ABA for ages 13–18 · Utah & Ohio

ABA isn’t just for little kids. It grows up with them.

Teen-focused ABA therapy that takes your adolescent seriously. We build independence, executive function, peer-level social skills, and a real plan for the years after high school — with goals your teen actually wants to work on.

Schedule a teen consult Call (888) 989-5011
13–18
Ages we serve
1:1
Therapist ratio
$0
For most families
Now booking
Teen track openings
Goal areas
Independence · Social · Future
Why a teen-specific track

Most ABA stops looking like it fits around age twelve. It doesn’t have to.

Parents tell us the same story. The early-intervention years were full of options. Then the gap years started — the worksheets felt babyish, the tokens stopped working, and the team that knew their child aged out of the model. On Target ABA built a track that picks up exactly there. The science is still ABA. The materials, goals, and conversations are written for a teenager.

Goals your teen helped pick

Adolescents don’t buy in to programs they had no say in. We sit down with your teen — not just the parents — and write goals around the life they actually want.

Age-appropriate materials

No more cartoon stickers. Sessions use real-world tasks — phone scripts, bus routes, job-shadow checklists, calendars, peer-group chats.

Peers, not just adults

Social skills only matter if they generalize to people your teen’s age. We build practice into group sessions, community outings, and structured peer interaction.

Executive function as the spine

Planning, time management, task initiation, and follow-through — the skills most teen IEPs gesture at but rarely train. We make these the backbone of the program.

Hours that respect school

After-school, weekend, and in-home blocks. We don’t pull teens out of class to do ABA — the program works around the schedule they’ve earned.

A real exit plan

From day one we’re working toward fewer hours, not more. Every quarter we map progress against the transition-to-adulthood goals your family set.

The teen track, in four pillars

Independence, executive function, social, and a plan for after.

Every teen on our caseload has goals across these four pillars. The mix is different for every family — some kids need most of the work in social, others in self-care or self-advocacy. Your BCBA writes the plan with you and your teen.

Pillar 01

Independence & daily living

Cooking a real meal. Doing laundry without prompting. Managing personal hygiene as a teenager — not as a child. Handling money, ordering food, riding transit, keeping a room livable. Every skill is taught with fading prompts so your teen owns it.

Pillar 02

Executive function

Breaking a big assignment into steps. Starting hard tasks without melting down. Managing a calendar, a backpack, a paycheck. We build the scaffolding teens are told they should already have — and then we fade ourselves out so the scaffolding becomes theirs.

Pillar 03

Social communication with peers

Reading group dynamics. Handling teasing without shutting down. Asking someone to hang out. Texting back. Knowing when a conversation is over. Practiced in structured groups, then generalized to school, work, and community settings.

Pillar 04

Transition to adulthood

Self-advocacy in IEP meetings. Disclosing or not disclosing a diagnosis at work. Job-shadow checklists. Interview practice with real feedback. Filling out forms. Asking for accommodations. The skills that decide whether the next five years feel like progress or limbo.

Reframe

You haven’t missed the window. The teen years are the window.

ABA in adolescence is different from early intervention — not worse, not too late. It’s the last stretch of structured support before independent adulthood, which is exactly when most families need it most. If your teen is 13, 16, or 17, you still have time. The work just looks different now.

Start the conversation (888) 989-5011
A real week, not a brochure

What 10 hours a week actually looks like.

Most teen plans land between 8 and 15 hours. Here’s a typical 10-hour week for a 15-year-old splitting time between our center and home — written by their BCBA, agreed to by them, and adjusted every quarter.

  • Goals are co-written with your teen, not handed to them
  • Sessions blend center, home, and community settings
  • Parent / caregiver coaching is built in — not extra
  • Quarterly reviews map progress against the four pillars
Mon
3:30 – 5:30 PM · In-center

Executive function block: planner check, breaking down a school project into tasks, starting the hardest one with the timer rolling.

Wed
4:00 – 6:00 PM · Peer group

Small group with two other teens. Today: navigating a disagreement, then a 20-minute board game where the goal is staying engaged when losing.

Fri
4:30 – 6:30 PM · Community

Grocery run with a real budget and a real list. Self-checkout. Ordering at the counter. Riding back. Debrief on what felt hard and what didn’t.

Sat
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM · In-home

Independence block: laundry start to finish, lunch prep, room reset. Parent coaching for the last 20 minutes so the prompts stay consistent during the week.

What families say

Real parents. Real names. No paid quotes.

“This is a phenomenal ABA center. Everyone at the center is really kind and patient with my son. I have seen a huge improvement with him. I’m truly grateful for everyone at On Target. Thank you.”
— Andreana Tadaj
“Very professional staff who are very knowledgeable about Autism. Highly recommend to any parent who wants excellent therapy for their child.”
— D. M.
“My son is a level 3 autistic. He has improved SO much here! He even found 2 of the therapists he really loves making him want to come to school.”
— Carmen E.
“The therapists are so warm and really knowledgeable.”
— A. D.
Common questions from teen parents

Questions parents of teens actually ask us.

Isn’t my teen too old for ABA?

No. ABA is appropriate through age 18 (and beyond in many states). What changes is the content. We’re not running discrete-trial drills on colors and shapes — we’re teaching budgeting, peer communication, self-advocacy, and executive function. The framework is still ABA. The goals fit the age.

My teen doesn’t want therapy. Will this work?

That’s the most common starting point we see. Our first sessions aren’t therapy — they’re a conversation. Your teen tells us what they want help with, what they don’t, and what feels embarrassing. Buy-in comes from being treated as a partner, not a project. We’d rather start slow and earn it than push a plan your teen will quietly check out of.

How is this different from a social-skills group at school?

School groups are usually 30 minutes a week, large, and led by whoever has the period free. Our teen track is 1:1 with a trained behavior technician, supervised by a BCBA, with measurable goals, data collection, and a written plan that updates every quarter. School groups can be a great complement — they don’t replace targeted programming.

Will this interfere with school, homework, and a part-time job?

We work around your teen’s schedule, not the other way around. Most plans land in after-school, evening, weekend, and in-home blocks. Many families combine center sessions during the week with a longer in-home block on Saturday. If your teen has a job, we treat that job as a goal — not a competitor.

Does insurance cover ABA for a 16- or 17-year-old?

In most cases, yes. Coverage rules vary by state and plan, but Utah and Ohio both mandate ABA coverage well into adolescence. We verify benefits on your first call and tell you exactly what your out-of-pocket will be before anything starts. For most families on our caseload, the answer is $0.

Get started

Tell us about your teen. We’ll take it from there.

Two minutes to fill out, one phone call to walk through. We’ll verify insurance, talk through scheduling, and have your teen’s first appointment on the calendar before the week is out.

Loading the pre-intake form…
The next step

Your teen’s next chapter starts with one call.

No long forms, no waitlist, no “we’ll get back to you in two weeks.” Most families start within 72 hours and pay $0 out of pocket. We’d love to meet your family.

Schedule a teen consult Call (888) 989-5011

Mon–Fri, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM · Utah & Ohio