What You Need to Know about Autism Care Demonstration Parent/Caregiver Training

Monday, June 26, 2023

Autism Care Demonstration (ACD) parent/caregiver training sessions help parents and caregivers increase their confidence and improve their ability to practice applied behavior analysis (ABA) techniques with their children outside of provider-delivered ABA services. Training sessions may be direct – one-on-one with an ABA provider – or they may be in a group setting led by an ABA provider. 

Do parents/caregivers have to do training? 

For your child to continue receiving ABA services under the ACD, you are required to complete six parent/caregiver training sessions during each six-month treatment period. Per TRICARE policy, if these sessions don’t take place for two consecutive authorization periods, Health Net Federal Services, LLC (HNFS) cannot authorize additional ABA services. 

What will I learn from training? 

You will learn skills and resources to help encourage your child to use ABA skills outside of treatment. Research shows those who understand and are comfortable with ABA skills may be more confident and less stressed when practicing them with their child. This can help your child reach their goals and improve their use of ABA skills at home. 

What can I expect my child’s ABA provider to teach me? 

An ABA provider will teach you how to:

• Recognize autism spectrum disorder symptoms (repetitive/restrictive behaviors, communication) and how to address them. 
• Recognize functions of behavior and how to choose the correct replacement skills to teach.
• Use ABA principles for teaching new skills outside of treatment.
• Help your child use learned ABA skills consistently outside of treatment. 

If you are not confident in your use of ABA skills and strategies, be sure to discuss this openly with your child’s ABA provider. 

Tip! Did you know that while you wait for your child’s sessions with a behavior technician to start, you can ask to have training sessions with your child’s ABA provider? The ABA provider also may ask to start training sessions with you during this time.