A Center of Excellence (COE) provider is a clinician or clinic recognised by Washington Apple Health to diagnose autism and other developmental disabilities and to order ABA therapy. The COE completes a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, documents how the diagnosis was made, recommends a treatment plan and writes the ABA order families bring to an ABA provider.
What the evaluation must include
WAC 182-531A-0500 sets the contents. The COE provider documents how the diagnosis was made or confirmed, including the names and dates of any formal diagnostic measures or the clinical findings used, describes the functional impairment, and provides the ABA order with a treatment recommendation. Anyone can refer a child to a COE; a referral does not have to come from a doctor.
Who can be a COE
For children 20 and younger, the HCA recognises specific ABA COE providers, listed on its COE provider list. For clients 21 and older, the evaluator must be a neurologist, psychiatrist or psychologist. Managed care plans keep their own in-network COE lists, so start with your plan if your child has one.
How to prepare
- Bring any earlier evaluations, school reports, speech or OT assessments and the Ages and Stages or M-CHAT screening from your pediatrician.
- Write down specific examples of what is hard at home: mealtimes, sleep, transitions, communication, safety.
- Ask for a copy of the full evaluation and the ABA order before you leave.
After the evaluation
Take the evaluation and order to the ABA providers you have chosen. The ABA provider's BCBA then completes its own assessment of skills and behavior and builds the treatment plan that the plan authorizes. The COE evaluation establishes eligibility; the ABA assessment decides what the therapy will actually work on.
Common questions
Is a school evaluation the same as a COE evaluation?
No. A school district evaluation determines eligibility for special education services. Apple Health requires a medical COE evaluation for ABA. Many children have both.
Does Evergreen Pathways do COE evaluations?
No. Evergreen Pathways is an ABA provider. We can tell you how to find a COE and what to ask for, and we start our own assessment once you have the order.
- WAC 182-531A-0500, Stage one: COE evaluation and prescription
- Washington Health Care Authority, Applied Behavior Analysis
- HCA Centers of Excellence provider list for ABA (PDF)
This article is general information for families in Washington State, not medical advice or a promise of coverage or outcomes. Rules change; check the linked sources and your plan.
Talk to Evergreen Pathways
In-home ABA for ages 2 to 22 across King, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, Kitsap counties.
Call (206) 796-4797