Thirteen is closer to a deadline than most families realize. In Colorado, the IEP written at age 15 has to include postsecondary goals, which gives you about two years. Budding Futures works in your Colorado home on regulation, self-advocacy, and daily living. We verify Medicaid or insurance first, run between 8 AM and 8 PM, and have no waitlist right now. Hablamos Español.
Yes. Budding Futures provides in-home ABA therapy for 13 year olds across Colorado.
| Ages served | Toddlers through teens, including 13 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. |
Thirteen is where a lot of families quietly give up on therapy, right when the ground is shifting hardest. Puberty raises the volume on everything, high school is close, and Colorado transition planning is nearer than it looks. Budding Futures works with teens in your home, on skills a 13 year old can use. Your teen can decline any activity, and that is what makes the work possible at this age.
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. ABA therapy for teens looks different from the therapy you saw offered to little kids, and that is the point. Almost every autistic teen is managing more than autism alone. In the 2020-2021 National Survey of Children’s Health, 96.4% of children with autism had at least one co-occurring condition (Salehi and colleagues, Children, 2025). At thirteen that usually shows up as anxiety and emotional reactivity. Teen ABA therapy works on emotional regulation, self-advocacy, life skills, and daily living skills, and we treat your adolescent as a partner in the plan rather than a subject of it.
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 13-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 |
|---|---|
| Meltdowns over small criticism | We teach coping and repair skills, so feedback stops feeling like an attack. |
| Isolation and no friendships | We teach the social skills your teen wants to use, and practice them where they matter. |
| Hygiene and daily living | Showering, laundry, cooking basics, and managing a schedule are all teachable now. |
| Two years from transition planning | Colorado requires postsecondary goals in the IEP written at 15. We build the self-advocacy those goals rest on. |
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 13 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. This one matters at thirteen. Colorado begins transition planning earlier than federal law requires. Under state rule ECEA 4.03(6)(d)(i), the IEP developed when your child is 15 must already include measurable postsecondary goals. You have roughly two years to build the skills those goals depend on.
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 thirteen the work is emotional outbursts and shutdowns, taught at your teen’s pace and with their consent. Hitting or aggression gets treated as communication, and we teach a safer skill that does the same job. Daily-living independence covers cooking, laundry, hygiene, and managing time, taught at home where those skills get used. When speech is limited, communication or an AAC device comes first.
Most Colorado families on Health First Colorado pay $0 for a 13 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 13 year olds through EPSDT, which covers members age 20 and under. Teenagers are squarely inside that benefit. 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.
Colorado has no age cutoff for autism coverage on state-regulated plans. Under C.R.S. 10-16-104(1.4), plans issued or renewed in Colorado must cover autism assessment, diagnosis, and treatment, including applied behavior analysis. Senate Bill 15-015 removed the old age and dollar caps effective January 1, 2017. Self-funded employer plans follow federal ERISA rules instead. We tell you which kind you have when we verify benefits.
More on the $0 path: Medicaid ABA therapy in Colorado and our Colorado credentials.
“Why does my 13 year old autistic son cry and overreact to even the slightest criticism?”
— 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 TeenagersHow support changes through the teen years.ABA Therapy for School-Age ChildrenCommunication and routines through the school years.Modern, Assent-Based ABAWhat good, gentle ABA looks like today.No. Thirteen is a practical time to work on regulation, self-advocacy, and daily living. In Colorado it is also two years before the IEP has to include postsecondary transition goals, so the skills built now feed straight into that plan.
It looks like collaboration. Goals are set with your teen, not for them, and they can decline any activity. The work is coping skills, self-advocacy, hygiene, cooking, managing time, and handling criticism without it wrecking the day.
Earlier than federal law requires. Under Colorado rule ECEA 4.03(6)(d)(i), the IEP written when your child is 15 must include measurable postsecondary goals and the transition services needed to reach them. At 13 you have about two years to prepare.
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.