deleted.

[funhouse8]

delete

 

[jmartinez1895]

I have never heard of them in our area ( Alabama), but I would check with your local BBB. Also they should have a phone number that she could call and discuss anything like that, but have them send any promises ( like they will locate students for her) in writing.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would worry a bit about them. I did a "whois" search and all of their information is private. And it does show that their domain registration may have just expired.

 

[dclfun]

Did your daughter pass the ABA certification test? If so, $30 seems like very low pay, esp. considering she will have to pay for her own materials. How can they be touting piano as piano lessons may not even be appropriate for some of the children needing ABA intervention.---Kathy

 

[WheeledTraveler]

I looked at the website with a friend of mine (who knows a lot more about autism and related therapies than I do) last night.

These were things we noticed:
- It seems to be using ABA to teach piano, not piano to facilitate ABA.
- It doesn't seem to talk about being autism specific, just "special needs".
- As far as employment goes it seems to either want people who know ABA, but don't need to know piano or people who know piano who don't need to know ABA (and the latter pays better). Linked to this they do have an 800 number for parents to call and find out who can teach their child in their area. There is no sign of what areas may be covered on the website.
- Neither one of us could really necessarily put an exact finger to it, but it did set off our "quackmeters". I think for me it was partially that it has an 800 number, but always says to ask for one specific person (always the same person) and it didn't seem to give a good sense of where there were therapists or even where the company itself was based. There was also something with the tone of the site that got to me, but I can't tell you exactly what and was probably at least partially to do with my dislike of the term "special needs"

I agree with the suggestion of checking with the BBB before proceeding.

 

[dclfun]

IMO if they are advertising to parents about ABA, then they should provide therapists that are ABA certified or disclose otherwise. I don't understand how someone with no knowledge of piano ( but ABA certified) could teach piano to anyone with any kind of competency. BTW I'm certainly not criticizing or questioning the OP's daughter as I have no knowledge of her skills and credentials for working with autistic persons or teaching piano. I feel like throwing out "ABA" may delude some parents into thinking they are getting therapy along with piano lessons or vice versa.---Kathy

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

IMO if they are advertising to parents about ABA, then they should provide therapists that are ABA certified or disclose otherwise. I don't understand how someone with no knowledge of piano ( but ABA certified) could teach piano to anyone with any kind of competency. BTW I'm certainly not criticizing or questioning the OP's daughter as I have no knowledge of her skills and credentials for working with autistic persons or teaching piano. I feel like throwing out "ABA" may delude some parents into thinking they are getting therapy along with piano lessons or vice versa.---Kathy

What ABA certification are you thinking of? As far as I know there are only 2 nationally recognized certifications in ABA -- the BCBA, and the BCaBA. Generally a BCBA develops the ABA program and supervises it, but the people using it on a daily basis are not certified. I'm in training to become a BCBA, an what I do (under the supervision of a BCBA) is write behavior intervention plans an behavior teaching plans that are implemented by classroom teachers, special ed teachers and paraprofessionals. Other people who work in non-school settings write plans that are implemented by "home therapists" who are often college students working part time, or by parents.

I should add that ABA is a discipline with much broader applications than sitting across the table from a young child with autism running discrete trials. One could completely design a piano lesson program that was based on the principles of ABA, whether these people have done so I don't know.

 

[dclfun]

My daughter has her Masters and passed the BCBA certification- not sure if that's what you meant? She has been contacted by insurance companies to be a certified provider. She does assessments, treatment plans, follows through with classroom and other providers as well as working with kids in direct therapy and providing family support, etc . I have no knowledge of this piano program but my concern would be possible false advertising to the parents---Kathy