In-Home ABA Therapy in Missouri
Shining Steps brings ABA therapy to Missouri families in the places where children already spend their days: at home, at school with the school’s permission, and out in the community. We serve the St. Louis area, St. Charles County and Kansas City. Most sessions happen after school, and some daytime hours are available.
Every program is designed and supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and delivered one-on-one by a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT). We work with toddlers through teens, and parents are part of the team from the first meeting. If your child has MO HealthNet, ABA is a covered benefit for children under 21, and our intake team handles the insurance paperwork.
Call us: (314) 472-5037
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, is a way of teaching that breaks big skills into small steps and rewards each bit of progress. Over time, those small steps add up to skills that make everyday life easier for your child and your whole family.
ABA can help children build:
- Communication: asking for what they need with words, signs, pictures or a device
- Play and social skills: sharing, taking turns and joining in with siblings or friends
- Daily living skills: toileting, dressing, brushing teeth and mealtime routines
- Safer behavior: calmer ways to handle frustration, waiting and changes in plans
A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) starts with an assessment and writes a treatment plan with your input. A Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) then works one-on-one with your child to carry out that plan. Sessions are play-based and built into natural moments, like snack time or a game on the living room floor, instead of drills at a table. The BCBA reviews session data and updates goals as your child grows.
Missouri licenses behavior analysts through its Behavior Analyst Advisory Board, and MO HealthNet covers ABA for children under 21 who have an autism diagnosis.
Our ABA services
ABA (applied behavior analysis) uses careful observation and positive reinforcement to build skills that matter in daily life. A Shining Steps program includes:
- In-home therapy. Your child learns where routines actually happen: getting dressed, mealtimes, playing with siblings, bedtime.
- In-school support. With the school’s permission, an RBT can work alongside your child at school and coordinate with teachers.
- Community sessions. Practice at the park, the store or the library, so new skills carry over to real outings.
- Caregiver training. Your BCBA meets with you regularly and shows you how to use the same strategies between sessions.
- Progress you can see. RBTs record data every session. Your BCBA reviews it, updates goals and walks you through progress in regular meetings.
Common goals include communication, play and social skills, following routines, self-care such as toileting and dressing, and reducing behaviors that get in the way at home or school. Every plan is built around your child and your family’s priorities.
Why in-home ABA works
Skills are learned where they are used
Your child practices getting dressed in their own bedroom, asking for a snack in your kitchen and winding down in the room where bedtime actually happens. Skills learned at home don’t have to be carried over from a clinic later.
Siblings and routines are part of the plan
Brothers and sisters can join games that teach sharing and turn-taking. The RBT works around your real routines, like homework, dinner and getting out the door, so goals fit the way your family lives.
No drive across the metro
The Missouri families we serve live in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas. In either metro, getting to a clinic can mean rush-hour traffic on I-70 or a trip across the Missouri River, and then a wait in a lobby. With in-home ABA, the therapist comes to you after school, and your child starts each session somewhere familiar and calm.
Caregiver training happens naturally
When therapy happens at home, you can watch, ask questions and try a strategy on the spot. Your BCBA coaches you in the same rooms and routines, which makes it easier to keep things going between visits. Missouri’s ABA rules also expect every MO HealthNet treatment plan to include training for parents and caregivers.
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: bubbles, songs, blocks and snack time, with goals like pointing, naming things, copying actions and following simple directions. If your child is under 3, Missouri First Steps provides early intervention for developmental delays or a diagnosed condition such as autism, and it can work side by side with ABA.
School-age children
For kids in elementary and middle school, goals often tie to the school day: following classroom routines, handling transitions, making friends and getting through homework. With your school’s permission, an RBT can support your child at school, and we’re glad to share strategies with the IEP team. Missouri Family to Family offers free one-on-one help with special education questions.
Teens
For teenagers, the focus usually shifts to independence: self-care, cooking a simple meal, handling money, using a phone safely and getting through stores and appointments. MO HealthNet covers ABA for members under 21, so teens can keep building these skills through high school and up to their 21st birthday.
Insurance and coverage
MO HealthNet (Missouri Medicaid)
We accept MO HealthNet and all of its health plans, plus Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna. MO HealthNet covers applied behavior analysis for members under age 21 who have an autism diagnosis. Under state rules, the diagnosis must come from a licensed physician or licensed psychologist, and their evaluation should recommend ABA. The ABA assessment and treatment plan must also be approved ahead of time (precertified) by MO HealthNet or your child’s health plan. Our intake team requests that approval for you.
Most children with MO HealthNet get their care through a managed-care health plan. Every plan serves every county in Missouri and offers the same core benefits:
- Healthy Blue
- Home State Health
- UnitedHealthcare Community Plan
- Show Me Healthy Kids, the plan run by Home State Health for children in foster care, former foster youth, and children who receive adoption or guardianship subsidy
Some children, such as those who qualify through a disability, have MO HealthNet without a health plan (often called fee-for-service). We accept that too.
Blue Cross Blue Shield
We are in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna. Around St. Louis that is usually Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Around Kansas City it is usually Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC).
Other insurance
Have a different commercial plan? 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 (314) 472-5037
Tell us about your family
Share a few details and our intake team will get back to you.
How to get started
Starting ABA takes a few steps. We guide you through each one.
- Reach out. Call or message us. Tell us about your child, where you live and what insurance you have.
- We check your benefits. Our intake team verifies your MO HealthNet health plan or other insurance and tells you what we need, usually the autism diagnosis report. No diagnosis yet? We’ll point you to evaluation options near you.
- Assessment. A BCBA meets your child, talks with you about your goals and writes a treatment plan.
- Approval. We send the plan to your insurance for approval and keep you updated.
- Sessions begin. We match your child with an RBT and set a regular schedule that fits your family, most often after school.
Why families choose us
Here is what every Missouri family can expect from Shining Steps.
- A plan designed by a BCBA. Every program starts with an assessment and a treatment plan built around your child and your family’s goals.
- One-on-one sessions with an RBT. A Registered Behavior Technician follows the plan with your child and records progress every session.
- Training for parents and caregivers. Your BCBA meets with you regularly to practice strategies and go over progress.
- Help with insurance. Our intake team verifies your benefits and requests authorizations, so you are not left sorting out paperwork alone.
- Therapy where life happens. Sessions take place at home, at school with permission and in the community, mostly after school, with some daytime hours.
- Coverage Missouri families use. We accept MO HealthNet and all of its health plans, plus Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna.
Shining Steps is led by Founder and CEO Aron Stein, with Clinical Director Beth Wittwer and Lead BCBA Sora Lee guiding our clinical work.
Cities we serve
Regions and counties
We provide in-home ABA in two Missouri metro areas. There is no office to visit: our RBTs travel to homes, schools and community spots in each area, and our BCBAs meet families where therapy happens.
St. Louis area
St. Louis City and St. Louis County, including West County and North County, plus St. Charles County across the Missouri River.
Kansas City area
Kansas City, Missouri, and nearby communities in Jackson, Clay and Platte counties.
Live nearby but don’t see your town? Call us and we’ll tell you whether we can reach your home. We also serve families in Kansas and Iowa.
Helpful resources for families
These Missouri programs can help your family alongside ABA.
- Missouri First Steps: early intervention for children from birth to age 3 with developmental delays or a diagnosed condition, including autism. Referrals: (866) 583-2392, ext. 3.
- DMH Regional Offices: the Department of Mental Health’s Division of Developmental Disabilities handles eligibility and support coordination through regional offices. St. Louis County: (314) 587-4800. St. Louis City and St. Charles County: (314) 244-8800. Kansas City area: (816) 889-3400.
- Missouri Autism Projects: five regional projects funded by DMH that offer supports to families of children with an autism diagnosis. Requests start at your DMH regional office.
- Parents as Teachers: free, voluntary parent education and home visits for families from pregnancy until kindergarten, offered through your local school district.
- Missouri Family to Family: free one-on-one help from navigators with their own family experience of disability, covering public benefits, special education and planning ahead. (800) 444-0821.
- Behavior analyst licensing: Missouri licenses behavior analysts through the Behavior Analyst Advisory Board, and you can verify a license on the board’s website.
Common Questions
Yes. MO HealthNet covers ABA for members under 21 who have an autism diagnosis from a licensed physician or licensed psychologist whose evaluation recommends ABA. The assessment and treatment plan must be approved in advance by MO HealthNet or your child’s health plan. This applies whether your child has Healthy Blue, Home State Health, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, Show Me Healthy Kids or MO HealthNet without a health plan. Our intake team handles the approval requests for you.
All of them. We accept MO HealthNet and all of its health plans: Healthy Blue, Home State Health, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan and Show Me Healthy Kids. We also accept MO HealthNet without a health plan, plus Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna. Not sure which plan your child has? The plan name is on your child’s member ID card, or you can call us and we’ll help you sort it out.
ABA, or applied behavior analysis, teaches skills by breaking them into small steps and rewarding progress. At home, an RBT works one-on-one with your child during everyday routines like play, meals and getting ready for bed. A BCBA designs the plan, supervises the RBT and adjusts goals based on session data. Because therapy happens where your child lives, new skills are practiced in the same place they will be used.
You are a partner in your child’s program. You take part in regular caregiver training with your BCBA, where you learn the same strategies the RBT uses and practice them during the week. Missouri’s ABA rules expect every MO HealthNet treatment plan to include training and support for parents and caregivers. You also join regular progress meetings, so you always know what your child is working on and why.
You may be able to use both. Missouri First Steps serves children from birth to age 3 who have developmental delays or a diagnosed condition such as autism, and you can reach it at (866) 583-2392, ext. 3. If your toddler already has an autism diagnosis, MO HealthNet covers ABA at any age under 21. Call us and we’ll explain how the two can work side by side.
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.