Treatment Planning & Progress Monitoring · Southeast Florida
ABA therapy without data is not ABA therapy. At Sunshine Behavioral Health Services, every goal is measurable, every session is tracked, and every treatment plan is reviewed regularly by a BCBA. Families across Southeast Florida always know exactly where their child stands, what we are working on, and what the numbers show.
All Ages
Data-Driven ABA
Every session tracked
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 Data-Driven ABA ABA Therapy?
An ABA therapy treatment plan is the formal clinical document that guides every session your child has. It is not a general description of goals — it is a precise, measurable blueprint that specifies exactly what behaviors to target, how they will be taught, what level of performance counts as mastery, and how progress will be measured in every session. 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.
This precision is what separates ABA therapy from other behavioral interventions. Every goal in an ABA treatment plan has an operational definition — a description precise enough that two different observers would both record the behavior the same way. Every session produces objective data on every goal. That data is the only basis for clinical decisions. Not impressions. Not estimates. Data.
At Sunshine Behavioral Health Services, treatment planning begins with the Functional Behavior Assessment and continues throughout your child’s entire program. The treatment plan is a living document — it is reviewed regularly, updated based on data, and revised whenever your child’s goals change or when the data shows that an approach is not working. You receive regular progress reports that explain what the data shows in plain language.
What every treatment plan at Sunshine includes
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Operational definitions for every behavior target
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Baseline data — where your child starts before teaching begins
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Mastery criteria — what level of performance = a skill is learned
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Teaching procedures — exactly how each skill will be taught
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Prompting hierarchy — what level of support to start with
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Reinforcement schedule — how and when to reward correct responses
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Generalization plan — how skills will be transferred to real settings
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Maintenance plan — how mastered skills are kept sharp over time
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Progress review schedule — when the plan will be formally reviewed
All treatment plan goals are set collaboratively with your family and grounded in the findings of the Functional Behavior Assessment. The plan begins with a thorough Functional Behavior Assessment and reviewed regularly by your child’s BCBA.
The Treatment Plan
Every ABA treatment plan at Sunshine Behavioral Health Services contains three types of programs. Here is what each one covers.
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Skill acquisition programs target skills your child needs to learn — communication, social interaction, daily living, academic readiness, and adaptive skills. Each program specifies the target behavior, baseline level, teaching procedure, reinforcement strategy, prompting hierarchy, mastery criterion, and generalization plan. Nothing is vague.
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Behavior reduction programs target behaviors that interfere with learning or daily functioning. Every behavior reduction program is function-based — derived from the FBA and designed to address the reason the behavior occurs, not just the behavior itself. The program always includes a replacement behavior that serves the same function in an appropriate way.
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A skill is not truly learned until it generalizes to new settings, new people, and new materials — and remains stable over time without ongoing prompting. Every treatment plan at Sunshine includes explicit generalization and maintenance protocols. We do not close a goal until the data shows the skill is performing outside of the teaching setting. Read about ABA outcomes →
How We Monitor Progress
Data collection begins on day one. Before teaching starts, the therapist establishes baseline data — how often the behavior already occurs, or what level of performance the child already demonstrates. This baseline is the starting point against which all future progress is measured. The process continues 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.
During every session, the therapist records data on every goal that is worked on. For skill acquisition programs, this typically means recording whether each trial resulted in an independent correct response, a prompted correct response, or an error. For behavior reduction programs, this means recording the frequency, duration, or intensity of the target behavior throughout the session.
After each session, the data is reviewed by the BCBA. The BCBA looks at trends across sessions — is the skill improving at the expected rate? Is prompting being faded as planned? Are there any patterns that suggest the teaching procedure needs to be adjusted? Data-based decision making means every change to the treatment plan is justified by the numbers, not by impressions.
When a goal reaches the mastery criterion specified in the treatment plan — typically correct performance at a defined percentage across multiple sessions and multiple therapists — the goal is marked as mastered and a new goal is introduced. When a goal is not progressing as expected, the BCBA adjusts the teaching procedure, the reinforcement strategy, the prompt level, or the goal definition itself based on what the data suggests.
Families receive regular progress reports that explain the data in plain language. Your BCBA is available to answer questions and meets with your family at scheduled intervals to review the full treatment plan, discuss progress, and update goals. No clinical decision at Sunshine is made without discussing it with your family first. Parent training is built into every early intervention program.
Our data collection and monitoring process
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Baseline data established before teaching begins
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Data collected on every goal in every session
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BCBA reviews session data after every session
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Data trends reviewed at minimum weekly by BCBA
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Treatment plan formally reviewed every 3 to 6 months
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Goals updated immediately when data indicates a change
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Mastery criteria met before goals are closed
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Progress reports provided to families in plain language
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Data shared with school and IEP teams where relevant
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All reports available in English and Spanish
Treatment planning and monitoring is covered by insurance
Florida law requires most insurance plans to cover ABA therapy including treatment planning, progress monitoring, and BCBA supervision for children with an autism diagnosis. Verify your coverage →
How We Review and Update
Treatment plans are not static documents. They evolve as your child progresses. Here is the review cycle at every stage of a Sunshine ABA therapy program.
Ongoing — Every Session
After every session, the therapist submits session notes and data. The BCBA reviews this data and can adjust prompting levels, reinforcement schedules, or session structure based on what the numbers show. Families can request to see their child’s session data at any time. There are no surprises in a well-run ABA program. Read our toddler ABA guide →
Monthly — Progress Review Meeting
Every month, your child’s BCBA meets with your family to review progress on all active goals, discuss any concerns, and preview what is coming up in the program. This meeting is the primary communication channel between your family and the clinical team. It is not optional — it is a core part of every Sunshine program.
Every 3–6 Months — Full Plan Review
Every three to six months, the BCBA conducts a formal review of the entire treatment plan. Mastered goals are closed. New goals are added based on assessment. The program intensity may be adjusted up or down. For school-age children, the plan review is coordinated with the IEP cycle so clinical and educational goals remain aligned. Families receive a written plan update after every formal review. Read our preschool ABA guide →
What Families Receive
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.
We believe an informed family is a more effective partner. When you understand what your child is working on and why, you can reinforce those skills at home more effectively — which accelerates your child’s progress. Contact us if you have questions about your child’s current program → Read our full guide on signs to watch for →
Ongoing transparency:
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Session notes after every therapy session
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Access to your child’s session data on request at any time
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Monthly progress review meeting with your BCBA
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Immediate notification if any clinical concerns arise between reviews
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Direct BCBA access for questions between scheduled meetings
At every formal plan review:
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Written progress report on every active goal with data summaries
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Plain-language explanation of what the data means and what comes next
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Updated list of mastered goals and new goals being introduced
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Any recommended changes to program intensity or delivery setting
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Coordination with school or IEP team progress where applicable
You should always know exactly what is happening in your child’s ABA program. If you are working with another provider and do not receive this level of transparency, contact us to discuss your options →
FAQ
An ABA therapy treatment plan is the formal clinical document that guides your child’s therapy program. It specifies every behavior target with an operational definition, baseline data, mastery criteria, teaching procedures, prompting hierarchy, reinforcement schedule, generalization plan, and maintenance protocol. Treatment plans are developed by a BCBA based on the results of the Functional Behavior Assessment and input from your family. Every session your child has is guided by this plan.
At Sunshine Behavioral Health Services, session data is reviewed by the BCBA after every session. Monthly family meetings review progress on all active goals. A formal full-plan review is conducted every three to six months. Goals are updated whenever the data indicates a change is needed — whether that means mastering a goal, adjusting an approach that is not working, or introducing new targets. Treatment plans are never left static for months without review.
Every ABA therapy goal at Sunshine has a precise, measurable mastery criterion. Progress is measured against this criterion using objective session data. You receive regular progress reports that explain the data in plain language, and your BCBA meets with you monthly to review all goals. You can also request access to your child’s raw session data at any time. There is no ambiguity about whether progress is occurring — the data either shows it or it does not.
If data shows a goal is not progressing at the expected rate, the BCBA reviews the teaching procedure, reinforcement schedule, prompting hierarchy, and goal definition to identify what needs to change. Adjustments are made based on what the data suggests. No goal is left in the program without active review and adjustment when it is not moving. This data-driven decision process is what makes ABA therapy more effective than approaches based on clinical judgment alone.
A mastery criterion is the specific level of performance a child must demonstrate before a goal is considered learned and can be closed. A typical mastery criterion might be “80% correct responses across three consecutive sessions with two different therapists.” The specific criterion varies by goal and is set in the treatment plan by the BCBA. A goal is not closed until the data shows this criterion has been met — not just on one good day, but consistently.
An IEP (Individualized Education Program) is a legal document managed by the school that specifies educational goals and services. An ABA treatment plan is a clinical document developed by a BCBA that specifies behavioral and skill acquisition goals and the precise procedures for achieving them. For school-age children, the two documents should be closely coordinated — and at Sunshine, our BCBAs work with IEP teams to ensure alignment. The ABA treatment plan provides a level of clinical precision that most IEPs do not include. Learn about school coordination →
Related Services
Treatment planning and progress monitoring is the clinical backbone of every service we provide. Here is how it connects to each program.
Parent training teaches families to implement the teaching procedures in the treatment plan at home. When parents apply the same strategies consistently, skills generalize faster and the data shows it. Learn about parent training →
Every treatment plan begins with the FBA. The FBA findings determine which behaviors to target, what function they serve, and how to approach teaching. Without a thorough FBA, a treatment plan is guesswork. Learn about our FBA process →
Every in-home ABA session is guided by the treatment plan and produces data reviewed by the BCBA. The natural home environment provides the best context for generalization data. Learn about in-home ABA →
School-based ABA therapy is guided by a treatment plan coordinated with the IEP. Progress data from school sessions is shared with the BCBA and with your family at every review meeting. Learn about school-based ABA →
Where We Serve
We provide individualized ABA therapy treatment planning and ongoing progress monitoring for families across all major cities in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe Counties.
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.
