In-home ABA therapy across Onslow County

ABA that keeps pace with military and civilian families

Onslow County runs on two clocks. Camp Lejeune and New River set the rhythm for thousands of households, while farm towns like Richlands and fishing communities like Sneads Ferry keep their own. Whichever describes your family, finding hours each week to drive a child to therapy is hard. With in-home ABA, nobody has to load up the car: a therapist knocks on your door instead.

It starts with a home visit from a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). During that first assessment, the BCBA spends time with your child, notices how they ask for things and react to change, and asks you which struggles weigh on your household most. From there, the BCBA drafts an individualized treatment plan with measurable goals you agree on together.

Day to day, sessions are led by a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) working one on one with your child. Teaching is woven into ordinary moments: pulling on shoes, choosing a snack, sharing a tablet, settling down after a loud afternoon. The BCBA checks in often, looks at the session data, and shifts goals when your child is ready for the next challenge.

Parents get coaching too. If one parent is away for training or deployment, the parent at home still learns the strategies and can keep using them all week. Weekly hours are set per child, typically somewhere from 10 to 25, depending on need and on what your insurance authorizes.

Moving is a fact of life for many Onslow County families. If new orders arrive while your child is in our care, tell your BCBA as early as you can. We’ll help you pull together progress notes and plan the handoff, so your child’s next provider isn’t starting from zero.

Where we work in Onslow County

Our Jacksonville team provides in-home ABA therapy in:

• Jacksonville
• Holly Ridge
• Sneads Ferry
• Richlands
• Swansboro

Jacksonville is the county’s hub, with neighborhoods spread out around the bases and along Western Boulevard. To the north, Richlands keeps a small-town feel among the fields. Swansboro sits at the mouth of the White Oak River on the edge of the Crystal Coast, and to the south, Sneads Ferry and Holly Ridge sit close to Topsail. Those places are a fair distance apart, and a weekly clinic schedule can turn into hours on Highway 17 and Highway 24. Bringing sessions to your home cuts that out entirely.

Beyond the bases, Onslow is known for Hammocks Beach State Park off Swansboro, where a passenger ferry carries visitors to Bear Island, and for the New River waterfront in Jacksonville. Plenty of families want their child to manage a beach day or a ferry ride, and those are goals we can practice toward.

Read more about our work with families in the city on our Jacksonville ABA therapy page. Not sure whether we reach your road? Call (910) 773-1234.

Trillium, Medicaid and insurance in Onslow 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 Onslow 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 Onslow County, the Medicaid Tailored Plan is run by Trillium Health Resources, the same organization that serves New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender and Duplin counties. Empire ABA accepts Trillium, the NC Medicaid Standard Plans and the commercial plans listed below.

Coverage rules differ from one plan to the next, and families who have recently moved to North Carolina are often still sorting out what they have. Bring us whatever card you’ve got, and our office will work out what applies.

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 Onslow County

1. Call or fill out the form. Tell our Jacksonville 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.

The Jacksonville team behind your child’s care

Onslow County families work with our Jacksonville team. Your child is matched with one BCBA, who owns the treatment plan and your parent coaching, and one RBT, who comes to your home for one-on-one sessions. Our office staff keep the calendar and the insurance paperwork moving.

Respect for your child comes first. We practice neurodiversity-affirming ABA, which means we never force eye contact and we leave harmless stimming alone. The goals we work on are the ones your family picks: communication, daily independence and safety.

Onslow County Schools and referrals

Children across the county, including many from military households, attend Onslow County Schools. When school-based support is approved, our team coordinates with your child’s teachers and IEP team so the same strategies show up in both places. Sessions at home can be booked for after the final bell.

Insurers typically want an autism diagnosis on file before approving ABA. If a pediatrician, on base or off, has already recommended ABA for your child, they can refer directly to us: email info@empireaba.com or fax (910) 807-3380. Still on an evaluation waitlist? Call us now and we’ll tell you exactly what your plan will ask for.

Medicaid Tailored Plan

Trillium Health Resources

Public schools

Onslow County Schools

Questions from Onslow County families