The diagnosis comes in, the referral is written, and then comes the news nobody is prepared for: the waitlist. Six months. Sometimes longer. And that's after waiting six to twelve months just to get the diagnosis.

For families in Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, and across Colorado, this is the reality. The demand for ABA therapy in Colorado has grown faster than the supply of qualified providers. Waitlists are not a temporary inconvenience — they are a documented, ongoing challenge that directly affects when your child can begin building the communication, behavioral, and daily living skills that ABA therapy is designed to teach.

But there are concrete steps families can take to shorten the gap. Getting ABA therapy started in Colorado without a long wait is possible — and it comes down to knowing the process, moving quickly on each step, and choosing the right type of provider from the start.

Here's the direct answer: To start ABA therapy in Colorado without a long wait, families need to act on several steps simultaneously: confirm your insurance coverage before selecting a provider, have your child's autism diagnosis documentation ready before making a single call, prioritize home-based ABA providers who typically have shorter start times than clinic-based centers, contact multiple providers at once and ask directly about current availability, and choose a provider who handles the prior authorization paperwork on your behalf. At Inclusive ABA, there is no waitlist — services are available now across the Colorado Front Range.

Why Colorado ABA Therapy Waitlists Exist

Understanding why the wait is so long helps families navigate around it.

Colorado's ABA waitlist problem is well-documented. Independent surveys conducted among ABA providers in Colorado in November 2022 and June 2023 found that new clients waited an average of 6 months to begin services. And those waitlists were growing — increasing by 14% over an 8-month period, or approximately 5 additional children per provider.

The root causes are structural:

• Rising autism diagnoses. The CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network reported in its most recent data cycle that approximately 1 in 31 children meet criteria for autism spectrum disorder — a dramatic increase from 1 in 150 just two decades ago. More children need services than ever before.
• BCBA workforce shortfall. Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) are the licensed clinicians who design and oversee ABA programs. Demand for BCBAs nationally exceeded 132,000 job postings in 2025, a 28% year-over-year increase. BCBA exam pass rates fell to a first-time pass rate of 51% in 2025, meaning fewer new BCBAs are entering the workforce each year.
• Medicaid reimbursement pressure. In Colorado, providers reported operational costs increasing nearly 30% over five years while Medicaid reimbursement rates rose only 7%. This led multiple providers to reduce services, leave the state, or close entirely — directly shrinking the supply available to families.

The national average wait time for ABA therapy is documented at approximately 5.7 months, with roughly 75% of caregivers reporting time spent on a waitlist before services began.

None of this is inevitable for your family. But it does mean you need to move fast, move smart, and know which providers to contact first.

Step 1: Have Your Documentation Ready Before You Make a Single Call

The most avoidable reason families experience delays is not having documentation ready when they contact a provider.

Every ABA provider in Colorado will need these documents before they can even begin the insurance verification process:

• Formal autism diagnosis report from a licensed psychologist, developmental pediatrician, or equivalent. The report must include the DSM-5 diagnosis code (F84.0 for Autism Spectrum Disorder). Most insurers require the diagnosis to be dated within the past two years.
• Child's date of birth and insurance information — including the insurance card, member ID, and group number.
• Primary care physician's referral — some insurance plans require a physician referral before ABA therapy can be authorized.

If your child's diagnosis report is missing any of these elements, or if you're still waiting on the written report from the diagnosing provider, follow up immediately and request the official written documentation in writing. Any delay here cascades into a delay in getting started.

Step 2: Verify Your Insurance Coverage — Before You Pick a Provider

The single biggest factor in how quickly your child starts is how quickly insurance authorization is obtained. And that process cannot begin until you know your coverage.

Colorado's autism insurance mandate (SB 09-244, expanded by SB 15-015) requires fully insured plans regulated by the Colorado Division of Insurance to cover ABA therapy for children with autism. There is no age cap and no dollar limit under the state mandate. This applies to most employer-sponsored and individual plans with "CO-DOI" on the insurance card.

For Health First Colorado (Medicaid) families: Colorado Medicaid covers medically necessary ABA therapy for children under 21. Prior authorization through Acentra Health (the RAE/managed care process) is required. Services covered include comprehensive behavioral assessments, individual therapy sessions, and parent/caregiver training. Each approved Prior Authorization Request (PAR) is valid for up to 6 months before renewal is required.

What to confirm before selecting a provider:

• Is ABA therapy covered under your specific plan?
• Does your plan require in-network providers?
• Is prior authorization required for both the assessment and ongoing services?
• What is your plan's timeline for responding to prior authorization requests?

A provider who handles insurance verification for you — including submitting the prior authorization paperwork — is not a perk. It's a time-saving necessity. Ask every provider directly: "Do you handle prior authorization on my behalf?"

Step 3: Choose Home-Based ABA Therapy — It Typically Starts Faster

This is one of the most practical decisions families can make for getting ABA therapy started in Colorado without a long wait.

Clinic-based ABA centers in Colorado — especially in high-demand areas like Denver and Aurora — often have waitlists of 6 to 12 months. Clinic-based models require a physical space, staffing ratios tied to a fixed facility, and scheduling constrained by center hours and capacity.

Home-based ABA providers operate differently. Services are delivered in your home, at your child's school, or in the community. There is no facility bottleneck. Therapists travel to the child, which means capacity scales more flexibly — and start times are often significantly shorter.

For families in Thornton, Arvada, Westminster, and Englewood, home-based ABA offers another significant advantage: therapy happens where the child's behavioral challenges actually occur — at breakfast, during transitions, in the backyard. Skills learned in the home environment generalize into daily life faster than skills learned in a clinical setting that need to be transferred afterward.

Inclusive ABA provides home-based ABA therapy across Colorado with no waitlist. When you contact us, the intake process starts right away.

Step 4: Contact Multiple Providers at Once — Don't Wait for One Response

A common mistake families make is contacting one provider, waiting for a callback, and only reaching out to others when that option doesn't work out. In a state where waitlists average 6 months, this sequential approach adds weeks or months to the process.

Contact at least 3–5 providers simultaneously. When you reach each one, ask these specific questions:

• "What is your current start time for new clients?" Ask for a concrete number — not "soon" or "quickly."
• "Do you have availability in [your city or zip code]?" Home-based providers serve specific areas; confirm coverage before investing time in the intake process.
• "Do you accept [your insurance plan]?" Don't assume — confirm.
• "Do you handle prior authorization paperwork?" You want a provider who manages this process, not one who sends you the forms and wishes you luck.
• "Do you serve both private insurance and Medicaid?" Some providers accept one but not the other.

The Colorado Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) maintains a public list of Medicaid-approved pediatric behavioral therapy providers, which is a useful starting point for identifying options in your area.

Step 5: Understand the Process So You Don't Create Delays

Even with the right provider, families can inadvertently slow down the start process by not responding promptly to requests. Here is the standard sequence and where delays typically occur:

1. Insurance verification (Days 1–3): The provider confirms your coverage, checks in-network status, and identifies any specific authorization requirements. Your role: respond immediately to any requests for documentation.
2. BCBA assessment scheduling (Week 1–2): A BCBA conducts an initial assessment — not the same as the autism diagnosis, but a separate, more detailed evaluation of your child's skills, behaviors, and learning needs. This assessment typically covers 8–12 hours and produces the individualized treatment plan used to request authorization. Your role: schedule this as early as possible and attend fully.
3. Treatment plan and prior authorization submission (Week 2–3): The BCBA writes the treatment plan and submits the Prior Authorization Request (PAR) to your insurance or Medicaid. For Medicaid, providers have 4 business days to submit any additional information requested during the PAR review. If a PAR is denied, families have 30 days to appeal. Your role: review and sign the treatment plan quickly. Any lag here delays the submission.
4. Authorization decision (Week 3–6): Insurance reviews and approves the PAR. Most private insurance plans respond within 2–4 weeks. Medicaid timelines vary. Your role: follow up with your provider weekly on the status and ask if anything additional has been requested.
5. Therapy begins. Once authorization is approved, services start.
6. The families who start fastest are the ones who respond to every request the same day.

Step 6: Start Parent Training Immediately — Even Before Therapy Begins

This step is frequently overlooked, but it's one of the most impactful things families can do during the authorization waiting period.

Parent training is a core component of ABA therapy. In most well-structured ABA programs, parents learn the same reinforcement strategies, prompting procedures, and communication techniques the therapists use — and apply them throughout the day. This multiplies the child's total learning time.

Many ABA providers begin parent training sessions during or immediately after the assessment, before formal therapy has been authorized. This means your child's progress can begin before the insurance process is complete.

When evaluating providers, ask: "Do you include parent training as a standard part of the program, and when does that begin?"

A Real Colorado Example: From Diagnosis to Day One

A family in Littleton received their son's autism diagnosis in late spring. They had been warned by the diagnosing psychologist that ABA therapy had long waitlists across the Denver metro. Rather than contacting one clinic and waiting, they:

1. Had the official diagnosis report in hand before making any calls
2. Called 4 providers on the same day — including Inclusive ABA
3. Confirmed insurance coverage with each provider's intake team on the first call
4. Chose a home-based provider who handled all prior authorization paperwork
5. Scheduled the BCBA assessment for the following week
6. Returned every document request within 24 hours

Their son began ABA therapy 5 weeks after the initial intake call — well ahead of the 6-month average. The keys: moving multiple steps in parallel, documentation ready upfront, and choosing a provider who could handle the administrative process efficiently.

Conclusion: There's a Provider in Colorado With No Waitlist — Start Today

Getting ABA therapy started in Colorado without a long wait is entirely possible. It requires moving quickly, knowing the steps, and — critically — choosing the right provider.

At Inclusive ABA, there is no waitlist for home-based ABA therapy across Colorado. Our team handles insurance verification, prior authorization, and the full intake process so families can focus on their child — not paperwork. We serve families across Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Littleton, Arvada, Thornton, Westminster, and Englewood.

Every week you wait is a week your child's program hasn't started. Don't spend that time on hold or cycling through providers that can't serve you yet. Call Inclusive ABA today. Verify coverage. Schedule the assessment. Start this week.

Contact Inclusive ABA — No waitlist. All insurance accepted. Home-based across Colorado.

Serving Families Across Colorado

Inclusive ABA provides home-based ABA therapy with no waitlist — including Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Littleton, Arvada, Thornton, Westminster, and Englewood. All insurance accepted, including Health First Colorado Medicaid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/ss/ss7402a1.htm
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/board-certified-behavior-analyst-bcba
• https://hcpf.colorado.gov/par
• https://hcpf.colorado.gov/pediatric-behavioral-therapies-provider-list