Early Intervention ABA Therapy in Westminster, Colorado for Toddlers With Autism
Early ABA for a child with autism in Westminster starts in your home, not a clinic. Budding Futures works with children from 18 months, and every plan is written by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst after watching your child play in the rooms they already know.
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 Westminster: 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 Adams County, with the southwest corner in Jefferson County 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 Westminster | North Metro Community Services, for the Adams County side of Westminster | 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 |
North Metro Community Services (303-457-1001) runs the state program for the Adams County side of Westminster. Developmental Disabilities Resource Center (DDRC) (303-462-6619) runs the state program for the Jefferson County side of Westminster. 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. DDRC, which covers the Jefferson County corner of the city, processes up to 200 referrals a month, and close to 90 percent of the children it evaluates qualify for ongoing services.
Westminster is split between Adams and Jefferson counties. Most of the city is Adams County and routes to North Metro Community Services, which has its office on West 124th Avenue in Westminster. The Jefferson County corner routes to DDRC instead.
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. If you read about the 2025 early intervention cuts, here is where that landed: the four-hours-a-month cap announced in February 2025 was paused a day later and never took effect, and the Colorado Department of Early Childhood's December 2025 report to the legislature lists no per-child hour cap (CDEC, Dec 2025). Your coordinator can tell you what your plan includes today.
What ABA therapy for children with autism looks like at home in Westminster
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.
This is still applied behavior analysis, evidence-based and tailored to your child's specific needs, it just happens on a rug instead of at a table. Highly trained registered behavior technicians (RBTs) run each session, behavior analysts write and adjust the treatment plans, and the goals reach across communication, social skills, daily living skills and the challenging behaviors that derail a morning.
Every plan starts with VB-MAPP and ABLLS-R baselines that Rachel Blackburn, BCBA, or another clinician on our team takes in your home, and every plan writes caregiver coaching in from day one, because the teaching has to keep going after the therapist's car pulls away. See how in-home ABA therapy works across Colorado.
- Preschool and daycare readiness: waiting, sitting for a story, following a teacher's two-step direction
- 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
How many therapy hours does a toddler need?
Nobody can give you a number before the assessment, and a provider who does is quoting a company minimum, not your child. Your behavior analyst recommends hours from what they saw in your home and from your family's week, and a two year old's ABA program usually runs lighter than a school-age child's. The best evidence we have on this comes from 1,468 children receiving ABA across eight states, including Colorado: the average course ran about 14 months, and staying in therapy mattered more than stacking hours 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 Westminster families choose our early intervention services
- 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.
- Individualized care from real assessment: Plans start from VB-MAPP and ABLLS-R baselines taken in your home, and we personalize every goal to your child, never from a template every toddler gets.
Every child is supposed to be screened for autism at the 18 and 24 month well-child visits, on the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation (AAP, 2025). That screen is often the week a parent first calls us, and we would rather meet a toddler early than tell a parent to wait. A formal autism diagnosis is not the starting line; a pediatrician's concern and a developmental delay are enough for us to work with children where they are and individualize the plan as they grow. Families who are also weighing a center-based ABA therapy center get a straight answer from us: we come to you, and if a center would suit your child better we say so. See our credentials and clinical standards for the rest of the oversight model.
Cost, Medicaid and insurance plans for early ABA in Adams 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. Westminster addresses fall under Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Westminster Public Schools or Jeffco Public Schools, and each district runs its own Child Find for ages 3 to 5. Your address decides which one evaluates your child. 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.
A birthday detail that catches families out: when a child turns 3 between May 1 and the first day of the next school year, Colorado's Extended Part C option can carry the state services through to the start of school, provided the child also qualifies for preschool special education.
Turning 3 changes the state program, not your child's ABA. We keep working at home on the goals a few preschool mornings can't reach, 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 Colorado evaluation guide explains where autism evaluations happen, what they cost and how to get a diagnosis. With Health First Colorado, behavioral therapy can start on medical necessity while you wait for a formal diagnosis.
Early ABA in and around Westminster
Our therapists drive to homes across Westminster. A few of the neighborhoods already on our schedule:
We also serve toddlers in Thornton, Arvada and Broomfield, plus Northglenn, Federal Heights and Standley Lake, 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 Westminster
Is early intervention the same as ABA?
At what age can my child start ABA in Westminster?
Does Health First Colorado cover ABA for toddlers in Adams County?
Do you come to homes in your neighborhood?
What happens when my child turns 3?
How fast can we start therapy in Westminster?
More ways we help children with autism in Westminster
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 Westminster
Our full Westminster 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 Westminster
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.