Frequently asked questions

  • Big Sky Therapeutic Services is a privately owned practice that specializes in working with children who have been diagnosed with ASD (autism spectrum disorder), we specialize in ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) therapy. We interact with clients on what skills and abilities need extra attention and reinforced through positive support and reinforcement. We also work with clients in the mental and behavioral area and provide parental educational programs. Our site provides details on all our services; click on Services and click on a service to learn more.

  • ABA Therapy stands for Applied Behavioral Analysis. For ABA therapy, we teach kids how to do things that they are struggling with, in a very simple way with lots of repetition and support. It is based on the goals and needs that are identified during the assessment process (example: communication, social, behavioral or a combination). We also give parents updates on progress and tools to continue to train their kids at home. Kids in our office are seen between 4 and 20 hours a week. For more information on ABA Therapy, please visit the Services tab on the top of the screen and click on “Autism Spectrum Therapy”.

  • The physical address is:

    1601 2nd Ave N
    Ste 700
    Great Falls
    MT 59401

    You can also find our physical address at the bottom of each of our webpages.

  • Our main line is 406-205-0452. You can also find our phone number at the bottom of each of our webpages.

  • We accept most insurances, including Medicaid.

  • We no longer offer co-parenting/parenting classes and neither does Discovery Counseling; however, we have a few resources to point you towards. Below are a few:

    AFY (Alliance for Youth): Co-Parenting Class: 406-952-0035

    Cascade County Law: 406-452-6269

    We offer a variety of parent educational programs that involve at home visits. For more information on parenting education programs, click on the Services tab and click on “Parenting Education Classes.”

  • We ask you provide a referral to us through your PCM/referring provider to us. We will contact you within a month of receiving the referral verifying information and ask a few questions based on the referral. We screen our clients fairly and equally based on needs, abilities, goals, and concerns. We cannot guarantee an opening during the initial call; however, we will place you on a waitlist for further screening and consideration should an opening become available. While waiting for an opening, we provide additional resources for you to explore and get involved in. We will contact you if there is an opening.

  • Our average length of our waitlist is 6 months. This is based on the number of staff we have, our current clientele, our providers’ areas of expertise and experience, and facility capacities. At this time, we are at full capacity. Operational and workflows may change that could affect the waitlist length (i.e. hiring new staff). To maintain your spot on the waitlist, we ask you to call back regularly (i.e. every 3 to 6 months) for a follow-up/check in and we will check on the status for any openings. We aspire to help every client in their journey.

  • You can call us back regularly, every 3 to 6 months, to see where we are at with availability and if we are taking on new clients. Take this time to update any information that changed since our last contact with you, i.e., insurance. We recommend continuing current therapies and other regularly scheduled appointments. We have a list of resources for you to explore and utilize; you can find them in our Resources tab. If there is a resource that is not listed on our site, please contact us via Contact tab or call us directly to explain what type resources you are seeking and we will follow up with you once we find a few options.

  • We ask that you call us on our main line at 406-205-0452 and let us know as soon as possible that you moved on in securing another service for your child or are no longer interested in pursuing ABA Therapy. We will keep your information on hand for our records; you are more than welcome to call us in the future if you decide you want to pursue ABA Therapy with us at Big Sky Therapeutic Services. You do not need to resubmit your referral. If any information changed after being off our waitlist and want to get back on it (i.e., insurance), please let us know as soon as possible.

  • You will be contacted by a representative from Big Sky Therapeutic Services. We verify your insurance information and benefits only if accepted for services. After insurance approves and validates your information, your insurance will submit an initial authorization for services. We arrange a time and date for you to come to our office and undergo registering with us and perform an assessment on your child. Please bring your documents with you, see our “Referral, waitlist, and openings” document in the Policies section of our site for more details.

  • Scheduling is created based on the client’s availability and changes with the school year and summer vacation. Scheduling varies with each client. For planning purposes, we see clients anywhere from 4 to 20 hours a week, depending on client needs. We set a recurring schedule for consistency purposes. If there is a conflict and need to cancel, we ask you contact us directly, at least 24 hours notice before the appointment takes place, unless it is an emergency (i.e. family).

  • We have a tab on our site called “Why work for us” that provides our purpose in the Great Falls community, team values and job descriptions. We are a great company! At this time, we have Registered Behavioral Therapist (RBT) and Board-Certified Behavioral Analyst (BCBA) positions to advertise. There is a link at the end of each job descriptions you can click on, which will lead you to an application. If the link cannot be clicked on or is grayed out, this means our positions are filled. You can also look at various job sites like Indeed to find our job openings.

  • You can click on the Contact tab at the top of the webpage where it will lead you to an email format page ready for you to type in your question/general inquiry. Please be as specific as possible in your email and we will assist you in a timely manner via email/phone call.