ABA therapy cost in Dubai & Abu Dhabi (2026): what families report paying

Not clinical, medical, financial or legal advice. This guide summarises public sources, quoted as published. Nothing here is an endorsement of any provider. Prices and rules change, so always confirm directly.

Families searching for ABA (applied behaviour analysis) in the UAE quickly find that many centres do not publish prices. We collected every price we could find on providers' own public pages (plus one third-party fee listing) while building our directory. Below is what they state, unedited.

Published ABA and related therapy prices

Provider	Emirate	Price as published	Source
Be Me Services	Dubai	Behaviour intervention centre: AED 294/hr (15 hrs AED 4,189.50); BCBA session AED 450/hr; SLT 30/45/60 min AED 283.50/425.25/567; travel fees for non-centre; LSA rates on request	source
Curate Wellness & Learning	Dubai	Assessment AED 500 (1 hr) / AED 1,000–1,500 (2–3 hrs); session AED 350; 10 sessions AED 3,150; 20 sessions AED 5,600	source
UrbanCircle – ABA therapy (marketplace listing)	Dubai	Home: assessment 2 hrs AED 2,500; 1 hr AED 420; 16 sessions AED 6,144. Another listed therapist: AED 300/hr, 10 hrs AED 3,000	source source
Jewel Children with Autism Rehabilitation Center	Dubai	Package session rates AED 200–250 per session	source
Special Minds	Dubai	Shadow teacher from AED 7,000/month; SEN governess from AED 15,000/month; therapy from AED 375/hr; consultation AED 499	source
Dubai Autism Center	Dubai	Annual fee average AED 30,000 (third-party listing, WhichSchoolAdvisor; 'confirm directly'). Third-party listing, not the centre’s own page.	source
Bloom Beyond Enabling	Dubai	Not published (shared after consultation)	source
Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Special Education (MRC-NECC)	Abu Dhabi	No fees for services (as stated)	source
Sharjah Autism Center (Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services)	Sharjah	Non-refundable seat reservation fee AED 1,000	source

What the published numbers show

Hourly ABA in Dubai: published per-hour or per-session rates we found range from AED 200–250 per session (Jewel, package rate) to AED 294/hr (Be Me behaviour intervention), AED 300–420/hr (UrbanCircle listings), AED 350/session (Curate) and AED 450/hr for a BCBA session (Be Me). Special Minds lists therapy from AED 375/hr.
Packages: examples include 15 hrs for AED 4,189.50 (Be Me), 10 sessions for AED 3,150 or 20 for AED 5,600 (Curate), and 16 sessions for AED 6,144 (UrbanCircle).
Assessments: AED 500 for 1 hr or AED 1,000–1,500 for 2–3 hrs (Curate); AED 2,500 for a 2-hr home assessment (UrbanCircle).
Centre / school-style programmes: a third-party listing gives Dubai Autism Center an average annual fee of AED 30,000 (third-party listing, not the centre’s own page; confirm directly). MRC-NECC in Abu Dhabi states no fees for services. Sharjah Autism Center lists a non-refundable AED 1,000 seat reservation fee.

Abu Dhabi

Apart from MRC-NECC’s statement that it charges no fees, none of the Abu Dhabi ABA providers in our directory publish prices on the pages we reviewed. We have no sourced Abu Dhabi hourly rates to report. Ask providers directly for a written fee schedule.

What families tell journalists

Hourly therapy is only part of the bill. Parents quoted by Khaleej Times (a 2020 news report; figures may be out of date) described paying for school support on top of tuition: one parent said LSAs “cost somewhere from Dh3,000 to Dh6,000 a month if they are hired by the school,” and another described debt built up from therapy and school costs. See our shadow teacher guide for more.

Turning hourly rates into a yearly figure

A yearly cost is roughly hourly rate × hours per week × weeks per year, plus assessments and supervision. The hours themselves are a clinical decision for your child’s treating team, not something we can suggest. The DOH Abu Dhabi ABA guidelines note that effective ABA “is not determined by a fixed number of hours or sessions.” Use our cost estimator to plug in your own numbers.

Will insurance pay?

It depends on your emirate and your plan. In Dubai, the Essential Benefit Plan’s list of exclusions includes item 42: “Services and educational programs for people of determination, this also includes disability types such as but not limited to mental, intellectual, developmental, physical and/or psychological disabilities.” (ISAHD, External Circular PD 01/2021, p.7, item 42) In Abu Dhabi, DoH’s ABA guidelines state: “It is important to note that ABA services are bound to the DOH insurance coverage for reimbursement in clinical settings.” (DoH ABA Guidelines V1/2024, p.17, §3.8.4.3) Check your own policy and ask your insurer what it covers. More in Is autism covered by insurance in the UAE?

Frequently asked questions

How much does ABA therapy cost in Dubai?

From the providers’ own pages, as published, per-hour or per-session rates we found in Dubai run from AED 200–250 per session (package rate) to AED 450/hr for a BCBA session. See the table above. We don’t calculate an average, and prices change, so ask each provider for a written fee schedule.

Is ABA covered by insurance in the UAE?

It depends on your emirate and plan. See Is autism covered by insurance in the UAE? and ask your insurer in writing.

Next steps on Determined UAE: browse the provider directory or put your own numbers into the yearly cost estimator. Other guides.

Sources

Last reviewed 16 Oct 2026 by Determined UAE. Spotted an error? Email hello@determineduae.com.