In-Home ABA Therapy in Iowa
Shining Steps ABA brings applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy to children with autism at home, at school and out in the community. We are now serving Iowa families, starting in the Des Moines area and Sioux City.
Every program is designed and supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and delivered one-on-one by a trained behavior technician. Sessions happen where your child already lives and learns, mostly after school, with some daytime hours. Parents and caregivers are part of every program, so the skills your child learns carry over into family life. We work with toddlers through teens, and our intake team handles the insurance paperwork for you.
Call us: (515) 316-7770
Get started with in-home ABA
Tell us about your family and our intake team will check your coverage and get back to you.
We accept most insurances including
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What ABA therapy is
Applied behavior analysis, or ABA, teaches skills by breaking them into small, clear steps and celebrating each step your child gets right. Over time, those small wins add up to real changes in everyday life.
ABA can help children build skills like these:
- Communication: asking for what they need with words, signs, pictures or a device.
- Play and social skills: taking turns, sharing toys and joining in with other kids.
- Daily living: dressing, brushing teeth, using the toilet and getting through mealtimes.
- Safer behavior: calmer ways to handle frustration, changes in routine and big feelings.
It starts with an assessment by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), who writes a plan around your family’s goals. A Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) then works one-on-one with your child, while the BCBA supervises and updates the plan as your child grows. Sessions are play-based and natural, so learning often looks like a board game, snack time or getting ready for the day.
In Iowa, ABA is a covered Medicaid service for children with autism, and behavior analysts must hold a state license, which requires current board certification. The BCBA guiding your child’s care is licensed by Iowa and certified by the national board.
Our ABA services
ABA therapy teaches everyday skills in small, clear steps and uses positive reinforcement to help them stick. Here is what that looks like with Shining Steps in Iowa.
- In-home sessions. Your child learns in the place they know best, with the people and routines that matter most.
- In-school sessions. With the school’s permission, a technician can support your child during the school day.
- Community sessions. Practice at the park, the store or the library helps new skills work in real life.
- Parent and caregiver training. Your BCBA shows you the strategies used in sessions so you can use them every day.
- Progress meetings. You meet regularly with your BCBA to look at progress, celebrate wins and update goals.
Programs focus on goals that matter to your family, such as communication, social skills, daily routines like dressing and toileting, and safer ways to handle big feelings.
Our clinical work is led by Beth Wittwer, Clinical Director, and Sora Lee, Lead BCBA. In Iowa, behavior analysts must hold a state license, which requires current board certification.
Why in-home ABA works
Skills learned where they are used
A child who learns to wash their hands at a clinic sink still has to figure it out again at home. When sessions happen in your kitchen, bathroom and living room, your child practices with the same sink, the same toys and the same routines they use every day. There is less to relearn later.
Brothers, sisters and real routines
Home is where the hard moments happen: bedtime, getting out the door, sharing with a sibling. Your child’s technician can work on those moments as they come up. Brothers and sisters can join a game and practice taking turns, too.
Coaching that fits into your week
Because sessions are at home, you can watch, ask questions and try a strategy on the spot with your BCBA there to help. Caregiver training stops being one more appointment and becomes part of your normal week.
One less drive in an Iowa winter
Iowa winters bring snow, icy roads and early darkness, and the after-school hours are already the busiest part of the day. With in-home therapy, there is no clinic to drive to and no waiting room to sit in. Your technician comes to you, and your child can start a session in comfy clothes after a long day at school.
The Team
Aron Stein
Founder and CEO
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Beth Wittwer
Clinical Director
Sora Lee
Lead BCBA
Ages and programs
Toddlers and preschoolers
For young children, ABA looks a lot like play. Your child might practice new words, pointing, sharing and following simple directions during games and snack time, while you learn ways to help with bedtime, meals and toilet training. If your child is under 3, you can also reach out to Early ACCESS, Iowa’s free early intervention program run with the Area Education Agencies. You don’t need a diagnosis to make a referral.
School-age children
For kids in elementary and middle school, goals often center on homework routines, friendships and handling frustration. With your school’s permission, a technician can support your child during the school day. You can share your child’s ABA goals with their IEP team so everyone is working toward the same things. The ASK Resource Center offers Iowa parents support and training, including help speaking up for your child at school.
Teens
Teen programs focus on independence: personal care, following a schedule, making a simple snack, paying at a store and staying safe out in the community. Iowa Medicaid covers ABA for young people under 21 when it is medically necessary, so teens on Medicaid can keep building these skills into early adulthood.
Insurance and coverage
Iowa Medicaid
We accept Iowa Medicaid and all of its health plans, plus Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna. Iowa Medicaid’s managed-care program, IA Health Link, works through three health plans:
- Iowa Total Care
- Molina Healthcare of Iowa
- Wellpoint Iowa
Iowa Medicaid covers ABA therapy for children and young adults under 21 who have an autism diagnosis, when the therapy is medically necessary. Your child’s health plan has to approve services before they start. Our intake team sends that request for you and keeps it up to date. Not sure which plan your child has? Check the member card, or call Iowa Medicaid Member Services at 1-800-338-8366.
hawki
hawki (Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa) is the state’s health plan for children under 19 in working families. Right now, hawki does not cover ABA therapy. If your child has hawki, call us anyway. We’ll talk through your other options with you, such as insurance through a parent’s job.
Blue Cross Blue Shield and other plans
We are in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna. In Iowa, that is Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield. ABA coverage depends on your specific plan, and most plans need approval before therapy begins. For other commercial plans, call us and we’ll check your benefits.
See if ABA is covered for your child
Send us a few details and our intake team will check your coverage, explain what it includes and tell you what we need to get started.
- We check your Medicaid plan or insurance benefits
- We tell you what we need, usually the diagnosis report
- We match your family with a BCBA and an in-home therapist
Prefer to talk? Call (515) 316-7770
Tell us about your family
Share a few details and our intake team will get back to you.
How to get started
Starting ABA can feel like a lot. We keep it simple and walk with you through each step.
- 1. Call us or fill out our form. Tell us about your child and what you’re hoping for. We’ll answer your questions about ABA.
- 2. We check your insurance. Our intake team verifies your Iowa Medicaid plan or private insurance and explains what is covered.
- 3. Share the diagnosis. Insurance coverage for ABA needs an autism diagnosis. If your child doesn’t have one yet, we can point you to evaluation options in Iowa.
- 4. Meet your BCBA. A BCBA assesses your child, learns your family’s goals and writes a treatment plan. We send it to your health plan for approval.
- 5. Sessions begin. Your child’s technician comes to your home, school or a community spot on a set schedule, and your BCBA checks in on progress.
Why families choose us
Here is what Iowa families can count on when they work with Shining Steps.
- Plans built by a BCBA. A Board Certified Behavior Analyst assesses your child, writes the treatment plan and supervises it. Our clinical team is led by Beth Wittwer, Clinical Director, and Sora Lee, Lead BCBA.
- One-on-one sessions. A Registered Behavior Technician works with your child individually, following the plan your BCBA designed.
- You are part of the team. Caregiver training is built into every program, and you meet with your BCBA regularly to review progress and set new goals.
- Less paperwork for you. Our intake team checks your benefits and requests approval from your health plan.
- Therapy where your child lives. Sessions happen at home, at school with the school’s permission, and in the community, mostly after school with some daytime hours.
- Iowa coverage we accept. Iowa Medicaid and all of its health plans, including Iowa Total Care, Molina Healthcare of Iowa and Wellpoint Iowa, plus Blue Cross Blue Shield (Wellmark in Iowa) and Aetna.
Cities we serve
Regions and counties
We serve families in central Iowa and in Sioux City, and we are growing.
Central Iowa
Our main Iowa service area is the Des Moines metro in Polk and Dallas counties. That includes Des Moines and its neighborhoods, West Des Moines, and nearby suburbs such as Ankeny, Johnston, Urbandale, Clive, Waukee, Altoona and Windsor Heights.
Northwest Iowa
In Sioux City, we serve families on the Iowa side of the metro in Woodbury County, including nearby towns like Sergeant Bluff. We do not serve the Nebraska or South Dakota sides of the river.
Live somewhere else in Iowa? Call us. We’ll tell you honestly whether we can reach your home.
Helpful resources for families
These Iowa programs can help your family alongside ABA therapy.
- Early ACCESS. Iowa’s early intervention program for children from birth to age 3, provided with the Area Education Agencies at no cost to families. You don’t need a diagnosis to refer. Call 1-888-IAKIDS1 (1-888-425-4371) or use the online referral.
- Regional Autism Assistance Program (RAP). Part of Child Health Specialty Clinics at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. RAP helps families find autism evaluations and local services and offers family-to-family support. Family navigators: 1-866-219-9119. Learn more.
- Center for Disabilities and Development. The Autism Center team at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City cares for children with autism. Call 1-877-686-0031. Learn more.
- ASK Resource Center. Support, training and mentoring for Iowa families of children with disabilities, including help speaking up for your child at school. Call 1-800-450-8667. Learn more.
- Iowa Medicaid Member Services. Questions about Medicaid coverage or your health plan. Call 1-800-338-8366, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more.
Common Questions
Yes. Iowa Medicaid covers ABA therapy for children and young adults under 21 who have an autism diagnosis, when it is medically necessary. That includes all three IA Health Link plans: Iowa Total Care, Molina Healthcare of Iowa and Wellpoint Iowa. The plan must approve services before they start. Our intake team handles that request for you, so you don’t have to sort out the paperwork alone.
No, not at this time. hawki, Iowa’s health plan for children under 19 in working families, does not cover ABA therapy. If your child has hawki, call us anyway. We can talk through other options, such as coverage through a parent’s employer plan, and we will tell you plainly what we can and can’t do for your family.
Yes, insurance coverage for ABA requires an autism diagnosis. Most Iowa families start with their pediatrician, who can refer them for an evaluation. The Regional Autism Assistance Program can also help you find diagnostic services near you. For children under 3, Early ACCESS can check your child’s development at no cost, even without a diagnosis.
Most sessions happen in your home. With the school’s permission, we can also work with your child at school, and some sessions take place in the community, such as at a park or store. We don’t run clinics, so therapy fits into your child’s real routines. Sessions are mostly after school, with some daytime hours.
We serve the Des Moines metro, including Des Moines, West Des Moines and nearby suburbs in Polk and Dallas counties, and the Iowa side of Sioux City in Woodbury County. We do not serve the Nebraska or South Dakota sides of the Sioux City area. If you live elsewhere in Iowa, call us and we’ll let you know whether we can help.
Your family deserves the best
Our team works closely with each family to build a plan that fits your child and your schedule. Reach out and our intake team will take it from there.