Does your child receive ABA services?

[perla75]

Hi there,

I just wondered how many of you have children who receive ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) services. In the state I live, it is a very common therapy. Private ABA schools, agencies, private consultants, EI, ABA social skills groups, even some public schools offer this type of teaching.

Just wondered if it is commonly offered in other states as well?

Thanks for feeding my curiosity!:goodvibes

[Figment1964]

In our community it's not used much, if at all, that I know of.

[blondietink]

It is offered where we live, but on a very limited basis usually only for severe cases of Autism. No ABA schools, no private consultants, etc..

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Last year I was a sub for the preschool EIBI room which is apart of our public school's early childhood center. Since it is through the public schools, it is free of charge to the parents. I was always very impressed with how much progress the kids had made every time I subbed.

[bookwormde]

I checked no because while my child gets a social skills curriculum (as all spectrum children should) it is not focused around modifying behaviors.

bookwormde

[KirstenB]

Our county's public schools don't have it, or at least not at the elementary school level. There are 2 private schools for children with autism in Richmond. I can't say if they use it or not, but my gut tells me they probably do.

My friend's child is 6, and just completed the same preschool our daughter attends, which is public school. His teacher suggested my friend look into ABA. He had some behaviors that were socially inappropriate, and they were trying to redirect him.

Zoe spent 2 yrs in EI, and it isn't a part of the EI therapy here. I don't live in Richmond, despite my profile, it's just the closest large city. We're in a very small county outside the city.

[perla75]

Thanks for your responses! I'm disappointed to hear that these services are not as widely available across some other states, as they are in MA.

If anyone is interested, I can offer you this website that lists ABA schools and services across the country, but I'm not familiar with your regions so I don't know if these places are far away.

http://rsaffran.tripod.com/schools.html#USA

We are lucky I guess in MA because ABA is seen quite often on an IEP for a child on the spectrum-especially little ones. If the public school cannot provide, they will contract with private agencies to accomodate these needs.
Regardless, in several school systems, ABA services are often paid for by the school system for children with ASD diagnoses.

ABA is NOT just for managing problematic behaviors. We teach everything from self care to academics to language to social skills. There are 3-4 social skills centers I am aware of in MA that teaches social skills (i. i.e. peer relationships, conversations, etc...) in an ABA format.

:)

[blondietink]

Thanks for the link to ABA schools. I looked for NY, but the closest one to where I live is over an hour away. We live in a very rural area so this isn't very surprising as we have to drive an hour just to get to a shopping mall! ;)

[perla75]

Thanks for the link to ABA schools. I looked for NY, but the closest one to where I live is over an hour away. We live in a very rural area so this isn't very surprising as we have to drive an hour just to get to a shopping mall! ;)

That's too bad. I guess I've been living in a bubble in MA. Services are fairly easy to find around here (even in public schools), I guess I figured they were more accessible in other areas as well.

The Carbone Clinic and the Keller School are both excellent places in NY. I think the Keller School is part of Columbia University & offers a very interesting model of ABA. The Carbone Clinic offers one of the best language training programs in the US, IMHO. He is fairly pricey, but if you have the money and are willing to make the drive, an evaluation and recommendations from his staff is truly priceless.

[blondietink]

Yes, you must live in a bubble in MA.... all of NY is not NYC. We live an 8 hour drive away from NYC! Contrary to popular belief, ABA does not work on every person with Autism. Like I said it is rarely used around here for many reasons that I will not go into because I don't want to offend anybody who believes in it. Good luck anyway! :cool2:

[perla75]

Yes, you must live in a bubble in MA.... all of NY is not NYC. We live an 8 hour drive away from NYC! Contrary to popular belief, ABA does not work on every person with Autism. Like I said it is rarely used around here for many reasons that I will not go into because I don't want to offend anybody who believes in it. Good luck anyway! :cool2:

I was not looking for an argument or snippy attitude Barb, and I am well aware of how large the state of NY is. I was merely mentioning two agencies I regard highly in your state, and they were not both in NYC.

You mentioned that you looked for an agency in NY, this led me to believe you were expressing an interest. I meant no harm in trying to help.

I am a firm believer in my field & I will say very proudly and honestly that ABA techniques work if they are implemented correctly and consistently. Unfortunately, just like every other therapy out there, that is not always the case.

Anyways, You have the right to your opinion & I'm sorry you seemed to misunderstand my response-I intend no harm or disrespect.

[Cheshire Figment]

OK Folks.

Please try to keep this civil without sarcasm or the thread will end up closed. (And one or more people may receive infraction points.)

[blondietink]

No harm intended. I looked at the listing for NY out of curiosity and to help other families that might be interested in learning more about ABA. Maybe we could focus also about what therapies have worked for your child and what hasn't worked? Also severity/type is a consideration that needs to be addressed. Classic Autism is often far different from the current trend of focusing on Aspie's. Just MHO. :cool2:

[BeckyScott]

I checked no, because while we did experiment briefly with Discrete Trial, it isn't the same as ABA.

We found that in our case, DS didn't need that approach to learn. I know there are kids around here that get it, but it is all funded by the parents, nobody I know gets it thru the school, although one school incorporates it a bit but isn't really doing ABA.

[Luv Bunnies]

In years past, the special ed preschool where I work (public school system) was providing ABA services to many of the autistic kids. They would receive 2 hours of private therapy either before or after their 3 hour preschool session. The district hired a private agency to administer the program. Some of the therapists came from the agency and some were aides from our district who were trained by the agency.

This year, it's a different story. The special ed director has phased out private ABA sessions completely. Last spring, a trainer came in and did 2 training sessions for everyone who works in the program. The goal was to use the ABA philisophy and techniques in the classrooms as part of the daily program, rather than pull kids out to work one-on-one. Of course, this all has to do with the budget! The director even told us as much in the first training. Unfortunately, our district is notorious for eliminating or refusing to offer certain services.

They did create a class this year for severely autistic kids. They have cubicles set up and they rotate working with the kids one-on-one, as well as having group activities. Many of the kids who had private ABA are now in that class. Some of the parents are satisfied, others are still pushing for the private sessions. Since this is a new program, it will be interesting to see how it shakes out and whether they go back to private ABA session.

[belle&beast]

I work with preschoolers as their SLP and I have mixed feelings about ABA. We do have it available in our area through a university and kids are making gains. I really believe that with young children there should also be some type of play based intervention (think Greenspan), or you miss out on a great pragmatic opportunity at an early age.

I have a friend that has an 8 yo DD with autism and is using ABA. They are thrilled with the results, however, they are now looking for more play based opportunities because her pragmatic skills are lacking more and more as she gets older. She is rarely engaged with others and has a very flat affect. So I think ABA is a good option, but not the only one that should be used.

[perla75]

I work with preschoolers as their SLP and I have mixed feelings about ABA. We do have it available in our area through a university and kids are making gains. I really believe that with young children there should also be some type of play based intervention (think Greenspan), or you miss out on a great pragmatic opportunity at an early age.

I have a friend that has an 8 yo DD with autism and is using ABA. They are thrilled with the results, however, they are now looking for more play based opportunities because her pragmatic skills are lacking more and more as she gets older. She is rarely engaged with others and has a very flat affect. So I think ABA is a good option, but not the only one that should be used.

I absolutely agree with you about NOT using one type of therapy as the only option. IMHO, the BEST program for any child is one that utilizes a variety of approaches. The best model I have ever seen was a former family of mine had a team consisting of: a BCBA/ABA team, an RDI consultant, a Floortime Consultant, Speech therapist, Reading Specialist, and believe it or not-one heck of a karate teacher! All of our expertise together made for one pretty amazing program & this child's progress was leaps & bounds!

Have you ever looked into RDI? Relationship Development Intervention. Now that I think about it, it may not be offered in many states, but it has done wonders for several clients of mine

[lucigo]

That's too bad. I guess I've been living in a bubble in MA. Services are fairly easy to find around here (even in public schools), I guess I figured they were more accessible in other areas as well.

The Carbone Clinic and the Keller School are both excellent places in NY. I think the Keller School is part of Columbia University & offers a very interesting model of ABA. The Carbone Clinic offers one of the best language training programs in the US, IMHO. He is fairly pricey, but if you have the money and are willing to make the drive, an evaluation and recommendations from his staff is truly priceless.

The Carbone Clinic came down and trained our summer camp staff - very professional and excellent training that our teachers could take with them back to school after summer camp was over, so was a win-win for us! :thumbsup2

[lucigo]

I just want to say I really like this thread. Here in the FL panhandle we don't have a lot of services available and I have had to learn to do it myself. I have purchased floortime instructional videos, read ABA manuals, and of course read everything I could find on the internet. My DS is 5 and in Kindergarten this year. Since he was 18 months old we have done speech/OT, EI with gymboree play classes and music classes, and then preK (ESE/VE), and 2 years of 6 week summer camps which are the only experiences he has had with ABA. We have made our own visual aids, power points, home-made video modeling, you name it. Our homemade approach has basically been an in-your-face mix of whatever works.

There are only a couple of ABA therapists here. You either have to be on medicaid or rich to afford them. We were told it would be covered by Tricare, only to find out its only for ACTIVE duty military, NOT people who have given the country 20 years and then retired.

He is just now to the point where there are services being offered specifically for what I think he needs. He is in an ESE class where he is (I think) the only one with autism. He gets pulled out by the autism teacher 2x a day to get extra help in language skills and she is doing some ABA based work with him. Its working very nicely because he is getting the social interaction he needs in the ESE class, and the specialized attention in the autism class.

My husband graduates from college in December and will be looking for a job as a middle school math and/or science teacher. I'm scared to death we will have to move and I'll have to start all over trying to figure out whats best for our little guy. The entire panhandle has a hiring freeze because of budget cuts.

So its nice to hear what works for everyone else's kids, and who is happy with their services...please keep it coming!

[perla75]

The Carbone Clinic came down and trained our summer camp staff - very professional and excellent training that our teachers could take with them back to school after summer camp was over, so was a win-win for us! :thumbsup2

You are very lucky! Was Dr. Carbone there as well? He is a very nice & smart man-I've attended several of his trainings and talks and we also actually took a related workshop together at a conference! I've had several clients travel to his clinic for evals and they were very satisfied with his services.:)

[lucigo]

You are very lucky! Was Dr. Carbone there as well? He is a very nice & smart man-I've attended several of his trainings and talks and we also actually took a related workshop together at a conference! I've had several clients travel to his clinic for evals and they were very satisfied with his services.:)

I don't think he came, I believe it was two women. My DD20 did the brochure for the training, and my DH attended, so one of them would have that information. I'll have to see what I can find out! The feedback we got was very positive!! :thumbsup2

[dclfun]

My daughter finished her masters and just passed her certification for ABA. She worked for the past three years at a private school for autistic children in MA and now is in Chicago. The services she has found in Chicago are really lacking as well as funding available for parents. One family she works with has three autistic children and had to second-mortgage their home to pay for services- something she feels strongly should never have happened. No one should be forced to give up their life savings or put their home in jeopardy for services that should be provided for these children via insurance or a state subsidy, etc. I'm with her on that- there should be funding for a service that has already been proven to be beneficial.- Kathy

[lucigo]

My daughter finished her masters and just passed her certification for ABA. She worked for the past three years at a private school for autistic children in MA and now is in Chicago. The services she has found in Chicago are really lacking as well as funding available for parents. One family she works with has three autistic children and had to second-mortgage their home to pay for services- something she feels strongly should never have happened. No one should be forced to give up their life savings or put their home in jeopardy for services that should be provided for these children via insurance or a state subsidy, etc. I'm with her on that- there should be funding for a service that has already been proven to be beneficial.- Kathy

That is really sad. There should be support available to everyone who needs it. If they can't afford the services they should at the very least be able to get someone to teach the parents how to do it.

[perla75]

My daughter finished her masters and just passed her certification for ABA. She worked for the past three years at a private school for autistic children in MA and now is in Chicago. The services she has found in Chicago are really lacking as well as funding available for parents. One family she works with has three autistic children and had to second-mortgage their home to pay for services- something she feels strongly should never have happened. No one should be forced to give up their life savings or put their home in jeopardy for services that should be provided for these children via insurance or a state subsidy, etc. I'm with her on that- there should be funding for a service that has already been proven to be beneficial.- Kathy

Congratulations to your daughter-that is a very difficult certification exam! :thumbsup2

Do you mind if I ask which school in MA she worked for? We have quite a few really nice ones.

I totally agree about health insurance paying for services. I have been signing petitions for years on this. I keep hearing that insurance companies are refusing because it is "educational" and not "therapeutic." I disagree with this. I don't understand why insurance companies will pay for speech pathologists and not ABA consultants when we teach language as well? and why insurance will pay for psychologists but not us when we treat behavior? Makes no sense to me. When I was doing home-based work, I offered a sliding scale for families who were struggling financially. I could only offer this for a certain amount of families because I had to have enough money to pay my own bills. In the district I currently work for, we honor school-based ABA services in IEP's for children with autism (obviously free of charge). It does not seem fair to me that a child should lose out on effective services simply because they are not affluent.:sad1:

[mikkiwikki]

HI - I just wanted to chime in that ABA has 20+ years of scientifically evidence based peer-reviewed research - documenting its real success. The only scientifically replicatable...and proven method to significantly improve the functioning of autistic children. It absolutely was the foundation of my son's programming, and I credit it for the majority of his progress.

If implemented properly with trained staff, it is the only known method out there that has 20+ years of research behind it. Other techniques are fairly young in comparison. More great reading about ABA can be found here.
One of the first books I read, and could utilize immediately - a story about a real mom who employed ABA. http://www.amazon.com/Behavioral-Intervention-Young-Children-Autism/dp/0890796831

I've also be around long enough to know that some are ready in their journey to talk about this stuff, and others are heavily invested in other techniques.

Many parents become very very emotionally invested in helping their child so its hard to talk about new techniques when you are so invested in others.

I've been in enough of these discussions to know the politics of this topic is and can become highly charged. Lets keep this discussion positive. Our children benefit by knowledge sharing...We need more of that, and less of dismissing people who are trying so hard to help their children.

Another great read on this topic read - "Let me hear your voice" by Catherine Maurice.
http://www.behavior.org/autism/catherine_maurice.pdf

Peace :hippie:

[mikkiwikki]

It is offered where we live, but on a very limited basis usually only for severe cases of Autism. No ABA schools, no private consultants, etc..

ABA is not only for the severly affected. Its too bad your state doesnt recognize that. However many states do not. Until INsurance companies recognize autism as a medical condition instead of a mental illness (which it is not) - you will continue to see the patchwork quilt of services of the US - due to insurance coverage loopholes.

[mikkiwikki]

My daughter finished her masters and just passed her certification for ABA. She worked for the past three years at a private school for autistic children in MA and now is in Chicago. The services she has found in Chicago are really lacking as well as funding available for parents. One family she works with has three autistic children and had to second-mortgage their home to pay for services- something she feels strongly should never have happened. No one should be forced to give up their life savings or put their home in jeopardy for services that should be provided for these children via insurance or a state subsidy, etc. I'm with her on that- there should be funding for a service that has already been proven to be beneficial.- Kathy

Its clear our nations priorities are fouled up. This makes me so sad to hear.:sad2:

[mikkiwikki]

I work with preschoolers as their SLP and I have mixed feelings about ABA. We do have it available in our area through a university and kids are making gains. I really believe that with young children there should also be some type of play based intervention (think Greenspan), or you miss out on a great pragmatic opportunity at an early age.

I have a friend that has an 8 yo DD with autism and is using ABA. They are thrilled with the results, however, they are now looking for more play based opportunities because her pragmatic skills are lacking more and more as she gets older. She is rarely engaged with others and has a very flat affect. So I think ABA is a good option, but not the only one that should be used.

Interesting angle. I dont think anyone is suggesting you lock a child up in a room with an ABA therapist for 40 + hours a week. A nice quote excerpted for your reading pleasure
"... For instance, one of the underlying assumptions of ABA is that scientific research, with its emphasis on that which can be observed and measured, can yield reliably objective information about phenomena. On the other hand, statements about feelings, thoughts, and emotions do not lend themselves readily to verification or confirmation."

In other words all human behavior can be measured and progress tracked...that includes social skills. ABA is not turning kids into robotic complaince drones...if done correctly is definitely not a negative experience ....if done well it is very motivating, very reinforcing, and very positive. Anyone who says differently isnt up to snuff on their skills.

IN sum - you can use ABA for play skills, for emotional reciprocity, for any human behavior. That is why it is so powerful.

[belle&beast]

Interesting angle. I dont think anyone is suggesting you lock a child up in a room with an ABA therapist for 40 + hours a week. A nice quote excerpted for your reading pleasure
"... For instance, one of the underlying assumptions of ABA is that scientific research, with its emphasis on that which can be observed and measured, can yield reliably objective information about phenomena. On the other hand, statements about feelings, thoughts, and emotions do not lend themselves readily to verification or confirmation."

In other words all human behavior can be measured and progress tracked...that includes social skills. ABA is not turning kids into robotic complaince drones...if done correctly is definitely not a negative experience ....if done well it is very motivating, very reinforcing, and very positive. Anyone who says differently isnt up to snuff on their skills.

IN sum - you can use ABA for play skills, for emotional reciprocity, for any human behavior. That is why it is so powerful.

I never said anyone would "lock a child up in a room with an ABA therapist for 40 + hours a week, " nor did I say that ABA is turning kids into "robotic drones." (your words- NOT mine.) In fact I did not say anything negative at all- I have seen good progress with ABA. I DID say that in my professional opinion, play based therapy should go along with ABA for young children.

[perla75]

I never said anyone would "lock a child up in a room with an ABA therapist for 40 + hours a week, " nor did I say that ABA is turning kids into "robotic drones." (your words- NOT mine.) In fact I did not say anything negative at all- I have seen good progress with ABA. I DID say that in my professional opinion, play based therapy should go along with ABA for young children.

I think those quotes are common myths of ABA. I will say that ABA utilizes alot of effective technique to teach play skills. Some people think that ABA is all tabletop work, but that is actually not the case. While there are certain skills that are taught in a tabletop setting, play based skills are generally taught on the floor, or in natural play-related settings. We make sure that they child can generalize his/her skills across location, setting, materials, and people. We teach parallel play, cooperative play, and independent play skills.

One great behavioral technique I am currently using to teach dramatic play with vocal behavior is called "video modeling"-very effective way to teach play and social skills!:thumbsup2

[mikkiwikki]

I never said anyone would "lock a child up in a room with an ABA therapist for 40 + hours a week, " nor did I say that ABA is turning kids into "robotic drones." (your words- NOT mine.) In fact I did not say anything negative at all- I have seen good progress with ABA. I DID say that in my professional opinion, play based therapy should go along with ABA for young children.

Aaactually what I said was - "I dont think anyone is suggesting you lock a child up in a room with an ABA therapist for 40 + hours a week." So .. I was just trying to convey my point - sorry if I wasnt astute enough to pick up on your message...which was that I think - ABA is a therapy which cannot promote social/play skills. Which I think is not entirely true. Sorry If that was taken the wrong way.

Greenspan has some great ideas, however the science isnt behind that therapy yet.
The clock is ticking for these kids - no time to waste.

I just wanted to point out - on the 'professional' comment - I hope you will forgive me saying this but - although I hold no piece of paper with a certification, 8+ years of working with my child around the clock definitely puts me as at least *as* well read - if not *more* well read than most professionals Ive encountered. But Again - sorry to offend.

[mikkiwikki]

I think those quotes are common myths of ABA. I will say that ABA utilizes alot of effective technique to teach play skills. Some people think that ABA is all tabletop work, but that is actually not the case. While there are certain skills that are taught in a tabletop setting, play based skills are generally taught on the floor, or in natural play-related settings. We make sure that they child can generalize his/her skills across location, setting, materials, and people. We teach parallel play, cooperative play, and independent play skills.

One great behavioral technique I am currently using to teach dramatic play with vocal behavior is called "video modeling"-very effective way to teach play and social skills!:thumbsup2

Exactly - you said it much more eloquently than I Perla - thanks for your description. That is what I was trying to say. I dont understand when people say that supplementation is necessary, because my point is that ABA can be used for play skills. I just meant that when people generally think of ABA they think of Lovaas...early techniques...exclusively tabletime, and that is not how it works at all anymore. Sorry If I ruffled any feathers.

[perla75]

Exactly - you said it much more eloquently than I Perla - thanks for your description. That is what I was trying to say. I dont understand when people say that supplementation is necessary, because my point is that ABA can be used for play skills. I just meant that when people generally think of ABA they think of Lovaas...early techniques...exclusively tabletime, and that is not how it works at all anymore. Sorry If I ruffled any feathers.

What I'm learning is ABA is clearly a controversial topic. :confused3

[bookwormde]

I think that ABA is a system to change behavior at its core. Most Thoughtful clinicians and educators quickly recognized that that in unto itself is of very limited value so most training structures and individual adaptations include adjusts that include several other therapies including social skill, TOM and EF support.

Most effective clinician only do core ABA as a small percentage of their ABA time, but use the ABA “cover” to make it acceptable to the bean counters, instead they us the above adjuncts to make broader progress.

The real issue is that a lot of inexperienced or inadequately educated educators and clinicians use core ABA as an exclusive or primary therapy instead of using it as in entry point for broader programs.

bookwormde

[KirstenB]

Perla, I went to the Carbone Clinic's website you referenced. I saw a brief video of a therapist and child using "intensive" ABA, and then one of "natural environment" ABA. The intensive one was hard to watch. The therapist was going so fast, it made me crazy just watching it. The natural environment seemed like the Floortime strategies we use with Zoe. I could easily relate to it.

I asked Zoe's teacher about ABA, and she said they incorporate natural environment to a certain extent.

How does the therapist decide which approach to take between the 2? Does it depend on where the child ranges on the spectrum? Thanks for all the info you've given so far.

[LittleBugsMama]

just chiming in here - my 2 1/2 son began the early intervention program here on Long Island, NY in January. He was diagnosed with PDD in May. From May til now, he has received ABA and it is totally free - we didn't even have insurance for him for a while there. Thank God we live here where the services are all free...I don't know what I would do if they weren't. He has come a long way since beginning ABA...I am so proud of him and I am someone who 6 months ago never even heard of ABA but now I am a firm believer that this method accomplishes what it sets out to do. My son is mild-moderate. Quite a character, too!:cool2:

[mikkiwikki]

Interesting summary on research around treatment descriptions.
http://www.asatonline.org/resources/treatments_desc.htm

[mikkiwikki]

just chiming in here - my 2 1/2 son began the early intervention program here on Long Island, NY in January. He was diagnosed with PDD in May. From May til now, he has received ABA and it is totally free - we didn't even have insurance for him for a while there. Thank God we live here where the services are all free...I don't know what I would do if they weren't. He has come a long way since beginning ABA...I am so proud of him and I am someone who 6 months ago never even heard of ABA but now I am a firm believer that this method accomplishes what it sets out to do. My son is mild-moderate. Quite a character, too!:cool2:

Welcome - i just wanted to say that first year is so hard.
We used ABA which worked wonders. I was so very sad during that first year and just wanted to say that it does get better -it sounds like you are right on top of things, and hang in there.
:grouphug: