Early Intervention ABA Therapy in Denver, Colorado for Toddlers With Autism
Budding Futures ABA provides early intervention ABA therapy for toddlers and preschoolers in Denver, starting at 18 months, in your own home. A behavior analyst writes the plan, a trained therapist runs play-based therapy sessions on your floor, and you learn the same strategies between visits.
We accept Health First Colorado (Medicaid), Aetna, Cigna, Anthem BCBS, UnitedHealthcare, Kaiser, TRICARE and most major insurance plans.
There is no waitlist right now, and a licensed behavior analyst writes and reviews every treatment plan.
Two things are called early intervention in Denver: the state program and ABA services
When a pediatrician here says early intervention, they usually mean Early Intervention Colorado, the free state program for infants and toddlers under 3 with developmental delays, run by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood. When an ABA provider says it, they mean play-based behavioral intervention for young children, paid through Health First Colorado or your insurance. Many families in the City and County of Denver use both, and they don't cancel each other out.
| Early Intervention Colorado (state program) | Early ABA with Budding Futures | |
|---|---|---|
| Ages | Birth to 3 | 18 months to 5, and older children too |
| What it is | Developmental services on an Individual Family Service Plan, often speech, occupational and physical therapy and developmental intervention | Play-based ABA on a treatment plan a Board Certified Behavior Analyst writes from VB-MAPP and ABLLS-R baselines |
| Who runs it in Denver | Rocky Mountain Human Services, for Denver County | Rachel Blackburn, BCBA, and the Budding Futures in-home team |
| Cost to you | Free to families | Usually $0 with Health First Colorado; commercial plans vary by deductible |
| How to start | A referral to Early Intervention Colorado; a parent can make one | Call us, we verify benefits, then an assessment at home |
Rocky Mountain Human Services (303-247-8423) runs the state program for Denver County. Anyone can make the referral, including a parent, through the Early Intervention Colorado online form or by calling the agency directly. The state program is free, with no income limit. Our office is off East Union Avenue, so this is the metro area where a behavior analyst can usually be at your home the same week.
“It's wild. It already took 3 months for us to even get our first true therapy visit.”
a Denver parent on r/Denver, February 2025 (source)
Early ABA is a separate door. You call us, we verify your benefits, and a behavior analyst meets your child in your own living room. If the state program is also a fit, we help you get that referral in the same week. One more thing parents here ask about: the 2025 cuts. In February 2025 the state announced that therapy through the program would drop to four hours a month, then paused the cut the next day before it took effect. The Colorado Department of Early Childhood's December 2025 report to the legislature lists no per-child hour cap (CDEC, Dec 2025). Ask your coordinator what your child's plan includes now.
What ABA therapy for children with autism looks like at home in Denver
A session with a two year old rarely looks like a lesson. The therapist sits on the floor with your child's favorite toys and builds requests into play: your child reaches for the car, the therapist models the word, your child says it or signs it and gets the car. That is applied behavior analysis at this age, and the method is called Natural Environment Teaching.
The same thing happens at snack time, at the front door before a walk, and when a sibling wants a turn. Nothing has to be carried home from a therapy center across town, because it was taught at home to begin with.
Applied behavior analysis at this age is evidence-based and tailored to your child's specific needs. Highly trained registered behavior technicians (RBTs) run the sessions, behavior analysts write and adjust the treatment plans, and the goals cover communication, social skills, daily living skills and the challenging behaviors that make a morning hard.
Rachel Blackburn, BCBA, and our clinical team start from VB-MAPP and ABLLS-R baselines taken in your home, and caregiver coaching is written into every plan, so the teaching keeps going after the therapist leaves. See how in-home ABA therapy works across Colorado.
- Asking for things with words, signs or pictures, instead of crying or pulling you to the fridge
- Joint attention and early social interaction: looking where you point, showing you a toy, sharing a moment
- Imitation and pretend play, the two skills most later learning is built on
- Daily living skills and simple routines: shoes on, sit for snack, clean up, bath, bed
- Transitions without a meltdown, at home first and then out in the community
- Playing next to and then with siblings, cousins and kids at child care
How many therapy hours does a toddler need?
There is no fixed number. Your behavior analyst recommends hours from the assessment and from your family's week, not from a company minimum, and a two year old's ABA program is usually lighter than a school-age child's. In a study of 1,468 children receiving ABA across eight states, including Colorado, the average course ran about 14 months, and how long a child stayed in therapy mattered more than how many hours were stacked into each week (Linstead et al., 2017). We explain what the hours are for and how they help your child before anything starts.
the youngest age we start therapy, right after the AAP's 18 month autism screen
of the hours in an evidence-based ABA plan go to parent and caregiver coaching
average length of an ABA course across 1,468 children (Linstead et al., 2017)
Why Denver families choose our early intervention services
- Play-based, not forced: Naturalistic teaching that follows your child's lead. Communication comes before compliance, and we leave harmless stimming alone.
- Closer clinical oversight: Our BCBAs supervise about 20% of direct therapy hours, four times the BACB minimum, with weekly data review.
- No waitlist: There is no assessment waitlist right now. Most families here finish intake and start therapy at home within a few weeks.
- Colorado Medicaid enrolled: Enrolled with Health First Colorado under Provider Types 83 and 84. We file the prior authorization and never balance-bill families.
- Screened and licensed: Every behavior analyst holds Colorado licensure through DORA, and every team member clears enhanced background checks and fingerprinting before a first visit.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends autism screening for every child at the 18 and 24 month well-child visits (AAP, 2025). A lot of our families call the week after that screen, and we would rather meet a toddler early than tell a parent to wait. Whether your child has a formal autism diagnosis or a pediatrician's concern and a developmental delay, we work with children where they are and individualize the plan as they grow. Some compare us with a center-based ABA therapy center first; we come to you, and if a center is the better fit for your child we will say so. See our credentials and clinical standards for the rest of the oversight model.
Cost, Medicaid and insurance plans for early ABA in Denver County
Health First Colorado and most commercial insurance plans cover ABA therapy for a child with autism when it is medically necessary. Most families here on the state plan pay $0.
Families here on Health First Colorado are served by Colorado Access, the Region 4 Regional Accountable Entity under the state's July 2025 contracts, and we work inside that system every week.
Commercial plans usually land somewhere between $0 and $500 out of pocket, depending on your deductible. Private pay runs about $120 to $150 per hour. See the full Colorado cost breakdown.
Budding Futures is enrolled with Health First Colorado under Provider Types 83 and 84, and also works with the plans below.
Not sure your plan covers ABA for a toddler? We verify your exact benefits for free before the first session, and we never balance-bill. Read our Colorado Medicaid ABA guide for the authorization steps.
What changes at 3: Child Find, preschool and your routine
At 3, the state program ends and the school district picks up. Denver Public Schools runs Child Find for children 3 to 5 who may need preschool special education; the district evaluates at no cost to you. If your child qualifies, the district offers preschool special education under an IEP, often a few half-days a week with a teacher trained for it.
One timing detail worth knowing: if your child turns 3 between May 1 and the first day of the next school year, Colorado's Extended Part C option can keep the state services running until school starts, as long as they also qualify for preschool special education.
In-home ABA does not stop at 3. We keep working on the goals the preschool day doesn't cover, and with your permission we talk to the preschool team so home goals and classroom goals point the same way. Read about preschool autism therapy in Colorado and school-based ABA across Colorado.
Still need an autism evaluation? Our Denver evaluation guide lists the local practices that diagnose autism spectrum disorder, with ages, payment and published waits. With Health First Colorado, behavioral therapy can start on medical necessity while you wait for a formal diagnosis.
Early ABA in and around Denver
Our therapists drive to homes across Denver. A few of the neighborhoods already on our schedule:
We also serve toddlers in Aurora, Lakewood and Arvada, plus Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Thornton, Westminster and Englewood, and families across Colorado. Don't see your neighborhood? Call, there is a good chance we are already out there.
Frequently asked questions about early intervention ABA in Denver
Is early intervention the same as ABA?
At what age can my child start ABA in Denver?
Does Health First Colorado cover ABA for toddlers in Denver County?
Do you come to homes in your neighborhood?
What happens when my child turns 3?
How fast can we start therapy in Denver?
More ways we help children with autism in Denver
Start with the page that matches your question. Each one is written for Colorado families and links back to the same clinician-led care model.
Early intervention ABA across Colorado
The statewide guide: how the program works, who it is for, and every city we serve.
ABA therapy in Denver
Our full Denver page: in-home and school-based autism services for children from 18 months to 18.
ABA therapy for toddlers
What the toddler years of ABA look like, goal by goal, with activities you can try at home.
Speech delay and communication
First words, asking for help, and how ABA and speech therapy work side by side.
Also useful: preschool autism therapy, potty training help and what good parent training covers.
Start early intervention ABA in Denver
1. Call (720) 613-8837 or send the short form.
2. We verify your Medicaid or insurance benefits, free.
3. A behavior analyst assesses your toddler at home, and play-based sessions begin.
Every month matters at this age. We come to you, most families begin ABA therapy within a few weeks, and there is no waitlist right now.