Rethinking ABA: How Short-Term, Solution-Focused Support Can Help Your Student Thrive
- Alley Dezenhouse
- Jun 17
- 3 min read
Not every student needs long-term, intensive therapy. And not every family has the resources or funding to sustain it.

We’ve listened to the parents, educators, and clinicians navigating complex systems with shrinking budgets and growing needs. We’ve heard the frustration when funding gets slashed mid-program, or when a student is showing specific challenges that don’t require a 20-hour-a-week commitment.
That’s why we’re offering a different kind of ABA, one that’s targeted, time-bound, and solution-focused.
Let’s talk about how this model can make a meaningful difference.
What Is Short-Term, Solution-Focused ABA?
It’s exactly what it sounds like: structured, goal-oriented therapy that hones in on a specific challenge or area of support, over a short, clearly defined period of time.
Maybe your student is struggling with:
Social communication in group settings
Following multi-step directions at school
Emotional regulation during transitions
Foundational academic readiness (e.g., attention, early literacy behaviors)
Expressive language development in everyday routines
Instead of enrolling in a long-term plan that may feel overwhelming, short-term ABA helps build a plan around one need, not all of them.
This isn’t watered-down therapy; it’s intentional, focused, and research-supported. And it’s designed to move the needle in a specific direction.
Who Is This For?
This is for the student who doesn’t need (or want) a full-scale ABA program but still needs a boost in one area.
Students who have already made great gains but hit a specific plateau
Students with moderate support needs who don’t require intensive hours
Families whose OAP funding has been reduced or exhausted
Students who would benefit from short-term prep for school transitions
Those who need to re-establish or refresh certain skills after a break
It’s also a way to get support quickly, without the time and financial commitment that comes with traditional programs.
Reducing Barriers with Flexible Delivery
We know that geography, scheduling, and funding are some of the biggest reasons families go without services.
So we’ve built this program to be as flexible as possible:
In-person or virtual sessions are available
Short intake process, get started within days, not months
Clear timelines and goals up front, no open-ended commitment
Options to pause, wrap up, or extend based on real progress, not protocol
Teletherapy (virtual sessions) isn’t just a backup plan; it’s an intentional, effective option for students who benefit from working in their home environment or who live further from services. Our clinicians are trained to deliver engaging, responsive support online that still centers regulation, trust, and connection.
Affirming, Ethical, and Targeted
Our approach is trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming.
That means:
We don’t treat students as problems to fix, we support skills that unlock more comfort and capability
We work with the student, not on them
We’re transparent: You’ll know what we’re targeting, why, and what success looks like
This program is meant to support autonomy, not override it. Students are part of the process. So are families. You’ll never be in the dark about what we’re working on or how it connects to real-life success.
What Happens When the Program Ends?
You’ll walk away with:
Progress data and next steps
Home-based recommendations and strategies
A clear sense of whether more support is needed, or not
The option to return in the future for another round of solution-focused work
This isn’t about creating dependency. It’s about building skills. And when that’s the focus, short-term can still mean long-term impact.
Final Thought
Access shouldn’t be determined by how much therapy you can afford or how many hours your funding will allow. We believe in making good support more available to more students, and this program is one way we’re doing that.
If your student is facing a challenge that could use a clear, compassionate, and targeted intervention, we’re here to help.
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