughly 20 percent, above the BACB minimum. You can sit in on any session. |
| Working with the school | With your permission we share progress data with the school team and line up home goals with the IEP or 504 plan. |
| After: stepping down | Goals are reviewed on a schedule. As your child masters skills, recommended hours come down. |
Newly diagnosed? Start with what to do after an autism diagnosis in Colorado.
Yes, when you ask us to. School and ABA sit in two different systems, and progress tends to leak out in the gap between them. With your written permission, Budding Futures shares progress data with your child’s school team and writes home goals that line up with the IEP or 504 plan.
Two Colorado specifics are worth knowing. Child Find covers ages 3 through 21, and once you put an evaluation request in writing, the district has 60 calendar days to complete it. Summer break does not pause that clock. If your child’s behavior has changed sharply, you can request a new evaluation in writing at any time, and that 60-day clock starts over.
More on this: how ABA, speech, OT, and school teams coordinate.
Yes. Budding Futures provides ABA. We do not provide speech therapy or occupational therapy ourselves. When your child already sees a speech-language pathologist or an occupational therapist, we coordinate with them so everyone works toward the same communication and daily-living goals. With your permission that coordination extends to the school team.
At ten, hitting and aggression is the reason most families call. We identify what the behavior accomplishes, then teach a safer skill that does the same job. Toileting that never fully clicked stays teachable, handled privately and without shame. When speech is limited, communication or an AAC device comes first, because being understood usually reduces the behavior that worries you most. If you are waiting elsewhere, we have no waitlist right now.
Most Colorado families on Health First Colorado pay $0 for a 10 year old’s ABA. Here is how the payers break down.
| How you pay | Typical family cost | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Health First Colorado (Medicaid) | Usually $0 | Covered when eligible, after prior authorization and a medical-necessity review. |
| Commercial insurance | $0–$500 or $0–$1,000 | Depends on your deductible, copay, and plan. We verify Aetna, Anthem BCBS, and others up front. |
| Private pay (no insurance) | ~$2,000–$8,000 | A range that depends on the weekly hours your BCBA recommends. Examples only, never a set quote. |
We verify your benefits and explain your expected cost in plain language before therapy starts. See our full ABA therapy cost guide for Colorado.
Yes. Health First Colorado covers medically necessary ABA for eligible 10 year olds through EPSDT, which covers members age 20 and under. Budding Futures is enrolled under Provider Types 83 and 84. We verify benefits and handle prior authorization, so you know your cost before therapy starts.
Weekly hours are a real question at this age, and providers answer it inconsistently. Budding Futures sets hours from the assessment, not from a template. The Council of Autism Service Providers describes focused programs at roughly 10 to 25 hours a week and comprehensive programs at roughly 26 to 40. A 10 year old already in school full time usually lands on the focused end.
More on the $0 path: Medicaid ABA therapy in Colorado and our Colorado credentials.
“He was a sweet, well behaved boy but suddenly when he turned about 9 he become very aggressive and also regressed at school a lot.”
— a parent on r/Autism_Parenting
Budding Futures brings ABA to your home, so a school-age kid is not sitting in traffic after a full day of class. We serve families up and down the Front Range and on the Western Slope.
Budding Futures supports kids across every age and stage. Explore by exact age, or see the broader guides below.
ABA Therapy for School-Age ChildrenCommunication and routines through the school years.ABA Therapy for AggressionWhat we do about hitting, biting, and meltdowns.Modern, Assent-Based ABAWhat good, gentle ABA looks like today.Yes. The work shifts toward emotional regulation, communication, and independence, and those are skills a 10 year old is developmentally ready to build. Progress is measured, so you see whether it is working.
Aggression that appears quickly usually has a cause: pain, a change at school, a demand with no escape, or a communication breakdown. A BCBA assessment looks for the function of the behavior first. Teaching a replacement skill works better than punishing the behavior.
Your BCBA sets that after the assessment. The Council of Autism Service Providers describes focused programs at roughly 10 to 25 hours a week and comprehensive programs at roughly 26 to 40. A child already in school full time is usually on the focused end.
Health First Colorado (Medicaid), Aetna, and Anthem BCBS, and we verify other plans before you start. We work in your home across 13 Colorado cities, from Denver, Aurora, and Colorado Springs to Fort Collins, Boulder, and Grand Junction.
One call is all it takes. We will check your Medicaid or insurance, answer your questions, and connect your family with a BCBA who is right for your child, anywhere in Colorado.