Whether you're specifically looking for ABA therapy or want a BCBA's input for another reason, knowing how to actually find and verify a Board Certified Behavior Analyst near you is a genuinely useful skill for any Michigan autism family.
Start With the Official BACB Registry
The most reliable way to confirm someone is a legitimately certified BCBA — and the most important step before trusting any provider's claims — is to check the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)'s official certificant registry, available on their website. This lets you verify a specific person's certification status directly from the source, rather than relying solely on a provider's own website.
What to Search For
When searching the registry, you can typically look up a specific practitioner by name to confirm their certification is active and in good standing. This is worth doing for any BCBA whose name is given to you as the person overseeing your child's care — it takes just a few minutes and provides real peace of mind.
Using Michigan-Specific Navigation Resources
Beyond the national registry, Michigan-specific resources can help you find local providers: the Autism Alliance of Michigan's MiNavigator program specifically helps connect families to ABA and other service providers in their area, and can be reached at 1-877-463-AAOM. Your child's pediatrician or the evaluator who diagnosed your child may also have provider recommendations specific to your area.
What to Do Once You've Found Candidates
Finding a BCBA's name and confirming their credential is just the first step. Once you have a few options, it's worth going through the questions in our guide, Questions to Ask Before Choosing an ABA Provider, and understanding why direct BCBA supervision matters so much — a valid credential is necessary, but it's not the only thing that determines whether a provider's supervision structure will actually serve your child well.
Provider Density Varies Across Michigan
It's worth being realistic that provider availability varies significantly across the state — metro areas like Grand Rapids and Lansing generally have more BCBA density than rural counties in Central or Northern Michigan, which can mean longer waitlists or more limited options outside major population centers. If you're in a more rural area, it may be worth checking whether a provider offers in-home services across a wider service radius, since that can meaningfully expand your options beyond whoever happens to be geographically closest.
Our BCBA in the Rockford Area
Every family at Maple ABA Therapy works directly with our licensed BCBA, Kimberly Blazer — you're always welcome to verify her credentials through the official BACB registry yourself before committing to services.
Our Individual ABA Therapy service is designed around exactly this kind of goal. If you're in the Rockford area, our ABA therapy in Rockford page has more information, or Get Started Today to get started.
This article is part of our directory, The Complete Directory of Autism Resources in West & Central Michigan. Clinically reviewed by Kimberly Blazer, BCBA.