School-Based ABA Therapy · Southeast Florida
School is where behavioral challenges are most visible — and where targeted ABA support can make the biggest difference. Our BCBA-supervised school-based ABA program works directly inside classrooms across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe Counties, alongside teachers and ESE staff, coordinated with your child’s IEP.
Ages 5–18
School-Based ABA
IEP coordination included
100%
BCBA-Supervised
Every session, every case
4
Counties Served
Miami-Dade · Broward · Palm Beach · Monroe
Bilingual
English & Spanish
Full services in both languages
What Is School-Based ABA ABA Therapy?
School-based ABA therapy is Applied Behavior Analysis delivered directly inside the school environment — in the classroom, on the playground, in the hallways, and wherever behavioral challenges actually occur. Instead of pulling your child out of school for therapy, our BCBA-supervised team works within the school day alongside teachers and support staff. This window of time is when the brain is most flexible and most responsive to learning. Research consistently shows that children who begin intensive ABA therapy during these years make the largest and most lasting gains — in communication, social skills, adaptive behavior, and daily living.
The core advantage of school-based ABA therapy is context. Behaviors that occur in the classroom are best addressed in the classroom — with the same teachers, the same peers, the same schedule, and the same environment where the behaviors actually happen. There is no transfer problem because the setting is already real. Your child’s BCBA observes the actual triggers, designs interventions that work in that specific environment, and trains the teachers and ESE staff who are there every day.
At Sunshine Behavioral Health Services, our school-based ABA program is coordinated with your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). Our BCBAs attend IEP meetings, collaborate with teachers and ESE coordinators, and design behavior intervention plans that align with and support your child’s educational goals. Progress is tracked with objective data every session and shared with your family regularly. Learn about our FBA process →
What school-based ABA therapy addresses
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Classroom behavior and following group instructions
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Peer interaction and social skills during school
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Transitions between activities and classes
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Task completion and on-task behavior
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Reduction of disruptive or self-injurious behaviors
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Emotional regulation during school hours
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IEP goal support and academic engagement
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Lunch, recess, and unstructured social time
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Teacher and ESE staff training and coaching
All school-based ABA goals are coordinated with your child’s IEP team and reviewed regularly by your child’s BCBA. Every program starts with a thorough Functional Behavior Assessment and reviewed regularly by your child’s BCBA.
What We Target at School
School-based ABA therapy addresses three core areas that determine whether a student with autism can participate fully in the school environment.
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Many students with autism have the cognitive ability to participate in classroom learning but struggle with the behavioral skills that make it possible — staying in their seat, following multi-step instructions, completing tasks independently, and tolerating the pace and structure of a classroom. Our ABA team targets these specific behaviors directly in the classroom.
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The school environment is one of the richest opportunities for peer interaction — and one of the most challenging. Our school-based ABA program targets the specific social skills your child needs to interact with classmates, navigate lunch and recess, and build real friendships. Skills are practiced with real peers in real settings. Learn about social skills therapy →
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For students whose challenging behaviors are putting them at risk of removal from a general education setting, school-based ABA provides the intensive, data-driven behavior support needed to maintain safe and productive participation. Behavior Intervention Plans are developed and monitored by our BCBA team in coordination with the school.
How Our Program Works
Our school-based ABA program starts with a thorough Functional Behavior Assessment by a BCBA. The assessment evaluates your child’s current communication, play, social, and adaptive skills. It also looks at any challenging behaviors to understand what is maintaining them. This assessment is the foundation of everything that follows.
From the assessment, your child’s BCBA designs a school-based behavior intervention plan with measurable goals that are directly tied to your child’s IEP. Goals are set in collaboration with your family and with the school team. All behavior targets are observable and measurable so teachers, therapists, and parents can track progress consistently.
Our therapist works inside the classroom during the actual school day. They observe, collect data, implement behavior strategies with the student, model techniques for teachers, and adjust the program based on what they see in real time. The BCBA attends IEP meetings, reviews progress with the school team, and communicates with your family regularly.
Teacher training is a core component of our school-based program. The strategies that work in a one-on-one ABA session only have a lasting impact if teachers and ESE staff apply them consistently throughout the school day. Our BCBA trains classroom staff in the same techniques used in direct therapy, so the behavioral support does not disappear when our therapist is not in the room.
Every session is tracked with objective data. Progress is reviewed by the BCBA regularly and communicated to both the school team and your family. When a behavior target is met, a new goal is introduced. Treatment plans are updated in coordination with IEP reviews. Learn about treatment planning → Parent training is built into every early intervention program.
School-based program structure
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Hours based on IEP goals and school schedule
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Delivered inside the school during the school day
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BCBA designs and supervises all treatment plans
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BCBA and RBT team work directly in the classroom
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Teacher and ESE staff training included
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Data collected every session inside the classroom
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Treatment plan reviewed in coordination with IEP cycle
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Progress shared with families and school team regularly
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BCBA attends IEP meetings as part of program
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Bilingual services in English and Spanish available
Most insurance plans cover school-based ABA therapy
Florida law requires most insurance plans to cover ABA therapy for children with an autism diagnosis. School-based delivery is a covered service under most Florida plans including Medicaid. Verify your coverage →
By School Level
School-based ABA therapy looks different at each level of education. Here is what our program focuses on from preschool through high school.
Preschool and Pre-K (Ages 3–5)
For preschoolers in ESE programs, our school-based ABA team focuses on the foundation skills that make kindergarten participation possible — following group instructions, sitting during circle time, transitioning between activities, basic peer interaction, and functional communication in a classroom setting. See our early intervention program → Read our toddler ABA guide →
Elementary School (Ages 6–11)
In elementary school, our program targets the behaviors that most affect classroom participation — on-task behavior, task completion, transition management, peer interaction during lunch and recess, and emotional regulation during challenging academic moments. We work with teachers to create consistent behavioral supports across all classroom settings.
Middle and High School (Ages 12–18)
In middle and high school, our school-based ABA program focuses increasingly on independence and transition planning — self-advocacy, managing a schedule, workplace-readiness behaviors, and the social skills needed in more complex peer environments. We coordinate with the IEP team on post-secondary transition goals. Learn about adaptive living skills → Read our preschool ABA guide →
Our School Coordination Process
Many families wait too long before starting ABA therapy — often because they are told to “wait and see” or because they are not sure what they are looking for. These are some of the signs that suggest your child could benefit from an early intervention evaluation.
Our goal is to make our involvement in the school as seamless as possible — for the school staff, for your child, and for you. We work with and alongside the school team, not independently of it. Contact us to discuss your child’s school situation → Read our full guide on signs to watch for →
How we coordinate with the school:
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We introduce ourselves to the school principal and your child’s teacher before services begin
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Our BCBA reviews your child’s current IEP and coordinates goals with the school’s existing supports
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We attend IEP meetings as part of the team and contribute behavioral data to the IEP review process
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Our therapist observes the classroom before writing the behavior intervention plan
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We provide teachers and ESE staff with simple, practical strategies they can use throughout the day
What families receive from us:
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Regular progress reports on in-school behavioral goals
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Updates after every IEP meeting with plain-language summaries
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Home strategies that reinforce what we work on at school
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Direct communication with your child’s BCBA whenever you have questions
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Coordination between school-based and in-home ABA if your child receives both
Ready to get started? Contact us today and we will connect with your child’s school to begin the referral process.
FAQ
School-based ABA therapy is Applied Behavior Analysis delivered directly inside the school during the school day. Our BCBA-supervised team works in the classroom alongside teachers and ESE staff, targeting the behavioral, social, and academic skills that affect your child’s participation in the school environment. All goals are coordinated with your child’s IEP and tracked with objective data every session.
Our BCBA reviews your child’s current IEP before services begin and designs a behavior intervention plan that directly supports the IEP goals. We attend IEP meetings as part of the team, contribute behavioral data to the IEP review process, and update the behavior intervention plan in coordination with the IEP cycle. Our goal is to strengthen and support the school’s existing program — not to operate independently of it.
No. School-based ABA therapy is a supplemental service that works alongside your child’s ESE program, not instead of it. Our BCBA team coordinates with ESE teachers and staff to ensure consistency. Many children receive both ESE services and school-based ABA therapy simultaneously — with both teams aligned on the same behavioral goals.
Yes. Florida law requires most insurance plans to cover ABA therapy for children with an autism diagnosis. School-based delivery is a covered service under most Florida plans, including Medicaid. Our team verifies your insurance benefits at no cost before services begin. Verify your insurance →
Yes, and many children benefit from both. In-home ABA targets skills in the home and community environment. School-based ABA targets skills in the classroom and school environment. Our BCBA coordinates goals across both settings so progress in one carries over to the other. Your child’s treatment plan covers both settings with aligned goals. Learn about in-home ABA →
Contact us directly and we will handle the school coordination process with you. We will verify your insurance, schedule the initial BCBA assessment, and connect with your child’s school to introduce our services and begin the intake process. You do not need to navigate this through the school alone. Contact us to get started →
Related Services
School-based ABA therapy works best as part of a coordinated program. These services are commonly combined with school-based delivery.
What your child learns at school must carry over to home. Parent training gives families the strategies their child’s BCBA uses in school so behaviors and skills are reinforced consistently across all settings.
Every school-based program begins with a BCBA-led FBA conducted in the school environment. Observing behavior in the classroom gives the most accurate assessment of what is triggering it and what to target.
Many families combine school-based and in-home ABA therapy. School-based targets classroom goals. In-home targets home routines, daily living, and community skills. Both are coordinated by the same BCBA.
School is the most important social skills practice environment. Our social skills ABA program can be delivered school-based, targeting peer interaction, conversation, and group participation directly with real classmates.
Where We Serve
We provide school-based ABA therapy at schools across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe Counties. Our team works in public schools, private schools, charter schools, and ESE programs throughout Southeast Florida.
The sooner therapy begins, the greater the impact. Contact Sunshine Behavioral Health Services today and we will verify your insurance, answer your questions, and schedule your child’s initial BCBA assessment — usually within days.
