Greeley, Colorado

School-Based ABA Therapy in Greeley for Better School Days

Budding Futures ABA works with children and teens on the autism spectrum inside Greeley 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 Greeley 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 Greeley

Budding Futures ABA provides the full range of school-focused applied behavior analysis, from an RBT beside your child in class to behavior plans a teacher can run during a lesson. Every plan is individualized and evidence-based, and Rachel Blackburn, BCBA, our Clinical Director, oversees it.

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 Greeley. The same BCBA-led team provides in-home ABA therapy in Greeley 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 Greeley

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 son's behavior is nightmarish when he gets home from preschool (and he's only going half days, 4 hrs at a time).”

a parent on r/Autism_Parenting, October 2022 (source)
Local Schools

How school-based ABA works in Greeley-Evans School District 6

Greeley-Evans School District 6 lists intensive autism programs among its special education services, and its Office of Special Education (970-348-6103) is the district's contact point for families (District 6).

District 6 policies JLCDC and JLCDC-R allow a private health-care specialist to provide treatment at school when a student's IEP or 504 team decides the treatment is needed there (D6 policy).

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

Greeley-Evans School District 6 was not part of that review, so we learn each school's process directly. Source: Chalkbeat Colorado.

Our part of getting in

We make the first contact with the school and follow its outside-provider process step by step. Plenty of Colorado schools say yes. When one says no, the same goals continue through BCBA 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 Greeley

  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 Weld 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 Weld 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

"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
Questions about school ABA

Frequently asked questions about school-based ABA in Greeley

How does school-based ABA work with an IEP?
An IEP is the school's special education plan and ABA is medical therapy, so neither replaces the other. With your permission, our BCBA shares data with the IEP team, lines up therapy goals with IEP goals and helps you prepare questions for the meeting.
Can an ABA therapist work inside my child's school in Greeley?
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 Greeley-Evans School District 6 makes the final call on building access.
What are an FBA and a BIP?
A functional behavior assessment (FBA) looks at what happens right before and after a behavior to learn why it keeps happening. A behavior intervention plan (BIP) uses that answer to teach a replacement skill and change how adults respond. We write both around your child's real school routine.
Do you offer after-school ABA in Greeley?
Yes. For many families the hardest hours start at dismissal: homework, regulation and the evening routine. After-school sessions work on those hours and carry the same goals as the school plan.
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.
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.
Do you serve schools and homes in Country Club West?
Yes. We work with families in Greeley, Country Club West included, and in nearby Fort Collins and Denver. We serve families in every Colorado city, so call even if your child's school sits just outside town.
Greeley Families

Contact us about school support in Greeley

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 Greeley and how autism IEPs work in Colorado.

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