ABA Therapy

[psalm3704]

I have friends who are wanting to begin ABA Therapy for their four-year-old daughter. Their school district near Philadelphia does not offer it. Can anyone please offer some advice?

[goodasitgets]

I always try to encourage parents to learn to do this with their child.  Even if the only ABA they get is at home with Mom and or Dad or other family member or friends that can be taught to do this, it will not only help the child learn valuable skills, help eliminate unwanted behaviors, but also help the child learn to interact with increased social skills with other family members and friends.  You don't have to be a professional Board Certified Behavior Analyst to effectively teach your child through this technique. 

The very best investment this family can make is Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism A Manual for Parents and Professionals Edited by Catherine Maurice Coedited by Gina Green & Stephen C. Luce.  It's list price is around $40 and is money very well spent.  It teaches you everything you need to know for a fast start on ABA including conducting a skills assessment, selecting reinforcers, choosing and updating curriculum, tracking data, and more. 

As the home and neighborhood environment is such a  positive and effective place for treatment of especially young children on the spectrum ABA in the home environment is a fantastic addition to a child's overall treatment  plan. 

I had more success originally getting some ABA time in my son's IEP when he began preschool because I had them v isit my home and watch me doing ABA with David.  They could see him responding and learning with this method.  It fit his learning style and I had data to back up his progress. Data is something schools very rarely have to back up the effectiveness of their programs. ABA is no longer in his public school program but is still a part of our home program as well as the TeachTown online subscription that is ABA based that we use as an additional supplement. 

The battle to convince a school/district to use a particular methodology can be a tiresome and fruitless one for many families.  I find it best that if you do pursue trying to convince a district to include ABA in a child's school program to also go ahead and begin using it on your own at home.  Your child won't have to wait for school to agree and get trained to start learning.  The family will alwys be the child's best teacher and advocate and parents and even s iblings can be great ABA therapists.  Siblings are especially useful when taking a skill learned in Discrete Trial Training to the generalization stage.

Let Me Hear Your Voice by Catherine Maurice is also a good book to read to gain knowledge to start ABA in your home.  Parents are very capable of providign good ABA Discrete Trial and Generalization training to their child. It is  cost effective, and fun to get involved teaching yoru child with this method. 

[hakelasmom]

I must echo everythings goodasitgets said above except my son never officially had it in school (good teachers know what they are doing and apply principles of ABA often without the benefit of the documentation).  I did warrant (through insurance) a ABA provider in my home who did a head check with me and observed my procedures.  She tested my son in social areas and made some recommendations.  (That was before we both moved away due to circumstances beyond our control - long story.)

I agree the family can be the most effective at providing consistent instruction for many obvious reasons.  Studies have shown that when parents are trained and involved the success rate is higher (I saw Gina Green in a lecture).  

I highly recommend books mentioned above and Activitiy Schedules for Children with Autism: Teaching Indepentent Behavior  by Lynn McClannahan.

I love the whole documentation aspect of ABA.  It makes my heart glad.

[goodasitgets]

... involved the success rate is higher (I saw Gina Green in a lecture).  

I highly recommend books mentioned above and Activitiy Schedules for Children with Autism: Teaching Indepentent Behavior  by Lynn McClannahan.

I love the whole documentation aspect of ABA.  It makes my heart glad.

First of all, YOU lucky dog to have heard her speak!!! (GRIN)
Also THANK YOU for the book title!  If it isn't already in the members choice book list I will add it with a weblink so people can click and find out more about it.