Alpaca Health matches Colorado Springs families with independent BCBAs including BCBAs based right here in the city. Get in-home ABA therapy across Colorado Springs or telehealth anywhere in Colorado. We accept Health First Colorado Medicaid and private insurance, we do not run a waitlist, and most families know their coverage and match options within days.
Clinically reviewed by
Samantha Ridout, M.Phil., BCBA, LBA-NYS· BACB certification #1-22-57709 · Last updated August 2026
Accepted insurance
Choose your Colorado Springs BCBA for your child
Irmelle I. Norvil, M.S., QBA, LBA, is the founder and owner of INN Behavioral Centers Inc., delivering individualized, culturally responsive ABA therapy and hands-on parent training for children ages 2 to 12 across North Carolina, Texas, and Colorado.
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Dr. Lisa Drumb, PhD, BCBA, LBA, is a clinical leader and educator with over a decade of experience in Applied Behavior Analysis and special education. She serves as Vice President of Clinical Operations and teaches ABA at Capella University, where she mentors future behavior analysts.
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Ashlee Ramirez is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with nine years of experience working with individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities, especially the autism community, across a wide range of ages.
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Jacquelyn (Jackie) Heslep is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, a Colorado native, and a mother to two autistic children. She is also proud to be an autistic BCBA, which gives her a unique understanding of what it means to parent neurodiverse children and to live a neurodiverse life.
Book a consultationView profileCecilia Madiedo is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and the founder of Cosmic Behavior Therapy. She began in the field of ABA in 2014 at the University of Florida, conducting functional analysis research under Dr.
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Amari Major is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over five years of experience in ABA therapy, clinical program development, and team supervision across home, school, clinic, and telehealth settings.
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Nicole Parks is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a leader at Illuma Behavioral Health, where she helps guide a parent-first approach to autism therapy.
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Gretchen Smith Vazquez is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and the founder of Cairn Behavioral Health. After years working in public education, she founded Cairn to offer more responsive, relationship-centered support for children and young adults with behavioral needs.
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Cierra Haynes is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, a co-founder, and a clinical leader at Illuma Behavioral Health, specializing in early intervention and parent coaching. With dual licensure in Mississippi and Tennessee, she has helped hundreds of families turn everyday moments into opportunities for growth.
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Dan Zaves is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who has worked with children on the autism spectrum and with developmental disabilities for 20 years.
Book a consultationView profileABA therapy options for Colorado Springs families
In-school and in-daycare ABA: therapy integrated into your child's daily routine
Virtual ABA therapy: BCBA-coached telehealth sessions from home
Autism evaluations: ADOS-2 diagnostic assessments, coverage verified first
Parent training: twice-monthly Family Guidance sessions with your child's BCBA
Which setting fits your family? Tell us during signup and we will say plainly what is available at your address. Most families start with in-home ABA therapy, and Virtual ABA therapy reaches any Colorado address the same week.
How ABA therapy works through Alpaca Health
Four simple steps from your first form to your first session. No waitlists, no phone tag, no guesswork.
1
Tell us about your child
Start with our short intake form. You share the basics: your child's age, your availability, your insurance, and any autism diagnosis you already have. That is all we need to understand where your family is starting from.
2
We verify your insurance
After you submit the form, we verify your insurance and follow up within one business day to confirm the details. No long waits, no phone tag.
3
Get matched with the right provider
We match you with a licensed provider who has availability now, not months from now. Prefer someone specific? Tell us, and we will try to make it work. Either way, the fit is built around your child's needs and your family's schedule.
4
Start care the same week
We introduce you directly to your provider, and they take it from there. Most families have their first meeting or assessment within the same week, whether that is in-home ABA therapy or a telehealth session.
We accept most insurance providers and handle verification, prior authorization, and paperwork.
Don't see your plan? Check all accepted insurances
Alpaca Health accepts the plans shown above, and we confirm your exact benefits before you commit to anything. Families who want the coverage mechanics in more depth can read about Medicaid ABA in Colorado Springs.
What Alpaca Health's data shows about ABA care in Colorado
Every number below comes from the sessions, claims, and prior authorizations that partner clinics ran on Alpaca Health between August 2024 and August 2026. It describes families served by those clinics, not the ABA market in Colorado.
Families who owed nothing
94.5%
Share of Colorado families whose settled claims carried no patient responsibility. Health First Colorado covers patient responsibility by plan design, so this reflects how those plans are written.
Alpaca Health partner-clinic caseload, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026. 513 families across 34 clinics.
Median owed per hour of therapy, commercial plans
$0
Patient responsibility owed per delivered hour for Colorado families on commercial plans. Three in five owed nothing at all. Middle half of families: $0 to $5.10.
Alpaca Health partner-clinic caseload, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026. 67 families across 21 clinics.
On Health First Colorado
85.9%
Share of Colorado families at partner clinics whose primary payer is Colorado Medicaid. TRICARE West Region covers another 4.9 percent.
Alpaca Health partner-clinic caseload, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026. 531 families across 37 clinics.
Median days to a payer decision
18.5
Days from the moment a partner clinic submits a prior authorization to the moment the payer approves or denies it. More than half of decisions took longer than 14 days. Middle half of requests: 12 to 27 days.
Alpaca Health partner-clinic caseload, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026. 618 families across 37 clinics.
How Colorado prior authorizations ended
- Approved76.9%
- Withdrawn before a decision15%
- Still awaiting a decision4.4%
Share of prior authorization requests by outcome. Outcome groups with too few families behind them are not shown, so these shares do not add to 100. 501 families across 36 clinics.
Where therapy hours were delivered in Colorado
- At home57.2%
- In a clinic office18.7%
- By telehealth9.4%
- At school9%
- Other settings5.6%
Share of delivered therapy hours by the place of service billed on each signed session note. Alpaca Health partner-clinic caseload, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026.
Families who had at least one telehealth session
83.5%
Telehealth is a small share of total hours in Colorado, and most families used it at least once. It fills gaps around illness, weather, and travel rather than replacing in-person work.
Alpaca Health partner-clinic caseload, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026. 516 families across 36 clinics.
These figures describe clients of Alpaca Health partner ABA clinics, on the payers Alpaca Health contracts with. They are not measurements of the ABA market in Colorado. A figure appears only when at least 25 families from at least 3 clinics sit behind it.
Start ABA therapy nowGetting an autism diagnosis in Colorado Springs
Neither private insurance nor Health First Colorado will authorize ABA therapy until a doctor or psychologist has made a medical autism diagnosis, so this step comes before everything else.
Start with Alpaca Health
Alpaca Health offers an ADOS-2 evaluation with no waitlist for children of all ages, the medical diagnosis private insurance, TRICARE, and Health First Colorado require. Coverage is verified first.
Start your evaluationUnder age 3
The Resource Exchange is the Early Intervention provider for El Paso, Park, and Teller counties, and evaluates birth to three at no cost. Anyone can refer at 719-577-9190.
Age 3 and up
Whole Kids Co. tests with the ADOS-2 and accepts Health First Colorado. Central Focus Psychological Group pairs the ADOS-2 with the SRS-2 and evaluates children, teens, and adults.
Recent Colorado policy changes
The 2025 Early Intervention funding story
- The proposal: In early 2025 the Colorado Department of Early Childhood proposed temporary Early Intervention limits.
- The reversal: Public pushback paused the changes within days.
- The fix: SB25-227, signed April 28, 2025, reallocated funding for the program.
What this means for your family today
- Nothing was cut: The proposed limits were never implemented, and the free under-3 evaluation remains.
- ABA was not involved: Colorado's insurance mandate and the Health First Colorado ABA benefit were untouched.
- Plan ahead: Check current state guidance each year.
Local programs and organizations that support families alongside ABA therapy.
Early Intervention (IDEA Part C) evaluations and services for children birth to age 3 with developmental delays.
Public school district serving local families. Contact for IEP and special education accommodation support.
Free 24/7 phone, text, and chat support for anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Call or text 988.
Free 24/7 crisis and mental health support for Colorado residents, including mobile crisis response. Call or text 988.
Why independent clinics matter
In-home ABA that fits your life
- The providers we work with bring therapy to you, wherever your child is most comfortable.
- That might mean home, daycare, school, or virtual sessions. Our flexible care model ensures that therapy integrates into your family’s daily routine, rather than disrupting it.
- Our network is made up of independent, local clinicians who prioritize collaboration, not control, so you stay in charge of your child’s care.
Support for the full pediatric age range
- Many ABA centers stop care when a child turns 8. Not us. We support the full pediatric age range, toddlers to age 21.
- Your child deserves more than short-term support. With Alpaca Health, they can build a long-term relationship with a provider who understands their growth over time and adapts care as their needs evolve.
- We also support your whole family with educational events and resources, including parent webinars, advocacy toolkits, and grant guides.
More care. Less wait.
- Waiting months for ABA shouldn’t be the norm. At Alpaca Health, we help families connect with the right provider in just a few days.
- We work exclusively with independent providers, which allows us to stay flexible and waitlist-free. That means faster assessments, quicker treatment starts, and the end of years-long waits.
- Ready to get started? We’ll handle the paperwork, help coordinate referrals, and walk you through every step.
Does Health First Colorado cover ABA therapy in Colorado Springs?
Yes. Health First Colorado covers ABA therapy for members under 21 through its Pediatric Behavioral Therapies benefit, based on medical necessity, with no annual dollar cap. In El Paso County your authorization runs through Colorado Community Health Alliance.
Coverage is rarely the hard part in Colorado Springs. Finding a provider who clearly takes the plan and has room is, so start your match here.
What does TRICARE require before ABA therapy starts?
TRICARE covers ABA through the Autism Care Demonstration, which is authorized to run through December 31, 2028. Your child needs an autism diagnosis from a TRICARE-approved provider, and that provider sends a referral to TriWest Healthcare Alliance for authorization before therapy begins.
Active duty families also enroll in their branch's Exceptional Family Member Program and in the Extended Care Health Option. Alpaca Health handles the authorization paperwork on your behalf.
Who can diagnose autism in Colorado Springs?
Children can get an ADOS-2 evaluation through Alpaca Health with no waitlist, and the result is the medical diagnosis insurance, TRICARE, and Health First Colorado require.
For children under three, The Resource Exchange evaluates at no cost as the Part C Early Intervention provider for El Paso County. For older children, local psychology practices including Whole Kids Co. and Central Focus Psychological Group test with the ADOS-2.
At Alpaca Health, we provide ABA therapy throughout the greater Colorado Springs area, serving families in the city’s core neighborhoods as well as surrounding communities. Whether you live near Downtown Colorado Springs, Broadmoor, Briargate, Northgate, Stetson Hills, Pine Creek, or other nearby neighborhoods and suburbs, our team can bring personalized therapy directly to you: in-home, at school or daycare, or through telehealth when needed.
Our services cover the full Colorado Springs region and are delivered by local providers who work closely with your family to ensure care is convenient and tailored to your child’s needs.
