In-home ABA therapy in Johnston County

Skip the drive into Raleigh

For a lot of Johnston County families, specialty care means heading toward Raleigh. That might be fine for a single appointment, but ABA therapy usually happens several times a week. Adding that drive to school runs and work can make therapy feel impossible. With Empire, your child’s therapist comes to your home in Clayton, Smithfield or elsewhere in the county.

Here’s how it works. A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) visits your home for an assessment. They observe your child, talk with you about your goals, and write a treatment plan made for your child. Then a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) starts one-on-one sessions at home, following that plan, while the BCBA supervises and measures progress.

Learning at home has a practical advantage: your child practices in the same place they need the skills. Asking for help, getting dressed, playing with a sibling, coping when plans change. Your BCBA also trains you in the same strategies, so you can support your child’s progress all week.

A typical plan runs somewhere from 10 to 25 hours a week. Where your child lands depends on their needs and on what your insurance approves, and the weekly schedule is built with you around school and family commitments.

Johnston County towns we serve

Our Triangle team provides in-home ABA therapy in:

• Clayton
• Smithfield

Clayton, on the western edge of the county near the Wake County line, has grown quickly as families have moved out from Raleigh. Smithfield, the county seat, sits further east along the Neuse River. Between and beyond them are smaller towns, subdivisions and farmland, where the nearest therapy clinic can be a long way from home. That spread is the reason we work in homes rather than asking families to come to us. For a parent in Smithfield, choosing a clinic can mean a lot of extra driving, several times a week. When the therapist comes to you, that time goes back to your family, and your child spends their energy on learning instead of in the car.

Johnston County landmarks include the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, the Neuse River greenway, and the outlet stores off I-95, which can get crowded on weekends. Shopping trips and walks along the river are common goals for families here, and we can practice the skills they take one step at a time.

Johnston County covers a lot of ground. If you live outside Clayton or Smithfield, call (984) 224-0007 and we’ll tell you whether we can reach your home.

Insurance and Medicaid in Johnston County

NC Medicaid covers ABA therapy for children under 21 through EPSDT, where it is billed as Research-Based Behavioral Health Treatment (RB-BHT). In Johnston County, that coverage comes through the Alliance Health Tailored Plan or a Medicaid Standard Plan. North Carolina’s autism insurance law (SB 676) also requires many commercial health plans to cover ABA.

Johnston County’s Medicaid Tailored Plan is run by Alliance Health, which also serves Wake, Durham and Orange counties. Empire ABA accepts Alliance, the NC Medicaid Standard Plans, and commercial insurance.

Before therapy starts, our office confirms what your plan covers and submits the authorization, so there are no surprises later.

NC Medicaid plans we accept:

• Alliance Health
• AmeriHealth Caritas
• Carolina Complete Health
• Healthy Blue
• Partners Health
• Vaya Health
• WellCare
• Trillium Health Resources
• UnitedHealthcare Community Plan

Commercial insurance we accept:

• BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina
• Aetna
• Cigna Healthcare

Starting ABA in Johnston County

1. Call or fill out the form. Tell our Triangle team about your child.
2. Insurance check. We verify your benefits and submit the authorization.
3. BCBA assessment. Your Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) meets your child at home and builds an individualized plan with you.
4. Therapy begins. Your Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) starts sessions on a schedule that fits your family.

Your care team

Johnston County families are served by our Triangle team. Each child has a BCBA who writes and supervises their plan and an RBT who provides sessions one on one at home. Parent training with the BCBA is part of the plan from day one, and goals are swapped for new ones as your child masters them. Scheduling and insurance sit with our office staff.

We practice neurodiversity-affirming ABA: no forced eye contact, no stopping harmless stimming, and goals set with your family.

Johnston County Public Schools and referrals

When school-based support is approved, we coordinate with Johnston County Public Schools and your child’s IEP team, so the skills your child learns at home show up in the classroom too. Home sessions can be scheduled around the school day.

Before an insurer will pay for ABA, it almost always wants an autism diagnosis on file, so a visit with your pediatrician is a good first move. Pediatricians who think ABA could help can refer straight to us, by email at info@empireaba.com or by fax to (910) 807-3380, and care managers can do the same. No diagnosis yet? Give us a call; we’ll walk you through what your plan requires.

Medicaid Tailored Plan

Alliance Health

Public schools

Johnston County Public Schools

Main health system

UNC Health and Duke Health

Questions from Johnston County families