That sounds like a policy specific to your agency. We have community outings 1-2 times per week with our ABA therapists.

That does sound like it is specific to your provider. We also have community outings. Our ABA therapist spends as much time out of the office for visits than in the office.

It may very well be specific to the ABA agency you are using, my daughter's therapist has therapy with her privately during the school's aftercare program and also if I ever need they will come grocery shopping with us, or wherever I need the extra support.

Looking at your profile, I noticed that your child is 4 and severely impaired. I suspect that the ABA case manager may be concerned about your child's physical safety on community outings. When we started incorporating community outings into my daughter's ABA program, at first they were indoor events held in a room with one exit like library story time. The supervising BCBA accompanied the therapist and me to the event plus my middle-schooler was there as well. So there were 4 adults (my little one treats her big sister like an adult) to keep her in line. As the ABA program progressed and DD's functioning has improved, we've increased the frequency of community outings and started doing outdoor ones as well like the playground and Trick-or-Treat at the downtown shops.