What are your credentials and training experience?

Parents should make sure there will be a Master’s-level professional overseeing their child’s autism service program every week in their home. They also want a therapist with the background and training experience to have a major impact on the child’s development. Their child should not be one of the first children the therapist has worked with in this capacity.

What will the in-home sessions look like?

Parents need to find out if the therapist knows how to effectively interact with children. How will they motivate the child? How do they define play goals? Will therapy include all family members? How will data be collected? Parents should ask to see sample data sheets, graphs, and reports.

How will the child’s progress be measured?

Parents should ask what a positive outcome would be for their child. If the child makes good progress, how exactly will that be determined? Get some tangible benchmarks for treatment. If the goals appear too academic or rote, it may not be a good fit. If the goals are for the child to become a good communicator and playmate, then parents are more likely to have a provider who will focus on treating the child’s core deficits rather than just teaching a lot of skills (which often serve to mask core deficits).