Our Proven Process

Starting ABA services can feel like a lot. There are phone calls, paperwork, insurance requirements, assessments, and plenty of new terminology along the way.

We want to make it simpler.

At Hickory Learning Group, our intake process is designed to do more than get you through paperwork. It gives us the opportunity to get to know your family, understand what matters most to you, and make sure our approach is the right fit for your child and family.

Here’s what you can expect.

Step 1: Discovery Call

Let’s Start With a Conversation

Your journey begins with a Discovery Call.

This is a quick conversation with our team to learn a little about your child, your family, and what brought you to Hickory Learning Group. We’ll answer your initial questions, talk through any concerns you may have, and review your insurance information.

This isn’t an assessment, and you don’t need to have everything figured out before you call us. The goal is simply to determine whether Hickory Learning Group may be a good fit and whether it makes sense to take the next step together.

During your Discovery Call, we will:

  • Learn about your family and what you’re looking for

  • Discuss your questions or concerns

  • Review and verify insurance information

  • Explain our approach to ABA services

  • Review the consent process

  • Schedule your Intake Call

Your next step: Review the consent information and get ready for your Intake Call.

Step 2: Intake Call

Making Sure We’re the Right Fit

The Intake Call is where we dig a little deeper.

We want to understand not only what your child needs, but also what your family wants life to look like outside of therapy. We’ll talk about your priorities, your current challenges, your availability, and what meaningful progress would look like for your family.

You’ll also complete our family and clinical fit assessments. These help us determine whether Hickory Learning Group’s family-led and community-focused approach is appropriate for your needs.

If we mutually determine that HLG is the right fit, we’ll officially begin the intake process.

During this step, you will:

  • Complete family and clinical fit assessments

  • Review and sign required consent documents

  • Officially begin the intake process

  • Receive access to Homestead our caregiver learning and support platform

  • Begin your first Homestead learning modules

We believe families should understand the why behind ABA—not just be asked to follow a treatment plan. That education starts before your first therapy session ever takes place.

Step 3: Learning & Gathering

While We Handle the Paperwork, You Start Learning

There is usually some behind-the-scenes work that has to happen before an ABA assessment can begin. Instead of having families simply wait, we use this time to start building the foundation for our partnership.

Our team will work with you to gather the documentation needed to move forward with your insurance provider. This typically includes your child’s diagnostic evaluation and a valid prescription or referral for ABA services.

At the same time, your family will begin learning through Hickory Homestead.

During this step, you will:

  • Complete your first Hickory Homestead learning modules

  • Send us your child’s diagnostic evaluation

  • Provide your child’s prescription/referral for ABA services

  • Complete any additional intake paperwork

  • Prepare for your BCBA assessment

Once we have the required diagnostic and referral documentation, your assigned BCBA will contact you to schedule your direct assessment.

Step 4: BCBA Direct Assessment

Now We Get to Know Your Child

This is where the clinical process really begins.

Your BCBA will meet with your family and spend time directly observing and interacting with your child. We aren’t looking for your child to “perform” for us. We want to understand who they are in their everyday environment—their strengths, their challenges, how they communicate, what they enjoy, and where additional support could make life easier.

Your BCBA will combine direct observation with caregiver input and standardized assessments to develop an individualized picture of your child and family.

Depending on your child’s needs, you may be asked to complete assessments such as:

  • Vineland-3 – adaptive functioning and everyday living skills

  • GAIN-P – caregiver knowledge, confidence, and independence

  • PSI – caregiver and family stress factors

The goal isn’t to collect scores just for the sake of collecting scores. The goal is to understand where we are starting so we can measure whether what we are doing is actually making a meaningful difference.

Step 5: Insurance Review & Authorization

We’ll Handle the Clinical Details

After the assessment is completed, your BCBA will develop your child’s individualized treatment recommendations and submit the required information to your insurance provider for authorization.

This process can take some time depending on the insurance company, but our team will keep you informed along the way.

We’ll use everything we learned during the intake and assessment process to recommend services based on your child’s clinical needs, your family’s priorities, and the skills we want to build for life outside of therapy.

Because at Hickory Learning Group, the goal isn’t to see how many therapy hours we can put on a schedule.

The goal is to determine the right support, in the right places, for the right amount of time.

Step 6: Begin Services

This Is Where the Work—and the Partnership—Begins

Once authorization is received and your care team is ready, we’ll work with your family to finalize the schedule and begin services.

But beginning services at Hickory Learning Group means more than starting ABA sessions with a therapist.

From day one, we are working toward generalization, caregiver confidence, greater independence, and eventually needing less support—not more.

Your BCBA will work alongside your family and Behavior Therapist/RBT to teach skills where they matter most: at home, in the community, at school when appropriate, and throughout everyday life.

You’ll continue participating in caregiver education and coaching through your BCBA and Hickory Homestead so that progress doesn’t stop when the therapist leaves.

Our Goal Is Bigger Than Therapy

We believe the best ABA program isn't the one that keeps your child in therapy forever.

It's the one that helps your child and family build the skills and confidence to eventually need us less.

That process starts with the very first phone call.

Discovery Call → Intake → Learning & Gathering → BCBA Assessment → Insurance Authorization → Begin Services

Welcome to Hickory Learning Group. Let’s build skills for the other 168 hours.

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