What is the Treatment Planning Process

July 2, 2026

The Difficulty

When you begin working with an ABA provider, you may be wondering what all goes into coming up with the Treatment Plan/Behavior Intervention Plan and what role you as a parent play into it.

At Laugh and Learn, we utilize a process that can be broken down into three main steps:

We first conduct Indirect assessments, which are questionnaires that parents/caregivers complete to give us a better idea of what we’re looking at.
We then follow a practice called ABC observation, which is based on the ABCs of ABA—Antecedent (pre-cursor), Behavior, Consequence. Using this approach allows us to collect accurate data and identify the "why" behind the behavior(s).
Then we complete a Behavior Intervention Plan including the “why” behind the behavior, examples of the behavior, proactive strategies, reactive/consequence strategies, safe replacement behaviors, and goals for behavior reduction as well as independent use of the aforementioned replacement behaviors. Ethical considerations, as well as family and technician collaboration are a necessity in the creation and reviewing of the plan to ensure all key stakeholders are on the same page.

Implementing and Adjusting

At Laugh and Learn, we intentionally and methodically assemble a group of technicians to ensure generalization of skills (the ability to utilize acquired skills in a variety of settings and with a variety of people). This also ensures that we can provide continuous care and avoid cancellations (in the case of a technician being out sick or on vacation, there is then another technician available who is familiar with the client and vice versa). Throughout the course of the Behavior Intervention Plan, the whole team goes over collected data weekly. We all work together to ensure proper implementation and consistency. If things are not progressing as desired, adjustments are made. Parents are involved in the process of adjusting the behavior plan, and are welcome to ask questions about how things are progressing, and/or request changes.

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In-Home vs. Clinic ABA Therapy in Flint: Choosing the Right Setting

August 4, 2026

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What is Natural Environment Teaching

July 28, 2026

What is it? NET is one of the main ways that children practice and learn social, emotional and behavioral skills in ABA Therapy. As the name suggests, this style of teaching leans into the natural environment, utilizing play sessions to teach a child how to safely interact, communicate, and regulate. How does this work? How it Works During an NET session, the client comes into contact with many different toys, people, choices and interactions. All of these can be utilized in a fun and engaging way to naturally expand and test a child’s abilities. NET also allows the client opportunity to choose what to play with, building confidence and rapport with those around them. This allows the skills taught during ABA to become more relevant to the child’s life and easier to generalize into their daily routine. NET can also encourage a child to WANT to learn more, being that what they are learning highly relates to activities and people that they prefer to engage with. When it Shines NET is often paired with structured learning as well. This is sometimes referred to as “DTT” or “Table Time.” During these sessions, a child learns how to perform tasks such as labeling items/people, answering questions, following simple directions or imitating gross motor movements in a structured environment. These skills are then naturally brought up during NET. For example, let’s say a child learns the word “apple” during Table Time. Then, in a play session using the play kitchen, the child interacts with a toy apple. The therapist may make use of this, bringing the apple into play. By utilizing these two forms together, the child gets a vary well rounded session.