Before you bring your child to an ABA center, you want to picture it. Is it a quiet room with flashcards? A busy play space? Will your child be pushed, or comforted, when things get hard? This page describes what you can expect at a Hope Center for Behavior Change center, what is the same for every child, and what depends on your child's own plan. We have kept it to what we can promise honestly; details such as hours and session length are set for each child and explained on your first call.
What does a Hope Center center feel like?
Our clinical director puts it this way: our centers are full of laughing and singing, not crying. That is the goal for every session. Learning at Hope Center is play-based. Tasks are presented in a fun, non-forceful way, and the people working with your child pay attention to whether your child is willing and engaged.
Center-based sessions happen at our centers in West Palm Beach (750 S Military Trail, Suite D-E) and Temple Terrace in the Tampa area (9385 N 56th St, Suite 211). We also have locations in Port Charlotte, Jacksonville and Sebring, and we provide ABA at home, at school, at daycare and in the community. Ask on your first call which settings are available near you, or see where we provide ABA.
Who will my child spend the day with?
- A Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) works with your child during sessions and follows the treatment plan.
- A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) wrote that plan, reviews it as your child learns, and supervises the RBT every week. Under BACB rules, supervision includes watching the RBT work with your child and giving feedback.
- Our clinical director reviewed your child's plan before it went to insurance.
You can ask to meet your child's assigned staff before services begin, so the first day is not the first time your child sees them. Read more in meeting your team before starting and how Hope Center supervises RBTs.
What does play-based, assent-based learning look like?
The BACB defines assent as the verbal or nonverbal behavior that shows a person is willing to take part, from someone who cannot give legal consent because of age or disability. In an assent-based program, staff watch for those signals all the time. A child who turns away, pushes materials off the table, or stops engaging is communicating something, and staff respond by changing the activity, taking a break or trying a different approach, rather than pushing harder.
Play-based means teaching happens inside activities your child enjoys. A goal like asking for help, taking turns or following a two-step direction can be practiced in a game, at a sensory table, during a song, or with a favorite toy. The BACB Ethics Code expects interventions to prioritize positive reinforcement (Code 2.14), which means building on what motivates your child. See assent-based ABA and discrete trial training vs natural environment teaching for more.
What happens when a child is upset?
Every child has hard moments. When your child is upset, staff use therapeutic calming techniques to help your child settle, and tasks stay fun and non-forceful. Our approach is trauma-informed, and we use the least intrusive, safest strategies.
If a behavior could hurt your child or someone else, staff remove hazards and may briefly interrupt and redirect the behavior. We do not use restraint. If a child cannot be kept safe, staff call 911 and report it to the behavior analyst. Our page on how Hope Center keeps children safe without restraint explains this in full.
How can I prepare my child for the first day?
A new place and new people can be a lot for any child. A few steps can make the first day at a center easier. Meet the assigned staff ahead of time if you can. Talk about the center in simple words, or with pictures, in the days before. Bring a comfort item or a favorite toy, and tell the RBT what usually helps your child settle and what tends to upset them. Our guide on preparing your child for their first ABA session has more ideas, including how to prepare yourself.
What is the same for every child, and what depends on the plan?
Some things are true in every Hope Center session. Others are set by your child's assessment, treatment plan and insurance authorization, so we cannot tell you until the plan is written.
| Part of the day | The same for every child | Set by your child's plan |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Play-based, assent-based, trauma-informed; tasks presented in a fun, non-forceful way | Which activities, materials and rewards work for your child |
| Staff | An RBT delivers sessions; a BCBA supervises weekly; the clinical director reviewed the plan | Which RBT and BCBA are assigned |
| Goals | Written by a BCBA, signed by you, discussed in weekly parent training | The specific skills, such as communication, play, daily routines or coping |
| Hard moments | Therapeutic calming, least intrusive strategies, no restraint | Your child's own calming supports and any behavior plan |
| Hours and session length | Set only after assessment | Recommended by the BCBA and authorized by your insurer |
| Setting | Center, home, school, daycare or community | Which mix of settings fits your child and family |
| Language | English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Bengali and Russian offered | Which language your child's sessions and parent training use |
How do parents stay in the loop?
You are part of your child's team, not an observer. At Hope Center:
- Parent training is weekly. You and your BCBA discuss goals and the treatment plan, and you learn the strategies your child is using so you can use them at home. See our parent training page.
- You can text or call your child's RBT, your BCBA or the front desk with questions.
- The plan is yours to understand. Ask your BCBA to walk you through data and progress whenever you want; how to read an ABA progress report can help.
Will I see real photos of children at the center?
Images of children on our website are stock or AI-generated, unless a parent has given written consent for a real photo. That protects your child's privacy. The RBT Ethics Code also says RBTs do not share identifying information about clients, including photos and videos, on social media or websites (Code 2.09). If you want to see the center, the better option is to visit.
What should I look for when I visit?
Use this checklist when you tour our centers, or any ABA center:
- Do children look engaged and comfortable? Do you hear laughing, talking, singing?
- When a child says no or turns away, what do staff do?
- How do staff respond when a child is upset? Ask directly whether restraint is ever used.
- Who supervises the RBTs, and how often is a BCBA on site or observing?
- How will you hear about your child's day, and how often is parent training?
- Can your child meet their assigned staff before starting?
- Which languages can sessions and parent training use?
Our full ABA center tour checklist has more questions, and center-based vs in-home ABA can help you decide which setting suits your child. For a general picture of modern ABA, read what modern ABA therapy really looks like.
Ready to see it for yourself?
To talk about center-based ABA in West Palm Beach or Temple Terrace, or about home, school, daycare and community sessions, request a free consultation and benefits check or call 561-337-8865. There is no waitlist, and starting can take as little as three weeks from your first call. Our new families page explains each step.