In-home ABA therapy across New Hanover County

One team for the whole county

New Hanover County families are served by Empire ABA’s Wilmington team. Whether you live in the city, out toward Castle Hayne, or on Pleasure Island, you call the same number, work with the same office staff, and get a BCBA who knows the area.

ABA therapy is most useful when it happens where your child spends their day. That’s why our therapists come to your home. Your child practices communication, daily living and play skills in their own space, with their own toys and family around them, and you see exactly what’s being taught.

Behind every child’s sessions is a plan written and supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). The BCBA sets goals with you, checks progress, and adjusts the plan as your child grows. Parents are part of the team from the start: your BCBA coaches you on the same strategies so they keep working between sessions.

Hours vary by child. Most of the families we work with in the county have somewhere between 10 and 25 a week, depending on their child’s needs and their insurance authorization, scheduled around school, daycare and family life.

Parents sometimes worry that therapy at home will feel like an intrusion. In practice, most families find it fits in quickly. Your RBT learns your house rules and routines, works around siblings and pets, and keeps sessions focused on the goals you agreed with your BCBA. Being nearby during sessions is also one of the best ways for parents to learn: how to prompt a request, how to make a transition easier, how to celebrate a small step. Those lessons stay with your family long after a session ends.

Towns we serve in New Hanover County

Our team provides in-home ABA therapy across the county, including:

• Wilmington
• Castle Hayne
• Carolina Beach
• Wrightsville Beach

A few local touchstones: the Riverwalk along the Cape Fear downtown, the strand at Wrightsville Beach, and the boardwalk at Carolina Beach. Those are the kinds of places families want to enjoy together, so goals like waiting in a line, staying close on a crowded path or coping with wind and waves can be practiced at home first and then tried out on a real outing.

Live somewhere else in the county? Call (910) 773-1234 and we’ll tell you whether we can come to you. The same team also serves nearby towns in Brunswick, Pender and Onslow counties.

More about ABA therapy in Wilmington.

Medicaid and insurance in New Hanover 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 New Hanover County, that coverage comes through the Trillium Health Resources Tailored Plan or a Medicaid Standard Plan. North Carolina’s autism insurance law (SB 676) also requires many commercial health plans to cover ABA.

In New Hanover County, families on a Medicaid Tailored Plan are covered by Trillium Health Resources, the Tailored Plan for southeastern North Carolina, which also serves Brunswick, Pender and Duplin counties. Empire ABA accepts Trillium, the NC Medicaid Standard Plans and commercial insurance.

Not sure which kind of plan your child has? It’s usually printed on their Medicaid card, and our office can look it up for you.

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

Getting started in New Hanover County

1. Call or fill out the form. Tell our Wilmington 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 New Hanover County care team

Your child’s BCBA leads their care: the home assessment, the treatment plan, ongoing supervision and regular parent training. Your child’s Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) runs the one-on-one sessions. Our office team handles benefits checks and authorizations.

We practice neurodiversity-affirming ABA. We don’t force eye contact or try to stop stimming; we focus on communication, independence and the goals your family cares about.

Schools, pediatricians and referrals

Public schools across the county are part of New Hanover County Schools. When school-based support is approved, we coordinate with your child’s school and IEP team so goals line up between home and the classroom. Sessions at home can also be scheduled around the school day.

Most insurance plans need an autism diagnosis before ABA can begin. Pediatricians and developmental specialists in the county can refer families to us directly, and doctors and care managers can send referrals to info@empireaba.com or fax them to (910) 807-3380. If your child is still waiting on an evaluation, call us anyway: we can explain what your plan will need and help you find an evaluation nearby.

Medicaid Tailored Plan

Trillium Health Resources

Public schools

New Hanover County Schools

Main health system

Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center

Questions from New Hanover County families