Quick Answer
An individual treatment plan for autism is the written roadmap that turns your child’s CMDE evaluation results into treatment goals, therapy hours, and review dates. In Minnesota, a Qualified Supervising Professional (QSP) completes it, you sign to document your consent, and the team checks progress at least every six months. Knowing what’s inside it helps you recognize a strong plan before therapy begins and stay confident at every review.
This guide comes from the Kids Care Inc team in Saint Paul.
What Is an ITP in Autism Therapy?
If you’ve been wondering “what is an ITP in autism therapy?” since your evaluation ended, here’s the simple answer. An ITP is the individual treatment plan for autism that guides your child’s services under Minnesota’s EIDBI benefit (Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention). Minnesota’s form, DHS-7109, records the initial plan and every update, including goals, baselines, projected mastery dates, services and discharge criteria. The CMDE, short for comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation, explains why your child qualifies. The plan explains what happens next.
ITP vs CMDE: What Is the Difference?
The two documents answer different questions, and the ITP is built on the CMDE. Minnesota’s Department of Human Services (DHS) says the provider creates the ITP from the CMDE information, so you need the CMDE first.
| CMDE | ITP | |
| Question it answers | Does my child qualify, and why? | What will therapy target, how often, and how will we know it works? |
| What it produces | Eligibility findings and treatment recommendations | Goals, services, hours, and review dates |
| Who completes it | A CMDE provider | A QSP |
| When it happens | First | Next, then updated at least every six months |
Already have a CMDE? Connect with our intake team or share your evaluation results with us. No CMDE yet? Start with a Comprehensive Multi-Disciplinary Evaluation (CMDE) in Minnesota.
How the Plan Comes Together: 4 Steps From CMDE Results Reviewed to Ongoing Review
Four steps take an individual treatment plan for autism from CMDE results to ongoing review, and you take part in each.
1. CMDE results reviewed. The QSP starts with the evaluation, so everything later traces back to this step.
2. Goals set with your family. The team asks what matters in daily life, then turns it into objectives.
3. Services assigned. The plan outlines the services you receive and how often, including the treatment approach, frequency, intensity, setting, and duration of each service. See how insurance and prior authorization work with us.
4. Ongoing review. Progress is checked on a set schedule, and the plan is adjusted to match.
How Are Autism Therapy Goals Set?
Goals start from the CMDE and a baseline. The QSP records where your child is today, listens to your family priorities, and writes short-term and long-term treatment goals with measurable objectives. DHS requires the baseline responding level and a projected mastery date in the plan.
A practical test: a clear objective lets you answer “met or not met?” at review. If that isn’t possible, ask the team to revise the plan.
Who writes and signs my child’s individual treatment plan for autism?
A QSP completes the plan on form DHS-7109, and providers gather signatures for consent for your child to begin or continue services. At Kids Care Inc, a Qualified Supervising Professional (QSP) creates, approves, and signs every plan.
How frequently is the plan reviewed, and can it be updated earlier if needed?
The QSP submits a progress monitoring update at least every six months, or more often if the CMDE provider or QSP decides, and adjusts the plan as needed. Your child keeps receiving services while the update is completed. The state explains the process in its ITP development and progress monitoring policy.
What happens if progress slows?
After each update, the QSP documents whether EIDBI remains medically necessary. Minnesota law allows services to continue for a person who keeps making reasonable progress toward the goals in the plan, as set out in Minnesota Statutes 256B.0949. More answers are on our FAQs page.
What Does an Autism Treatment Plan in Minnesota Include? 4 Core Components
Every autism treatment plan Minnesota providers write for EIDBI has several parts. Four of them shape most of what you see in daily therapy:
- Specific goals and measurable objectives. Long-term goals plus the short-term steps that lead to them, each tied to a baseline and a projected mastery date.
- Family priorities. Your concerns, routines, and strengths, which shape what gets targeted first.
- Service mix and frequency. Which services your child gets, where, how often, and for how long.
- Progress monitoring. A scheduled review that measures current progress against established goals.
How do therapy hours show up on the plan?
No single number of therapy hours fits every child. The plan states the frequency, intensity, location and duration of each service, built from your child’s CMDE. If a number on the plan surprises you, ask the QSP how it connects to the CMDE recommendations and your family priorities.
Does the ITP replace my child’s school IEP?
No. An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a separate document developed for school-based support. DHS lets school staff be invited to coordinated care conferences, and licensed special education staff can give input to progress monitoring updates.
Three details worth checking on your child’s individual treatment plan for autism:
- The plan outlines discharge requirements and a clear transition process, helping you understand what completing treatment may look like from the beginning.
- It states the level of family and caregiver training and counseling your family will receive.
- It names the QSP responsible for it.
Want to see how Kids Care Inc writes one? Explore our autism treatment plan in Minnesota service or contact our team.
Why No Two ITPs Look the Same
No two plans match because the inputs never do: each child’s CMDE, baseline, family priorities, and home and school routines differ, even when two families hold an individual treatment plan for autism written on the same state form.
At Kids Care Inc, a QSP develops, approves, and signs every plan, with BCBA-led planning and supervision behind the treatment. We review each plan with you every six months and send monthly written reports. Our Saint Paul center serves families in Anoka, Hennepin, Ramsey, Washington, Scott, Dakota and Carver counties.
Many plans use ABA therapy (applied behavior analysis) as the treatment method, with speech therapy or occupational therapy coordinated alongside it. See how ABA therapy and speech therapy differ.
How This Connects to Coordinated Care Conferences
A coordinated care conference is a voluntary meeting between your family, your child’s EIDBI providers, and anyone else you invite, which can include school staff.
DHS says the first conference should happen after the initial CMDE, alongside ITP development. Later conferences should coincide with progress monitoring updates or happen when medically necessary. They do not require authorization, and a parent or legal representative may request one. See the state’s coordinated care conference guidance or our page on coordinated care conferences. For a walkthrough of the meeting itself, see what happens at a coordinated care conference.
Questions about a conference for your child? Contact our intake team.
Conclusion
An individual treatment plan for autism is only as useful as it is clear. When the goals have a baseline, the therapy hours make sense, and the review dates are written down, you always know where your child stands and what comes next. At Kids Care Inc, we welcome your questions at every ongoing review.
Ready to Build Your Child’s Plan?
You know your child best, and the strongest plans start with what you see at home. The Kids Care Inc team in Saint Paul will walk with you from CMDE results to an individual treatment plan for autism you understand and trust.
Take the next step today: contact our intake team and a member of our care team will reply within one business day, or call 651-441-6245.
Kids Care Inc
📍 1400 Energy Park Dr Ste 18, Saint Paul, MN 55108
📞 651-441-6245
✉️ info@kidscareinc.com
Questions about your child?
Call 651-441-6245 or send us a note. No question is too small.
