Fort Collins, Colorado

School-Based ABA Therapy in Fort Collins for Better School Days

Budding Futures ABA works with children and teens on the autism spectrum inside Fort Collins schools, and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst writes every treatment plan.

Evidence-based 1:1 support for classroom routines, communication, transitions and independence, coordinated with your child's school when it approves outside-provider access.

  • Medicaid accepted
  • Major insurance plans
  • BCBA-led
  • No current assessment waitlist
Top-rated ABA therapy provider: 5.0 (17 Reviews) Read Google reviews
Ask About School Support → Check Medicaid or Insurance Coverage

Is the school day the hardest part of your child's day?

If your child holds it together all day and falls apart at pickup, the school day may be telling you something.

School-based ABA in Fort Collins works on those exact moments, in the building where they happen. Here is where the day tends to break down for a child with autism, and how ABA therapy can help your child at each point.

An adult sits beside a boy using a tablet at a classroom table

  1. Drop-off

    Crying at the classroom door most mornings.

    What we work onA predictable arrival routine and a calm way to say goodbye.

  2. Morning work

    Refusing tasks, or pushing work off the desk.

    What we work onSmaller chunks of work, and asking for help or a break with words or a card.

  3. Transitions

    Melting down when it is time to stop and move on.

    What we work onAdvance warnings, a visual schedule and lots of practice with transitions.

  4. Group time

    Leaving the rug or the table during group lessons.

    What we work onSitting with the group, waiting a turn and following a teacher's direction.

  5. Lunch and recess

    Trouble joining games, or unsafe choices outside.

    What we work onPeer play, social interaction and staying safe in open spaces.

  6. Pickup

    Holding it together until the bell, then a big meltdown at home.

    What we work onCalming strategies after dismissal, and notes that connect school and home.

Your child's BCBA picks the moments that cause the most trouble and builds the first goals around them, so the support they need arrives where it matters.

School-based ABA therapy services for children in Fort Collins

School support at Budding Futures ABA is more than one service. It is a set of individualized, evidence-based ABA therapy services, grounded in applied behavior analysis and built around your child's strengths and needs, all overseen by Rachel Blackburn, BCBA, our Clinical Director.

Inside the school day

  • 1:1 support in the classroomA Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) works beside a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst overseeing the plan.
  • Functional behavior assessmentsWe study challenging behaviors where they happen to learn what sets them off.
  • Behavior intervention plansSteps a teacher can use mid-lesson, with positive reinforcement, to build positive behaviors.
  • Teacher and aide coachingStrategies for the teachers and school staff who spend the day with your child. School collaboration.
  • IEP collaborationTherapy goals lined up with the IEP or 504 plan. Autism IEPs in Colorado.
  • Social skills at recess and lunchJoining games, social interaction and the least structured parts of the day.

Before and after the bell

  • School readinessCircle time, lining up, toileting and other daily living skills before kindergarten, so your child can build confidence. Preschool autism therapy.
  • Transition supportA new school, a new grade, or home ABA to school. Moving to school.
  • After-school ABAHomework, regulation, life skills and the evening routine. After-school ABA.
  • Parent and caregiver trainingSo what works in class keeps working at home. Parent training.

School support is one part of helping children with autism in Fort Collins. The same BCBA-led team provides in-home ABA therapy in Fort Collins and runs school-based ABA across Colorado.

An adult and a boy work side by side on a writing task at a classroom desk

How in-school ABA works for students in Fort Collins

Applied behavior analysis in a classroom looks quiet from the outside. The therapist, an RBT, stays close, prompts only as much as needed, and steps back as your child learns the skill.

The goals are ones a teacher would notice, like finishing a task, using social skills in a group or asking for help. Each treatment plan begins with a VB-MAPP or ABLLS-R assessment, and the BCBA reviews data from therapy sessions to adjust it. That is the difference from center-based ABA therapy: the skill is taught where your child uses it.

We individualize every child's treatment plan and personalize the goals to the school day. Our board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) aim to supervise about 20% of the hours our ABA therapists, all registered behavior technicians, spend in therapy sessions, roughly four times the BACB minimum, and a BCBA clinician reviews the data every week. See ABA for school-age children for how goals change from elementary school to the teen years.

“My 5yo son is level 3 and has an RBT with him daily. It brings my SO and I peace of mind knowing we have staff of our own in there that WE can trust.”

a parent on r/Autism_Parenting, September 2026 (source)
Local Schools

How school-based ABA works in Poudre School District

Poudre School District serves Fort Collins along with Timnath, Wellington and LaPorte, so one district's outside-provider process covers most families in Fort Collins.

Our team works with schools and families across the Fort Collins area and Northern Colorado, including Loveland and Windsor.

Poudre School District's student handbook points families to policies JLCDC and JLCDC-R, which cover medically necessary treatment in the school setting, including treatment by a private provider (PSD handbook).

Outside ABA requests, as Chalkbeat Colorado reported in October 2024
DistrictWhat happened
Denver Public SchoolsApproved 3 of 28 in 2023-24
Aurora Public SchoolsApproved half over three years
Jeffco Public SchoolsApproved all in 2023-24
Douglas County School DistrictApproved all in 2023-24
Cherry Creek School DistrictApproved all in 2023-24

Poudre School District was not part of that review, so we learn each school's process directly. Source: Chalkbeat Colorado.

What Budding Futures does

With your permission, we contact the school, share the BCBA's recommendation and follow the district's steps for outside providers. If the answer is not yet, the school goals keep moving through teacher consultation where allowed, after-school and in-home sessions, and parent coaching.

Colorado requires every school district to post a policy on how outside providers observe, collaborate and treat students at school (HB22-1260). No Colorado law guarantees a yes, so each request is decided one student at a time.

How to start ABA therapy at school in Fort Collins

  1. Tell us about the school dayCall or send the form with your child's age, school and what the day looks like.
  2. We check coverageWe verify your Medicaid or insurance benefits for free.
  3. A BCBA assesses your childThe assessment shapes a therapy plan around your child's unique needs at school and home.
  4. We reach out to the schoolWe follow its outside-provider process, and your child can begin ABA therapy at school once it approves.
Cost & Insurance

Does Medicaid cover school-based ABA in Larimer County?

Yes, when ABA is medically necessary and authorized. Since May 3, 2024, Health First Colorado has listed school as an allowed place of service for pediatric behavioral therapy, provided the ABA provider follows district policy (HCPF billing manual). Most families on the plan pay $0.

Families on Health First Colorado in Larimer County are served by Northeast Health Partners, the Regional Accountable Entity for Region 2, and we work inside that system every week.

Colorado's autism insurance law, SB 09-244, requires many insurance plans to cover ABA therapy for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as part of autism treatment, and commercial plans usually land between $0 and $500 out of pocket. Health First Colorado looks at medical necessity instead of requiring an autism diagnosis. Budding Futures is enrolled under Provider Types 83 and 84 and works with the plans below.

Colorado Medicaid Kaiser Aetna Cigna UnitedHealthcare Anthem BCBS TRICARE

Not sure your plan covers therapy for autism at school? We verify your exact benefits for free before starting ABA therapy, file the prior authorization and never balance-bill. Read our Colorado Medicaid ABA guide for the authorization steps.

What families tell us

5.0 rating from 17 reviews

"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 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

"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
Questions about school ABA

Frequently asked questions about school-based ABA in Fort Collins

Can an ABA therapist work inside my child's school in Fort Collins?
Yes, when the school approves an outside provider and the service is authorized. A Registered Behavior Technician, the therapist, can work with your child during the school day while a BCBA oversees the plan. Budding Futures handles the outreach, and Poudre School District makes the final call on building access.
What if my child's school does not allow an outside ABA provider?
It happens, and the plan keeps moving. No outside provider can make a Colorado school accept an RBT in the classroom. We keep asking, and meanwhile the same school goals continue through BCBA consultation where the school allows it, after-school and in-home sessions, and parent coaching.
Does ABA replace special education?
No. ABA works alongside your child's teacher, IEP and special education services. The RBT supports the goals in the ABA treatment plan, and the school still teaches the curriculum and runs the IEP.
Does my child need an autism diagnosis for school-based ABA?
With Health First Colorado, not always: the state asks for medical necessity rather than a diagnosis for behavioral therapy. Most commercial insurance plans want a diagnosis first. School eligibility for an IEP is a separate decision. Our Fort Collins evaluation guide lists local practices that diagnose autism.
How does Budding Futures work with teachers?
With your permission, our BCBA talks with the teacher and paraprofessionals, observes when the school allows it and shares strategies they can use during a lesson. The aim is one plan that the adults at school and at home all follow. School collaboration →
Does Medicaid cover ABA during school hours?
It can. Since May 3, 2024, Health First Colorado has allowed pediatric behavioral therapy in a school setting, as long as the provider follows the school district's policy. The therapy still has to be medically necessary and authorized, and most families on the plan pay $0.
Do you serve schools and homes in Midtown?
Yes. We work with families in Fort Collins, Midtown included, and in nearby Greeley and Denver. We serve families in every Colorado city, so call even if your child's school sits just outside town.
Fort Collins Families

Contact us about school support in Fort Collins

1. Call (720) 613-8837 or send the short form.
2. We verify your Medicaid or insurance benefits, free.
3. A BCBA assesses your child, and we reach out to the school.

Give us the school name and the hardest part of the day. We take it from there: benefits, assessment and the conversation with the school.

(720) 613-8837 info@buddingfuturesaba.com
7900 E Union Ave, Suite 1100, Denver, CO 80237
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Looking for more local help? See our guide to autism resources in Fort Collins and how autism IEPs work in Colorado.

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