Parent Coaching
Parent coaching at ANNA is a core part of how we support children and families who are participating in our center-based services. Research consistently shows that children make the most meaningful progress when the people who spend the most time with them are part of the learning process.
Since you already know your child better than anyone, our role is simply to help you build on that knowledge with practical strategies that support your child’s skill development.
Even when children receive many hours of therapy each week, those hours are only a small portion of their lives. The majority of learning happens in the everyday moments families share together. When parents understand and use naturalistic strategies during those moments, children often:
Our Approach
ANNA’s parent coaching program uses Project ImPACT (opens in a new tab) (Improving Parents As Communication Teachers), an evidence-based program developed by researchers at Michigan State University and the University of California San Francisco. It’s part of ANNA’s center-based ABA program, which is fully accredited by the Autism Commission on Quality (ACQ).
Project ImPACT was designed to teach parents and caregivers naturalistic, play-based strategies. It teaches caregivers how to embed learning into a variety of real-life situations, which greatly increases acquisition of skills and play. It has been rigorously studied and has been shown to have high levels of satisfaction across many different caregivers and coaches.
How it works
Parent coaching sessions are practical, collaborative, and tailored to your family. Sessions typically include:
Each session begins with a check-in about your child and your family’s current priorities.
Your BCBA introduces a specific strategy, explains why it works, and demonstrates how it connects to your child’s goals.
You practice the strategy directly with your child while your BCBA observes and supports you in the moment.
Your BCBA provides supportive, collaborative feedback to help build confidence and refine the strategy.
Together, you identify one or two simple strategies to try during everyday routines between sessions.
Benefits
Many families tell us that, in addition to learning new strategies, parent coaching supports them in better understanding their child. Caregivers often report feeling more confident:
Advantages
Many parent coaching programs focus primarily on managing behaviors or working through structured curricula. At ANNA, our approach is grounded in the same naturalistic, child-led philosophy that shapes our clinical services.
Rather than prescribing a rigid set of techniques, our clinicians work with you to understand your child’s unique communication style, motivation, and interests, and then teach you strategies that feel natural to both of you. The goal is not to turn parents into therapists. The goal is to help you feel more attuned, more confident, and more connected to your child throughout everyday life.
Families who have experienced more traditional models of parent training often tell us that ANNA’s parent coaching feels meaningfully different. It is collaborative rather than prescriptive, and it centers the relationship between parent and child at every step.
FAQ
Parent coaching is a structured support model that teaches parents and caregivers practical strategies for supporting their autistic child's development in everyday life. Unlike clinical therapy, parent coaching focuses on building the caregiver's skills and confidence so that learning and connection happen throughout the day, not just during scheduled sessions. At ANNA, parent coaching is embedded into every family's program through our Project ImPACT-based parent coaching model.
Many parent training programs focus mainly on managing behaviors or working through a set curriculum. ANNA's parent coaching is grounded in the same naturalistic, child-led approach as our clinical services. Rather than prescribing a rigid set of techniques, your child's clinician gets to know your child's communication style, motivation and interests, then teaches you strategies that feel natural to both of you. It is collaborative rather than prescriptive. The goal is not to turn parents into therapists, but to help you feel more attuned, confident and connected to your child in everyday life.
Yes. Parent coaching is part of ANNA's ABA therapy program and is available to families whose child is enrolled in services.
Sessions are led by your child's BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) who knows your child's goals and program. In each session, your BCBA introduces a strategy and explains why it works, supports you as you practice it with your child, and gives you feedback in the moment.
Project ImPACT (Improving Parents As Communication Teachers) is an evidence-based parent coaching program developed by researchers at Michigan State University and the University of California San Francisco. It teaches parents and caregivers naturalistic, play-based strategies for building their child's social communication into play and everyday routines. ANNA's parent coaching program uses Project ImPACT. You can read more about it at https://www.project-impact.org/.
Parent coaching takes place at your child's ANNA center, where your child receives ABA therapy. Sessions are in person, not at home or by telehealth, so you can practice new strategies with your child while your BCBA supports you. You can find ANNA's centers across Massachusetts at https://annaautismcare.com/centers/.
Your BCBA will set a schedule with you as part of your child's treatment plan.
Parent coaching is part of your child's ABA program, and many insurance plans cover caregiver training as part of ABA therapy. Coverage varies by plan. Our team can verify your benefits and walk you through your options.
In ANNA's parent and caregiver training survey from the second quarter of 2026, caregivers rated "sessions focus on goals that matter to my family" 4.79 out of 5 and "training has been helpful for my family" 4.71 out of 5. The full results are in ANNA's clinical outcomes white paper at https://annaautismcare.com/clinical-outcomes-white-paper/.
Every family’s journey starts at a different place. Some are ready to begin, some are figuring out where to start, and some have had difficult experiences with other providers and are approaching this carefully. Wherever you are, we look forward to meeting you there!
