Q: Will my insurance cover my child's treatment?
A: Indiana State law, IC 27-8-14.2, Health Insurance Mandate for Autism, requires certain health insurance plans to cover treatment for autism spectrum disorders. This law covers HMOs, group and individual plans that are regulated under state, as opposed to federal, law. To find out if your child is covered, you must find out if your health insurance plan is regulated under Indiana State Law. Our insurance coordinator can assist you with this.
ABA is one of the treatments that is covered under this mandate.
To view the text of the law, go here, choose the "Indiana Code" tab, and then scroll down to Title 27. Insurance. On the next page, select Article 8. Life, Accident and Health. On the next page, select Chapter 14.2. Insurance Coverage for Pervasive Developmental Disorders.
To view the Indiana Department of Insurance (IDOI) Bulletin on the Health Insurance Mandate for Autism, download the document here: Bulletin 136 PDF
Little Star Center hosts periodic Health Insurance Workshops with Michele Trivedi, a parent of a child with autism who has a background in managed care and worked with the IDOI to develop Bulletin 136. Please see our schedule of events for the next workshop, or call our center for more information.
Q: Who creates the programs? Who will be working with my child?
A: Buyer beware! At this time, anybody can claim to know ABA. In many states it requires more licenses and training to groom a dog than to provide ABA services. However; one can earn a Ph.D. in ABA, so it is a specialized discipline. It is really up to the parents to make sure that their child is getting a quality program! Remember that Applied Behavior Analysis, Verbal Behavior and the Lovaas Method are extremely detailed and specialized sciences. You wouldn’t allow a dentist to perform brain surgery on your child, nor would you allow a person who only attended a few workshops or seminars to either. It is the same with ABA.
Each child that attends Little Star is supervised by a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst), master degreed Program Manager and experienced Team Leader. Each child is assigned a team consisting of a Primary Therapist and several Secondary Therapists. Supervision is a constant and it takes more than one person to deliver, develop and monitor a successful, meaningful intervention. Our staff is continuously trained in order develop skill and progress to the next level of mastery.
Q: Is Little Star a school with grade levels?
A: No, Little Star is a therapy center. We offer one-to-one ABA that focuses on behavior reduction as well as the acquisition of language/speech, cognition and other skills that your child needs to be successful in the world. We are a medical model as opposed to an education model.
Q: Can my child attend Little Star and a public or private school?
A: Yes. Little Star allows for each child’s program to be tailored specifically to meet their needs. This means that while some children attend Little Star on a full-time basis, others attend their public school part-time and Little Star part-time. Little Star works collaboratively with your local school district to ensure that the best program possible is designed for your child.
Q: What is the cost to attend Little Star?
A: The cost of Little Star varies depending on several factors, such as how many hours of week your child attends and the level of consulting needed.
Q: How do I pay for Little Star? Do you accept insurance?
A: Little Star accepts private pay, most private health insurances, school district and DOE funding. The majority of the children attending Little Star Center are funded through health insurance. Little Star Center will handle all the insurance billing and filing of claims. There are no deposits or upfront costs.
Q: What are the age limits?
A: Little Star does not have any set age limits. If we can offer a meaningful solution to an individual, we will. If there is severe aggression or other factors that apply, we can develop a program for the home with the goal of transitioning the child to the center. Currently our youngest child attending the center is two and the oldest is 13. We are working with young adults in the community who are as old as 19.
Q: What is the difference between Little Star and Middle Star?
A: Little Star Center is broken up into two age groups – Little Star kids are the children ten and younger. Middle Star kids are ten and older.
Q: How long will my child have to attend Little Star?
A: This depends on the child. Some children need more intervention than others. The length of time at Little Star is determined on a case by case basis. Our goal is to get the child functioning at a level so he/she may transition successfully into the typical school setting. Little Star is just a stop along the way!
Q: What are the hours that Little Star is open?
A: Full-time kiddos attend the Carmel center from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday and at the Lafayette center from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. Little Star is open 50 weeks a year, with one shut down week in December.
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