If you’re considering ABA therapy for your child, you may have wondered how long the process takes.
The reality is that ABA therapy duration is dynamic. It spans months to years based on individualized factors—not predetermined timelines.
Nonetheless, 46% of families discontinue ABA therapy within 24 months despite a clinical need for further treatment.
To make sure your child is getting the support they need, we’ve put together this guide.
Below, we’ll demystify the variables that affect the length of ABA therapy sessions and overall treatment timelines, so you can make an informed decision for your family.
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Average ABA Therapy Session Duration: Hour-by-Hour Breakdown
To start, it’s helpful to look at how long a typical ABA therapy session lasts.
The ideal length and frequency of sessions vary based on age as well as the ASD level of severity.
You can see this in the table below:
| Age Group | Typical Length | Frequency | Key Influencers |
| Toddlers (1-4) | 1-2.5 hours | 4-5x/week | Attention span, sensory tolerance |
| School-Age (5-12) | 2-4 hours | 3-5x/week | Academic goals, behavior complexity |
| Teens/Adults | 3-8 hours | 2-4x/week | Vocational training, independence goals |
| High-Intensity* | 4-8 hours | 5x/week | Severe behaviors, skill deficits |
While this table gives a good overview, there are some important things to note:
- Sessions longer than 3 hours require mandated breaks to prevent burnout.
- When engagement drops below 25%, it’s a signal that the therapist should shorten the sessions to improve engagement.
Total Treatment Timeline: Months to Years
As you can now see, it’s common for ABA therapy to take 10-40 hours per week.
But how many months or years does ABA therapy last overall?
As with the session length and frequency, it depends on factors like age, ASD level of severity, and overall progress toward goals.
Broadly speaking, however, we can break ABA therapy down into three different phases over several years:
- Intensive Phase
- Transition Phase
- Maintenance Phase
Let’s look at each phase in more detail:
Intensive Phase (Months 1-12)
The first phase of ABA therapy is the most critical, as it builds the foundation for future progress. For this reason, it typically requires 25-40 hours per week of intensive therapy.
The focus of this phase is on foundational skills such as communication and compliance, and it typically lasts around 12 months.
Transition Phase (Year 2)
As the name implies, this phase focuses on ramping down the weekly hours of ABA therapy. You can expect 15-25 hours per week of therapy, depending on your child’s individual needs.
The focuses of this phase include socialization and academic preparation, and it typically lasts around a year.
When the child has achieved skill generalization to 3+ real-world settings, it’s a sign that they may be ready to move on to the next phase.
Maintenance Phase (Year 3+)
During the maintenance phase, the ABA therapy duration decreases to 5-10 hours per week.
At this point, the focus is on independence and preventing regression. How long your child should spend in the maintenance phase is up to the discretion of the therapist.
How Age Affects ABA Therapy Treatment Timelines
The age at which a person starts ABA therapy affects how long they will spend in treatment.
For early intervention (starting age of 2-5), the average duration is 3 to 5 years.
For later starters (age 12+), the average duration is 2 to 4 years. The focus for this age group is also different, with a greater emphasis on practical life skills.
Regardless of the starting age, a person is generally ready to discontinue ABA therapy when they’ve mastered 90% of their goals and their progress has remained stable for 6+ months.
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5 Factors Dictating Your Child’s ABA Therapy Timeline
As we mentioned earlier, the duration of ABA therapy is dynamic.
To explain why, let’s look at five factors that dictate your child’s ABA therapy timeline. We’ve arranged these by priority:
1. Symptom Severity
The biggest factor affecting how long ABA therapy takes is symptom severity.
Clinicians use 3 ASD levels of severity to describe the intensity of autism symptoms (and the level of support they require):
- Level 1: “Requiring support”
- Level 2: “Requiring substantial support”
- Level 3: “Requiring very substantial support”
Level 1 ASD typically requires 10-25 hours per week of ABA therapy for 1-3 years.
For Level 2/3, the required amount of therapy increases to 25-40 hours per week over 3-5 years.
2. Progress Velocity
As you might expect, the rate of your child’s progress toward their goals affects how long ABA therapy lasts.
Your child’s BCBA (Board Certified Behavioral Analyst) will use tools like the POP-C (Patient Outcome Planning Calculator) to measure their progress.
They’ll perform regular assessments to determine if the treatment plan is effective and make adjustments as needed.
3. Family Engagement
The level of family engagement is another key factor affecting the duration of ABA therapy.
The ultimate goal of ABA therapy, after all, is to generalize specific behaviors and skills to everyday life.
If your family is highly involved in helping your child practice what they learn in ABA therapy, they’ll make faster progress.
4. Comorbidities
Comorbidity describes a situation where a person is diagnosed with other medical conditions in addition to their primary diagnosis.
So, for a person with autism, comorbidities could include ADHD or anxiety. Research shows that ADHD and anxiety comorbidities tend to extend the duration of ABA therapy by 1 to 2 years.
Note: ADHD and anxiety can be more difficult to diagnose in children with autism since their symptoms may resemble autistic behaviors.
It’s important to coordinate with your child’s primary care provider to ensure they receive a diagnosis (and treatment) of any comorbidities.
5. Funding & Access
Unfortunately, insurance barriers and access to treatment remain significant reasons for stopping ABA therapy early.
One study found that higher household income and education levels correlate with an increased likelihood of receiving ABA therapy. This suggests that families with lower incomes have a harder time accessing crucial ABA therapy services.
Age caps on insurance coverage for ABA therapy services compound this access gap, though the extent varies by state.
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Solutions to Common ABA Therapy Challenges
ABA therapy takes time and attention to work, so don’t give up!
To help you and your child stick with treatment, here are some solutions to common ABA therapy challenges:
Challenge: “My child hates long sessions!”
Solution: Micro-sessions (20-min blocks) + naturalistic teaching.
Challenge: “Insurance denied coverage after 12 months.”
Solution: Appeal with Vineland-II adaptive behavior scores showing a 5+ point gain.
Challenge: “No progress in 6 months.”
Solution: Reassess the child for:
- Undiagnosed medical issues (e.g., seizures or ADHD)
- Inaccurate function of behavior (Functional Behavioral Assessment update)
When to Graduate from ABA Therapy
How do you know when your child is ready to graduate from ABA therapy?
Ultimately, this decision is up to you and the ABA therapist. But in general, these are some signs that your child may be ready to discontinue ABA therapy:
- Mastery of 90% of IEP goals across settings
- <5% challenging behaviors for 6+ months
- Self-advocacy during 80% of distress episodes
- Family competency in managing regressions
After they’ve discontinued ABA therapy, your child may still require some level of therapeutic support to continue making progress. This could include speech therapy, occupational therapy (OT), or physical therapy.
Action Plan: Optimizing Your Child’s ABA Therapy Schedule
Even though ABA therapy takes time, it’s important to spend that time wisely.
Here are steps you can take to optimize your child’s ABA therapy schedule and ensure they receive the best care possible:
1. Initial Assessment
An accurate initial assessment by a BCBA (Board Certified Behavioral Analyst) is crucial to helping your child get effective treatment.
When searching for an ABA therapy center, make sure your child receives the VB-MAPP or the ABLLS-R.
Furthermore, you should insist that they receive these assessments from a BCBA, not a behavioral technician.
BCBAs have advanced training and certifications that help them assess your child accurately and develop a comprehensive ABA therapy plan.
2. Funding Advocacy
Denied insurance coverage is a major barrier to long-term ABA therapy.
If your child is denied coverage for ABA therapy services, don’t give up!
Use the insurance toolkit and financial resources from Autism Speaks to know your rights and challenge denials.
3. Progress Tracking
Tracking your child’s ABA therapy progress ensures that their treatment is effective.
Your child’s BCBA should provide monthly graphs of the following progress metrics:
- Skill acquisition rate
- Behavior frequency
- Generalization milestones
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ABA Therapy Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
ABA therapy takes time, and the time it takes depends on your child’s age, ASD level of severity, and progress toward goals.
If you’re in the Chicago area and are interested in ABA therapy for your child, The Clubhouse can help. We’re currently accepting new ABA clients at our locations in North Mayfair and Downers Grove.
