Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD®)

Center-Based Services are one-to-one applied behavior analysis (ABA) sessions for children, adolescents, and adults that take place at a CARD® center rather than in the home environment. Board-certified behavior technicians work one-to-one with patients under the supervision of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), using the cutting-edge CARD® curriculum to maximize progress.

Your CARD® center provides a fun and welcoming atmosphere where your child can interact with a number of staff members and other patients, all while learning the lessons, behaviors, and skills they would learn at a home session but potentially at a faster rate.

There are Many Benefits to Center-Based Services:

  • Certified clinicians providing top quality services are at the centers, supervising and mentoring to maximize progress.
  • Centers offer a perfect setting for generalization, allowing patients to use newly acquired skills in a safe environment.
  • When appropriate, patients are matched by age and level of functioning for socialization opportunities and peer play dates.
  • With focused participation and engagement, parents and caregivers learn how to extend the benefits of applied behavior analysis.


CARD® researchers published their research on center-based programs in the field’s leading peer-reviewed journal, Behavior Analysis in Practice. The study “A Program Evaluation of Home and Center-Based Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder” compared the relative rates of mastery of exemplars (i.e., skill acquisition) for individuals with ASD who received home-based and center-based services. The study showed that patients between the ages of 3 and 12 years old demonstrated higher rates of learning during treatment that was provided in a center setting than in the patient’s home. A between-groups analysis, comparing patients receiving treatment at home to patients receiving treatment in a center, found that patients mastered significantly more exemplars per hour when receiving center-based services than home-based services. Likewise, a paired-sample analysis found that patients who received both home and center-based services mastered 100% more exemplars per hour while at the center than at home.

Getting Started

To schedule your Center-Based Services, call CARD® today at (877) 488-4747, option #2
or email cardenrollment@centerforautism.com.

To find your local CARD® center, click here.