When families in Sandy and the surrounding communities begin looking for ABA therapy, one of the most important things they want to know is what, specifically, a program offers — and whether it’s the kind of care that will actually fit their child. At Autism Centers of Utah, our Sandy center was built from the ground up to serve children with autism ages 2 through 12 with a comprehensive, center-based ABA program supported by Speech, Occupational, and Feeding therapists on the same team. Here’s a detailed look at what we offer and how the program works.
The ABA Program at Our Sandy Center
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the foundation of everything we do at Autism Centers of Utah. ABA is the most extensively researched intervention for autism, and it’s built on a straightforward principle: skills that are taught systematically and reinforced consistently tend to grow. Our ABA program is comprehensive, meaning it addresses multiple areas of development at once rather than targeting one skill in isolation. Depending on your child’s assessed needs, the program can run between 10 and 40 hours per week.
Every child’s program is designed and supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) — a master’s-level clinician who conducts assessments, develops treatment plans, and monitors progress through ongoing data review. Therapy is delivered by Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) who work directly with your child under BCBA supervision.
Early Childhood Intervention
For the youngest children in our program — typically ages 2 through 5 — early intervention is where the most significant and lasting gains tend to happen. The brain is particularly receptive to learning in these early years, and intensive ABA during this window can make an enormous difference in communication, social development, and behavioral flexibility.
Our Early Childhood Intervention program in Sandy is designed to meet very young children where they are. Sessions are structured to be engaging and developmentally appropriate, blending direct teaching with play-based learning. Goals are set across communication, social skills, self-care, and play, and the program builds systematically toward greater independence. Families with toddlers who have recently received a diagnosis — or who are in the process of pursuing one — often begin here. Our post on early autism services for toddlers offers a helpful overview for families at this stage.
In-Clinic ABA Sessions
The core of our program is center-based ABA delivered in our Sandy facility. Our 15,000-square-foot building was purpose-built for children with autism. It includes a full indoor playground, a turf room, an art room, dedicated sensory spaces, and a lunch area — and all of these spaces are woven into therapy, not separate from it.
A child’s day at Autism Centers of Utah typically moves through multiple environments and activity types. Some parts of the session involve structured one-on-one work with the RBT, where specific skills are introduced and practiced with clear prompting and reinforcement. Other parts happen in more naturalistic settings — the playground, art activities, or small group interactions — where those same skills are practiced in contexts that feel like real life.
This combination matters because a child who learns to greet a peer in a structured table session needs to also practice that greeting on the playground, at lunch, and during transitions. The center’s layout makes it possible to build that generalization naturally across the day.
Behavior Assessments
Before any ABA program begins, and periodically throughout, our BCBAs conduct formal behavior assessments. The initial assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of your child’s current skill levels across multiple domains: communication, social behavior, daily living skills, play, and any behaviors that are interfering with learning or quality of life.
Assessment tools may include standardized instruments like the VB-MAPP (Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program) or the ABLLS-R (Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills), as well as direct observation and parent interview. The goal is a complete, accurate picture of where your child is right now — not a label, but a map.
For families who have not yet received a formal autism diagnosis but are seeking one, Autism Centers of Utah can also conduct an ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) assessment. This allows families to access diagnostic clarity and begin the pathway to services without having to navigate multiple providers.
Reassessments happen on a regular schedule throughout the program so that treatment plans stay current and goals remain appropriately challenging as your child develops.
Behavior Support Plans
When a child has behaviors that significantly disrupt their learning or their safety — frequent tantrums, aggression, self-injury, or severe avoidance — a Behavior Support Plan (BSP) becomes an essential part of their ABA program.
A BSP is developed by the BCBA following a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), which investigates what function a challenging behavior is serving for the child. Behavior doesn’t happen randomly; it’s communicating something. A child who throws materials during a task might be communicating that the task is too hard, that they need a break, or that they want attention. Once the function is understood, the BSP identifies replacement behaviors to teach — more appropriate ways for the child to get the same need met — along with strategies for the team and for parents to respond consistently.
Behavior support is not about punishment. It’s about understanding what a child is trying to communicate and giving them better tools to do it.
Collaborative Care Under One Roof
What makes Autism Centers of Utah different from many ABA programs is that Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Feeding Therapy are offered on-site for ABA clients. These aren’t separate clinics with separate intake processes — they’re part of the same team, sharing the same building and the same communication channels.
Speech Therapy at our Sandy center addresses expressive and receptive language, articulation, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for children who benefit from communication supports beyond spoken words alone.
Occupational Therapy focuses on sensory processing, fine motor development, and the daily living skills that can be difficult for children with autism — tolerating textures, managing transitions, building the physical skills needed for self-care and school tasks.
Feeding Therapy supports children with picky eating and sensory-related food selectivity. Using gradual food exposure, sensory desensitization, and positive reinforcement, our feeding therapist helps children expand what they eat and make mealtimes less stressful for the whole family. This service is designed for children with sensory-based feeding challenges, not medical feeding disorders or swallowing conditions.
Because all of these therapists work in the same center and meet regularly, an insight from the Occupational Therapist about a child’s sensory sensitivities can directly inform how the BCBA structures transitions in the ABA program. For a detailed look at how these disciplines coordinate day to day, see our post on how ABA, Speech, OT, and Feeding Therapy work together. A communication goal from the Speech Therapist can be reinforced across ABA sessions the same week. This kind of daily coordination is genuinely hard to replicate when a family’s providers are scattered across different offices.
Insurance and Getting Started
Autism Centers of Utah is in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield and Utah Medicaid. Our team handles insurance verification and authorization as part of the intake process, so families aren’t navigating that paperwork alone. Please be aware that Tricare is not accepted at our center.
Getting started at our Sandy center follows a clear path: welcome call, insurance verification, a tour of the facility, onboarding and assessment, treatment plan development, and then the start of your child’s program. Our first visit page describes what families can expect when they come in, and our introductory post on getting started with autism therapy at Autism Centers of Utah walks through each step in detail. The process is designed to be thorough without being unnecessarily slow, because we know that families who’ve already waited months for a diagnosis are ready to begin moving forward.
Come See the Center
The best way to understand what Autism Centers of Utah offers is to walk through the building and meet the team. We invite families from Sandy, Draper, Riverton, and the surrounding area to schedule a tour before committing to anything. Call us at (385) 417-3869 to set up a welcome call and arrange your visit. We’re happy to answer questions, walk you through the facility, and talk through whether our program is the right fit for your child.