Alpaca Health matches Dallas families with independent BCBAs you can meet by name on this page: DFW clinicians based in Coppell, Rowlett, Arlington, and Fort Worth who come to your home across the metroplex, with telehealth anywhere in Texas. We accept 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 July 2026
Accepted insurance:
Meet the BCBAs serving Dallas
Connie L. Green, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA, is the founder of Thrive and Shine ABA Services in Coppell, Texas, where she supports children, teens, and adults in home, community, and transitional settings. She focuses on young adults building independence.
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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: insurance-covered ADOS-2 assessments
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 Dallas families start with in-home ABA therapy, because a BCBA working in your kitchen and living room sees the routines a clinic room never shows.
Distance is the other thing to weigh in a metro this size. A session that means crossing the metroplex at 4pm is a session families end up cancelling, so virtual ABA therapy reaches any Texas address in the same week and keeps the schedule intact.
There is no Alpaca Health clinic in Dallas. Some independent clinicians in our network see children in their own space, so ask about in-clinic time during matching. School-day support runs through in-school ABA therapy once your district agrees to it.
We accept most insurance providers and handle verification, prior authorization, and paperwork.
Don't see your plan? Check all accepted insurances
Dallas County sits inside the Dallas service area for Texas Medicaid managed care, along with Collin, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro, and Rockwall counties. The name printed on your child's card decides who authorizes ABA therapy, and that name changes with the program.
- Regular STAR Medicaid runs through three plans here: Texas lists Molina Healthcare of Texas, Parkland Community Health Plan, and Wellpoint as the STAR options for this service area.
- STAR Kids runs through only two: Aetna Better Health and Wellpoint cover children and young adults with disabilities here, so a child moving from STAR to STAR Kids can land with a new plan and a new authorization team.
- A CHIP card is not a Medicaid card: The same plan names appear on Dallas CHIP cards, and CHIP does not cover ABA therapy, so check which program the card is for before you assume anything.
- Ask every provider the Medicaid question first: Action Behavior Centers, the largest center chain in this market, states on its own site that Medicaid is not accepted in Texas at this time.
Alpaca Health accepts Texas Medicaid and private insurance, and we confirm your exact benefits before you commit to anything. For what families pay under each type of coverage, see ABA therapy costs in Texas.
ABA therapy insurance and Medicaid in Texas
Texas has two separate coverage tracks for ABA therapy, and the rules change depending on which one you are on. Here is how each track treats ABA.
Whichever track your family is on, Alpaca Health verifies your coverage during signup, confirms what your plan requires, and matches you with a BCBA who works with it.
Related reading: ABA that accepts insurance.
Track 1: private and employer insurance
Texas law, Insurance Code Section 1355.015, requires state-regulated group health plans to cover autism screening, diagnosis, and treatment, including ABA therapy.
- Screening: plans must cover autism screening at 18 and 24 months.
- Timing rule: the diagnosis must be in place before your child's 10th birthday. Once it is, coverage has no upper age limit.
- Dollar limits: Texas sets no cap on ABA coverage under age 10. From age 10 on, a plan may apply an annual ABA maximum of $36,000.
- Self-funded exemption: many large employers self-fund their plans, which follow federal law instead. Ask HR whether your plan is fully insured or self-funded. Fully insured plans follow the Texas mandate.
Track 2: Texas Medicaid
Texas Medicaid has covered ABA therapy since February 1, 2022 through Texas Health Steps, its benefit program for members age 20 and younger. Your child needs an autism diagnosis to qualify.
- No dollar cap: coverage follows medical necessity, and the recommended hours are based on what your child needs.
- Prior authorization: it is required, and your provider prepares and submits that paperwork, not you.
- CHIP works differently: Texas CHIP does not cover ABA. It still covers other therapies, including speech and occupational therapy.
Getting an autism diagnosis in Dallas
Neither private insurance nor Texas Medicaid will authorize ABA therapy until a doctor or psychologist has made a medical autism diagnosis, so this step comes before everything else.
Dallas has more evaluation options than almost anywhere else in Texas, and the right one comes down to your child's age, the plan on your card, and how much of a team you want involved. Some families do better with a full hospital evaluation, others with a single practice they can reach by phone. The three routes below cover where most Dallas families start.
Insurance-covered ADOS-2 with Alpaca Health
Alpaca Health offers a insurance-covered ADOS-2 diagnostic evaluation with no waitlist. The result is the medical diagnosis private insurance and Texas Medicaid require, and families can begin the evaluation and the BCBA match in the same week rather than finishing one before starting the other.
Start free diagnosisUnder 3: Early Childhood Intervention
Early Childhood Intervention serves children from birth to 36 months, and in Dallas County it runs through Metrocare Services and The Warren Center. The Warren Center also does developmental and autism assessments for this age group at its Richardson, Garland, and Irving clinics, and it takes referrals at 972-490-9055. Anyone can refer a child, and no diagnosis is needed first.
Age 3 and up: hospital teams and private practices
The UT Southwestern and Children's Health Center for Autism Care evaluates with a team pulled from psychology, speech-language pathology, psychiatry, and neurology, and it is referral-gated: your pediatrician completes a referral form and faxes it to 214-867-5389. Established Dallas psychology and testing practices assess toddlers through teens with the ADOS-2 and can often book sooner.
How to choose and what to expect
- Confirm the age range before you book: Some Dallas practices only evaluate toddlers and preschoolers, and others do not start until school age.
- Confirm the practice takes your exact plan: A practice that says it takes Medicaid may still not be contracted with the specific plan printed on your card.
- Ask whether a referral is required: Hospital-based programs in Dallas generally need a pediatrician referral on file, while private practices frequently do not.
- Join more than one list: Waits here run long enough that families routinely hold two appointments and keep whichever one comes up first.
- Know what a school evaluation does: Dallas ISD and the other districts inside the city will evaluate at no cost, and that establishes special education eligibility rather than the medical diagnosis insurance and Texas Medicaid require.
How autism diagnosis works in Texas
Insurance and Medicaid both require a confirmed medical autism diagnosis before they approve ABA therapy. Where you start depends on your child's age.
Under age 3: start with ECI
Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) is the statewide program for children from birth to 36 months with developmental delays or disabilities. A delay of at least 25% in one or more areas can qualify your child.
- Anyone can refer: you, your pediatrician, or another caregiver can make an ECI referral. No doctor's order or diagnosis is needed.
- The evaluation is free: ECI is separate from school services, which begin at age 3.
Age 3 and up: two routes
- School route: under Child Find, districts evaluate children with suspected disabilities at no cost through a Full Individual and Initial Evaluation (FIE). It can qualify your child for special education and an Individualized Education Program (IEP), but it is an educational determination, not a medical diagnosis.
- Medical route: a developmental pediatrician, child psychologist, or psychiatrist diagnoses using structured tools such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2). This is the diagnosis insurance and Medicaid require.
- Use both: the school evaluation opens support during the school day, and the medical diagnosis opens therapy coverage. Appointments take time to get, so join both lists early.
Neighborhoods and communities we serve in Dallas
Alpaca Health does not operate a clinic in Dallas, and we will not pretend otherwise. In-home ABA therapy means the BCBA travels to you, so the service area follows where our clinicians live and drive rather than where a building sits. Telehealth covers every Texas address, which in a metro this size is often the difference between a session happening and a session getting cancelled.
Where in-home matching reaches
- Northwest side and the Coppell corridor: Northwest Dallas, Preston Hollow, and the Love Field area, continuing out through Irving and Coppell.
- East side toward Rowlett: Lake Highlands, White Rock, Casa Linda, and Pleasant Grove, then out to Garland and Rowlett, home to another of our clinicians.
- Southern Dallas and the mid-cities: Oak Cliff, Bishop Arts, and Red Bird, reaching Grand Prairie and Arlington.
- North along the Central Expressway: Far North Dallas and Vickery Meadow, up into Richardson and Plano.
Which school district your child is in
Dallas ISD covers most of the city, but it is not the only district inside the city limits. Richardson ISD serves Lake Highlands and the neighborhoods around it, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD reaches part of northwest Dallas, Highland Park ISD covers a small pocket north of downtown, and Garland ISD picks up a slice of the far northeast. Your address decides which district runs a school evaluation and writes the IEP, so confirm that before you start making calls.
Recent Texas policy changes
Two Texas Medicaid ABA changes took effect in 2025, and both work in families' favor. Neither one cuts coverage.
April 2025: simpler renewal paperwork
Medicaid ABA runs on authorization periods: an initial therapy plan, then extensions roughly every 90 days. Effective April 1, 2025, Texas simplified the extension paperwork. The prescribing provider's signature is no longer required on 90-day extension requests, only on the initial plan.
Your provider files these forms, so the change you may notice is fewer delays between authorization periods.
September 2025: higher Medicaid payment rates
Effective September 1, 2025, Texas raised what Medicaid pays providers for ABA services. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) adopted the increase after a public rate hearing, and the current amounts live in the HHSC rate tables.
Payment rates shape your options. When Medicaid pays providers enough to sustain care, more of them can serve Medicaid families, and over time that can mean shorter waits and more choices near you.
Both changes build on a benefit that is still young. Texas Medicaid only began covering ABA in February 2022, the last state to add it, and the 2025 updates point toward a program that is settling in rather than pulling back.
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.
Local programs and organizations that support families alongside ABA therapy.
Therapy, skills training, and parent coaching for children birth to 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.
24/7 crisis services for residents of Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro, and Rockwall Counties experiencing mental health or substance use emergencies.
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, 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, 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.
Which Medicaid plans cover ABA therapy in Dallas?
Coverage runs through Texas Health Steps. In the Dallas service area, STAR members are enrolled with Molina Healthcare of Texas, Parkland Community Health Plan, or Wellpoint, and STAR Kids members are with Aetna Better Health or Wellpoint.
Most Dallas families get stuck at the next step, which is finding a provider who takes the plan. Alpaca Health does, so start your match here.
Which BCBAs would come to my home in Dallas?
Our BCBAs live around the metroplex in Coppell, Rowlett, Arlington, and Fort Worth, and they drive to Dallas homes instead of asking you to drive to a center.
Which clinician you get depends on who has openings in the month you sign up, and telehealth covers any Texas address if the driving does not work out. We tell you which one applies to your address at signup rather than after you have filled out paperwork.
How do I get my child tested for autism in Dallas?
Children can get an insurance-covered ADOS-2 evaluation through Alpaca Health with no waitlist, and the result is the medical diagnosis insurance and Texas Medicaid require.
For children under 3, Early Childhood Intervention through Metrocare Services or The Warren Center is the usual entry point. For older children, the UT Southwestern and Children's Health Center for Autism Care needs a pediatrician referral, and private Dallas psychology practices test with the ADOS-2.
