ABA Therapy.....

[lorijyoung]

I have just heard about ABA recently however I don't know anything about it. All I know is it's a behavioral therapy for Austic children. But I don't know what they do or how it can help my son.

Can someone please post and tell me what their understanding off ABA Therapy is? Has your child been through it? How did it help your child? Would you recommend it?

I would be very grateful if someone would explain this therapy to me. Thank you very much.

Take Care and God Bless, Lori

[Shinna]

Lori,

I will say ABA Therapy has really helped my son.He was non-verbal and was talking very few words we started ABA Therapy in June and we are still doing it and probably keep doing it as long as affordable. It teaches your son as well as mine motivation to speak, work on behaviors before they happen. Here in Texas we do about 6hrs a week. The cost is about $1200.00-1375.00 a month. However at about 3 months you will see results. I recommend that you check out the therapist and what the session to see exactly what you want him to know. We started with basic How are you?, yes and no and slowly he is doing pre-academics. His therapist is a man and he really motivates my son and is able to make him talk. Also you will have monthy meeting, at this time you should have the therapist to show you what skills and goals they have worked with your son. Also stay involved to see the skills being taught. In addition to the therapy we have made just 8X10 black and white photos of food, places, and family and put them in binder and every night he says them for bed. Here is a great website in texas you can check out videos and the therapies. www.autismspot.com.

I hope this helps you

[FearlessFemales]

Hi Lori,

Here is a great link http://www.brighttots.com/aba_therapy.html to understanding ABA and other therapies that work.  Getting your autistic child started with ABA as soon as he/she is diagnosed has been known to be instrumental in helping a child reduce the signs of autism and helping them learn effectively.

Holly

www.fearlessfemales.blogspot.com

 

[Mrs.Corona1]

Hi,

I work as an ABA therapist and it is an amazing treatment for children with an autism diagnosis. It is basically behavioral intervention to increase positive behavior and redirect negative behavior. Usually a therapist works one-on-one with your child and they start off by addressing behavioral issues first and then progress into working on life skills (like manners, going to the bathroom by themselves, tying shoes, knowing their personal information, etc.) Check out this website www.centerforautism.com, its a great site.

You may be able to have the school district or a regional center pay for your child's treatment. Its worth looking into, as another person posted, it can get pricey if you pay on your own.

[SageandRyan]

We decided on going with a DIR model instead of ABA.  They are completely opposite.  DIR is a relationship based, child centered approach.  Son-Rise and Floortime have been miracles for us.  When I was reasearching it, ABA just seemed like such an outdated model, and I really didn't feel comfortable with it at all.  DIR is a great fit for our family.  Just another thing to look into. 

[karenreid]

Hello!  I am an ABA provider as well.  It is a fantastic therapy for working with children and increasing their skills and reducing any problem behaviors.  It has demonstrated great improvements in childrens' behaviors and skills.  It is covered by Tricare ECHO, of which I am a provider as well.  If anyone is interested in more information, please email me at [e-mail]  I am located in the Gulf Coast region.  Have a great day!

Karen

[Losha007]

Lori, 

ABA is a behavior based therapy.  It is tailored to each person's individual needs.  It has been emperically shown to have great results in helping children with autism.  My son entered ABA therapy at 3 and had the label of moderate/severe classical autism.  He had a vocal repertoire of about 5-6 words and a significant amount of problem behavior.  Only 2 1/2 years later he is speaking in sentences (he still needs speech therapy because he is still not where he should be for his age), he has begun to aquire social skills and his problem behavior has been reduced to almost nothing.  He still has the occassional flare up but they are way smaller and farther in between than before. His BCBA was able to help get him potty trained, to eat a variety of different foods, and to sleep in his own bed at night. Most people tell me that there is no way that my child has autism when I tell them.  I would definately recommend it.