ABA marketing and growth for pediatric therapy practices

How parents find ABA, speech and OT services

Parents usually reach a pediatric therapy practice through one of three doors.

1. A flag at a checkup. Pediatricians screen development at well-child visits. For children on Medicaid, CMS says every child "must receive EPSDT screenings designed to identify health and developmental issues, including ASD, as early as possible" (CMS informational bulletin, July 7, 2014 (opens in a new tab)). EPSDT is Medicaid's benefit for children and young people under 21.
2. A public program. For a child under 3, families can contact their state's early intervention program, and the CDC tells parents "a doctor's referral is not necessary" (opens in a new tab). From age 3, the CDC points them to any local public elementary school to request a preschool special education evaluation.
3. A diagnosis and a list. After an autism diagnosis, families often leave with a few provider names and start comparing. Speech and OT families may come straight from a school evaluation or a pediatrician's suggestion.

At each door, the parent goes online. They type plain words plus a place and a constraint: "ABA therapy near me that takes Medicaid," "speech therapy for 2 year old not talking," "OT for handwriting near me." Then they compare practices on five things:

• Do you take our insurance or Medicaid plan?
• How long is the wait?
• What's the first step: an intake call, an evaluation, a diagnosis?
• Where does therapy happen: clinic, home, school or telehealth?
• Who will work with my child: a BCBA or an RBT, a CCC-SLP, an OTR/L?

What practice owners search

The search data we have is the other side of the market: owners and managers looking for marketing help.

Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026.

These are small numbers. The demand that fills a caseload is parents in your service area searching in their own words, so answer those five questions clearly on your site and Google listing. To see how yours answers them today, start with a free marketing audit.

Referral sources: pediatricians, schools and early intervention

Referrals run on convenience. A busy referrer sends families to the practice that answers fastest and reports back.

Five habits keep referrals coming:

1. Publish a referral page with the referral form or fax number, the ages and services you take, accepted payers and the current wait.
2. Name one person who answers referrer calls the same day.
3. Close the loop. After the first visit, send the referrer a short update with the parent's permission.
4. Refresh the sheet whenever waits or payer contracts change. A stale sheet is worse than none.
5. Visit in person once or twice a year, bringing the updated sheet.

Our guide to pediatric practice marketing shows the relationship from the pediatrician's side.

Insurance, waitlists and honest capacity messaging

Insurance decides whether a family can start, so it belongs near the top of every service page.

Medicaid. CMS's 2014 bulletin says states must cover, for children eligible for EPSDT, any service listed in section 1905(a) of the Social Security Act "that is determined to be medically necessary to correct or ameliorate any physical or behavioral conditions," including for children with autism. How each state delivers that, including which provider types it enrolls and what prior authorization it requires, varies. Name the specific Medicaid plans you're enrolled with, and don't imply that approval is automatic.

Commercial insurance. Coverage for ABA, speech and OT depends on the plan and on your state's insurance laws. List the plans you're in network with, say plainly if you're out of network, and confirm the rules with each payer and your state insurance department before writing anything that sounds like a coverage promise.

Waitlists. The BACB code has a capacity rule that applies directly to marketing. Standard 3.03 says behavior analysts accept only clients within their competence "and available resources (e.g., time and capacity for case supervision, staffing)" (BACB Ethics Code (opens in a new tab)). Advertising that fills a list you can't serve doesn't help anyone.

Honest capacity messaging looks like this:

Post the wait per service and location, date it, and update it monthly. Pause paid ads for any service whose wait you wouldn't defend to a parent on the phone, and keep advertising the ones with openings.

Ethics codes that shape marketing: BACB, ASHA and AOTA

Each discipline's code treats advertising as professional conduct. Your marketing vendor's copy counts as your statement.

The BACB defines a testimonial broadly: "any solicited or unsolicited recommendation, in any form," and it counts as solicited from the moment you ask. Its definition of public statements includes paid or unpaid advertising, directory listings and social media.

The ASHA Code of Ethics (opens in a new tab) applies to ASHA members and certificate holders. AOTA's code applies to its members, and AOTA's 2025 summary of the code (opens in a new tab) says its Standards of Conduct are the enforceable part; read the communication standards before approving a claim or testimonial. If your state licenses your discipline, its board's advertising rules apply on top.

Language about autism. Never promise outcomes, and don't use "cure," "recovery" or "indistinguishable from peers" in any ad, page or post. Describe what you do instead: assessment, goals set with the family, how progress is measured and reviewed, and how parents take part.

Photos, testimonials and children's privacy

A child's photo, name or story on your website or social media is protected health information if it comes from your practice. Treat it that way.

HIPAA authorization. Using patient information for marketing requires a written authorization under 45 CFR 164.508(a)(3) (opens in a new tab), apart from face-to-face communications and promotional gifts of nominal value. For a child, the parent or guardian usually signs as the child's personal representative under 45 CFR 164.502(g)(3) (opens in a new tab), with exceptions where state law lets a minor consent to the care. No child-identifying content goes out without it.

Child-identifying content includes more than a face: a first name with a town, a school logo, a birthday photo, a session video, a voice clip, or a rare diagnosis plus age plus neighborhood.

Code consent on top. For ABA, standards 5.10 and 5.11 also require informed consent before each post and a disclaimer that consent was obtained. Former-client testimonials must say whether they were solicited, state the relationship and tell the author they can withdraw it (5.08).

Safer choices. Photograph your rooms, equipment and consenting staff. Use paid child models with a model release, not clients. Never reply to a review in a way that confirms the reviewer is a client.

COPPA. The FTC's COPPA Rule covers sites directed to children under 13 and operators who knowingly collect personal information from them. The FTC says a site "will not be considered 'directed to children' just because some children visit your site" (COPPA FAQ (opens in a new tab)). A site written for parents usually isn't child-directed, but a kids' game page or a chat aimed at children could change that, so ask counsel first.

Tracking. HHS's online tracking guidance (opens in a new tab) says tracking on pages where people schedule appointments or enter symptoms can disclose PHI to the vendor. A June 20, 2024 court order vacated the part covering IP addresses on unauthenticated public pages about health conditions; HHS says it is evaluating next steps. Keep ad pixels off inquiry and intake pages.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm how it applies to your practice with a qualified advisor.

Websites for speech and occupational therapists

A pediatric therapy website has two readers: a parent on a phone at night and a referrer checking whether you're a safe bet. Both need the same core pages:

• A page per need, in parents' words: late talking, stuttering, feeding, handwriting, sensory challenges, behavior support.
• How to start: referral or self-referral, intake call, evaluation, first sessions.
• Insurance and Medicaid: the plans you accept, by name.
• Current waits, dated.
• Team credentials stated accurately: BCBA, BCaBA and RBT; CCC-SLP; OTR/L.
• Where therapy happens: clinic address, home-visit area, school or telehealth states.
• A HIPAA-compliant inquiry form covered by a business associate agreement (BAA), because a parent will type a diagnosis into it.

Check your builder's terms. Wix says it signs a BAA on specific premium plans (opens in a new tab) once PHI protection is turned on, and only new Wix Forms are covered. Squarespace says its BAA covers only Acuity Scheduling and that its form block can't be used (opens in a new tab) as part of a HIPAA-compliant setup. Full page specs for SLP and OT practices are in the guides below.

Guides for pediatric therapy practices

• ABA advertising: Google and Meta rules on health targeting, BACB-safe ad claims and when a waitlist means pause.
• Websites for speech therapists: service pages by age and need, evaluation and teletherapy pages, consent for photos.
• Websites for occupational therapists: pediatric OT and hand therapy pages, referral pages and HIPAA-compliant forms.
• AI marketing for ABA, speech and OT: how parents use AI assistants, what to automate and which tools are safe with client data.
• Starting an ABA company: the launch steps before your first referral.
• Therapist marketing: for practices that also offer counseling or psychology services.

How Medfy works for a pediatric therapy practice

Medfy is AI marketing software for independent practices in the US and Canada, built HIPAA-compliant by design. The base plan is $349/month, billed monthly, and you can cancel anytime. For a pediatric therapy practice, the parts that matter most are:

• Your website, rebuilt and hosted on your own domain, with a page per service (ABA, speech, OT, feeding) and structured data, plus 500 AI credits a month for edits asked for in plain English, such as updating this month's wait.
• HIPAA-compliant forms for parent inquiries and waitlist requests. Medfy signs a BAA with your practice before any patient data flows, and patient information is stored in separate, encrypted HIPAA databases in the US or Canada.
• A patient CRM and inbox, access-controlled with an audit log, so inquiries from parents and messages from referrers land in one place.
• Google reporting: Search Console, Google Analytics and your Business Profile in one view.
• Automated SEO articles drafted from MedlinePlus and PubMed, which you approve before they publish. Given the ethics codes, approve each one.

Optional add-ons are Google Ads management ($199/month), Meta ads with AI creatives ($199/month) and a HIPAA AI chat widget ($49/month). Ad platforms never receive patient data, and ad spend goes directly to Google and Meta, never marked up. Medfy doesn't request reviews, post to social media, send email or text campaigns, or provide scheduling or intake software. See Medfy pricing for plan details.

Frequently asked questions

How do ABA companies get more clients?

Mostly through referrals and local search, not ads. Make it easy for pediatricians, diagnostic clinics and early-intervention coordinators to refer, with a one-page sheet listing ages, payers and your current wait. Then answer parents' questions on your website: insurance and Medicaid plans, intake steps, where therapy happens and how long the wait is. Advertise only when you have the staff and supervision capacity to start new clients.

How do pediatric therapy practices get referrals from pediatricians?

Make referring take one minute. Give each office a one-page sheet with the services and ages you treat, the plans you accept, your current wait and how to send a referral. Name one contact who answers the same day. After the first visit, send a short update with the parent's permission. Refresh the sheet whenever waits or payers change, and visit in person once or twice a year.

Can ABA providers use client testimonials?

With limits. The BACB Ethics Code (5.07) bars soliciting testimonials from current clients or their families for advertising. Former-client testimonials are allowed under 5.08 if labeled solicited or unsolicited, the relationship is stated, the author knows they can withdraw it and privacy laws are met. Under HIPAA, marketing use generally needs a written authorization, which a parent usually signs for a child.

Should we advertise when we have a waitlist?

Usually not for the service with the wait. Ads that fill a list you can't serve frustrate families, and the BACB code (3.03) asks behavior analysts to accept only clients they have staff and supervision capacity for. Keep a waitlist form and an honest wait estimate on your site, pause paid ads for the full service, and advertise only services or locations with real openings.

What should a speech therapy website include?

A page for each need you treat, such as late talking, articulation, stuttering and feeding, written for parents. Add how evaluations work, the insurance and Medicaid plans you accept, the current wait, where therapy happens and your clinicians' credentials, such as CCC-SLP. Use a HIPAA-compliant inquiry form covered by a business associate agreement, and skip photos of children without written parental authorization.