Autism care that helps every family flourish

Your child will benefit from a Developmental Care program designed with their unique strengths and needs in mind. We provide you with the support, knowledge, and skills to more closely connect with your child.

The outcome? Incredible growth and lasting joy.

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A New Model of Care

Children thrive with just 6-10 hours of weekly developmental care*

Traditional approaches attempt to fix problem behaviors. Developmental care goes deeper. We view all behavior as attempts to communicate. Each child is evaluated and listened to. Then our specialists work together to personalize a plan to help them prosper.

Learn more about our services

*Findings from the preliminary internal program evaluation for children with moderate complexity of support needs over a 10- to 16-month period of continuous care using data collected from 2021 to 2023. A comprehensive care plan is individualized to meet the unique profile and needs of each child with no guarantee of any specific outcome.

Care that considers all.
Covered by most major carriers and expanding all the time:

Locations in:
California, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Virginia

View our locations

Coverage is dependent on individual benefit packages. Please contact your insurance company to obtain specific coverage details regarding your plan.

Why Positive Development?

We offer personalized developmental care plans that treat the whole child, not single behaviors

Emotional Regulation

Finding the calm to process complex emotions

Communication

Initiating and maintaining meaningful interactions and conversations

Social Engagement

Building real relationships based on shared interest and connection

Daily Living

Developing physical capacities for independence

Developmental Care harnesses the power of play

Play with purpose

The delays observed in neurodivergent children often relate to challenges expressing their needs. Developmental Care unlocks expression by meeting the child where their beautiful imaginations shine. At their level. On the floor.

You get the playbook

Your involvement in your child's care is vital. Our Developmental Paraprofessionals and clinicians guide you through your child's development and empower you with the right tools to help you best support your child.

What our families have to say

We call it pure joy in progress

"I feel like they gave our child back to us. We don’t have to worry that he’ll be in intensive hours of learning with providers without us. He gets to be home and he gets to be playing with us. It makes us really happy to know that this is his life. These are going to be his memories of his childhood."

"I didn't know that I was looking for tools for myself. I learned how to be the kind of mom he needs. I learned to be his safe space. And I wasn't expecting that. And maybe I should have been looking for that and I didn't even know to look for it, but it was so necessary and I'm so grateful for it."

"They understand that [people with autism] don’t need to change because they have a different neurotype. There just needs to be support and accommodations wherever they need them to continue their progress in their development."

The Developmental Difference

Our model of care is built on the principle of meeting each child where they are

Who are the best candidates for your therapeutic services?

All children and adolescents with an autism diagnosis can benefit from individualized, developmental intervention, as well as all parents and caregivers who:

• believe in a respectful model who will meet their child where they are

• embrace the power of play

• understand and respect the importance that being an available part of the team plays in helping their child benefit from our services.

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What is my role (as a parent/caregiver) in my child’s developmental therapy?

You are a crucial component of your child’s developmental therapy, which can sound overwhelming. But at Positive Development, we support and empower parents and caregivers so you can further support your children.

Our coaching and education services help you understand the “why” behind how your child or teen behaves so that you no longer feel confused, frustrated, or locked out. You can build a stronger connection with them and help them at home with therapy goals via everyday interactions in fun, simple ways. When both parents and our team are helping our clients progress, it happens much faster and leads to what we call “generalization,” where your child isn’t just exhibiting a certain action or behavior for their coach during sessions, but they can also do it at meal time, bath time, and out in the community.

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What insurance do you accept?

Positive Development works with most major insurance carriers in an effort to provide as much access to our services as possible. Coverage is dependent on individual benefit packages. Please contact your insurance company to obtain specific coverage details regarding your plan.

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In Southern California

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Culver City

Aetna
Anthem Blue Cross of California
Blue Shield of California
Magellan
Optum / United Healthcare

Westside Regional Center

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Our services are not covered by Medicaid or Tricare at this time.

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Long Beach

Aetna
Anthem Blue Cross of California
Blue Shield of California
Magellan
Optum / United Healthcare

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Our services are not covered by Medicaid or Tricare at this time.

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Los Angeles—Whittier

Aetna
Anthem Blue Cross of California
Blue Shield of California
Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center (ELARC)
Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center (FDLRC)
Magellan
Optum / United Healthcare

San Gabriel Pomona Regional Center (SGPRC)
Westside Regional Center

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Our services are not covered by Medicaid or Tricare at this time.

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Northridge

Aetna
Anthem Blue Cross of California
Blue Shield of California
Magellan
Optum / United Healthcare

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Our services are not covered by Medicaid or Tricare at this time.

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Pasadena

Aetna
Anthem Blue Cross of California
Blue Shield of California
Magellan
Optum / United Healthcare
Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center
Tri-Counties Regional Center (TCRC)
Westside Regional Center

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Our services are not covered by Medicaid or Tricare at this time.

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‍San Diego

Aetna
Anthem Blue Cross of California
Blue Shield of California
Magellan
Optum / United Healthcare
San Diego Regional Center

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Our services are not covered by Medicaid or Tricare at this time.

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In Florida

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Fort Lauderdale

Aetna
Florida Blue
Optum / United Healthcare
Step Up for Students Scholarship

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Our services are not covered by Medicaid or Tricare at this time.

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In Illinois

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Bucktown

Medicaid / All Kids
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois
Centene Ambetter Exchange
Centene Meridian
County Care
Early Intervention

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Deerfield

Medicaid / All Kids
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois
Centene Ambetter Exchange
Centene Meridian
County Care
Early Intervention
Youthcare

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Hyde Park

Medicaid / All Kids
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois
Centene Ambetter Exchange
Centene Meridian
County Care
Early Intervention
Youthcare

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Metro East

Medicaid / All Kids
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois
Centene Ambetter Exchange
Centene Meridian
County Care
Early Intervention
Youthcare

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In New Jersey

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Cherry Hill

Aetna
Fidelis Care
Horizon NJ Health
Medicaid
Optum / United Healthcare
Wellpoint

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Lakewood

Aetna
Fidelis Care
Horizon NJ Health
Medicaid
Optum / United Healthcare
Wellpoint

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Hackensack

Aetna
Fidelis Care
Horizon NJ Health
Medicaid
Optum / United Healthcare
Wellpoint

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Hamilton

Aetna
Fidelis Care
Horizon NJ Health
Medicaid
Optum / United Healthcare
Wellpoint

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Newark

Aetna
Fidelis Care
Horizon NJ Health
Medicaid
Optum / United Healthcare
Wellpoint

‍New Brunswick

Aetna
Fidelis Care
Horizon NJ Health
Medicaid
Optum / United Healthcare
Wellpoint

Parsippany

Aetna
Fidelis Care
Horizon NJ Health
Medicaid
Optum / United Healthcare
Wellpoint

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‍In Maryland

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Bethesda

Care First

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Our services are not covered by Medicaid or Tricare at this time.

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Greenbelt

CareFirst

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Our services are not covered by Medicaid at this time.

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In Virginia

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Northern Virginia

Care First

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Our services are not covered by Medicaid at this time.

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In District of Columbia

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Washington DC

Care First

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Our services are not covered by Medicaid at this time.

How is developmental therapy different from ABA?

The short explanation is that Traditional ABA focuses on specific behaviors, while DRBI focuses on the whole person.

Traditional Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), which has historically been the primary therapy offered for people on the autism spectrum, teaches skills to gain desired behaviors through reinforcement. Traditional ABA focuses on observable behaviors and aims to help patients meet predetermined developmental goals vs. individualistic goals.

Developmental Relationship-Based Intervention (DRBI) looks beyond specific (and often stereotyped) behaviors like aggression, rigidity, and withdrawal to understand and address the neurodevelopmental challenges beneath the surface. These challenges may include motor planning, emotional self-regulation, sensory sensitivity, learning disabilities, and speech delays.

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Can you help my child or teen who has multiple diagnoses (e.g., autism and ADHD, autism and learning disabilities)?

Yes, it is common for our clients to have multiple diagnoses.

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Do we need a diagnosis before we have an evaluation?

In most instances, insurance companies require that your child or teen has an autism diagnosis prior to having an evaluation with Positive Development. Your Care Coordinator can help you determine if your insurance company requires it.

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Do I need a referral to obtain your services?

We do not require a referral for our services, but some insurance policies require them. Your Care Coordinator can help you determine if this is true for your insurance plan.

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Autism care that helps every family flourish

Children thrive with just 6-10 hours of weekly developmental care*

Care that considers all.
Covered by most major carriers and expanding all the time: