Re: ABA Therapy

[Guest guest]

Jaszeer:Progress will be hard to determine without knowing HOW they are determining the progress.  Based on what you wrote, your child has been going there for three months.  Based on what you wrote your child has improved thirty percent in object labeling, 30% in following instructions, 13% in Mand (I am not sure what this is),  eye contact has increased 15%, and object imitation has increased by 50%.

This would appear to be a great deal of progress.  As you stated, this is what this school focuses on.  It sounds like you want progress in functionality, and I don't blame you, functional skills are a necessity to foster later independence.

Maybe strictly ABA therapy is not the way to go.  Only you, as the child's parents can make that final decision.  Have you ever considered Focus on the Future Training Center in Plano?  Of, course, this school is expensive (by my standards anyway)  but if you have the means, I would recommend it.

I have been all over the DFW area looking at schools for my son, and it is a tough choice --still if I had to choose I would choose Focus.  The only thing that holds me back is that it is geared toward lower functioning students, and my son is high functioning. 

The other schools I looked at focused mainly on academics and offer no in-house speech or OT.  Focus offers individualized instruction, speech, OT, music therapy, play therapy, social therapy, and community-based instruction.  I believe the the focus of their mission there is to bring a child to independence, so they focus on functional behavior and skills.  They taught me how to potty-train my child completely by the age of five (it only took three days).  I don't know at what age they start accepting children, but I do know it is pretty young.  You'd have to call to ask.  I have been very pleased with the summer camp they provide.

Out of all the schools I looked at in the area, I felt this school would meet the most needs.I don't know if this helps, but if you want to see improvement in functional behavior then you will have to find a school and program that supports that.

It does look like what they focus on brought much improvement in those areas, but as always, I believe parents should go with their gut instincts.  Do you feel he is better?  Do you see improvement?You have to sit down and decide what it is YOU want you child to be able to do in a year's time.  Map it out and ask yourself if the goals are specific, measurable, actively descriptive, relevant (he needs to learn this for independence) and reasonable (for him to learn in twelve months),  and lastly time -limited (this is where you decide how long it should take for him to master this with proper methodology, materials, and supports.

Hope this helps.Haven

[Guest guest]

Mand probobly refers to manding, or requesting things verbally. The first stage is very simple, such as "I want milk" or "I want crayon."Maggie EvertsCommunication Strategiesmaggietmck@...From: Haven DeLay Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:45:18 -0600To: <Texas-Autism-Advocacy >Subject: Re: ABA Therapy Jaszeer:Progress will be hard to determine without knowing HOW they are determining the progress.  Based on what you wrote, your child has been going there for three months.  Based on what you wrote your child has improved thirty percent in object labeling, 30% in following instructions, 13% in Mand (I am not sure what this is),  eye contact has increased 15%, and object imitation has increased by 50%.This would appear to be a great deal of progress.  As you stated, this is what this school focuses on.  It sounds like you want progress in functionality, and I don't blame you, functional skills are a necessity to foster later independence.Maybe strictly ABA therapy is not the way to go.  Only you, as the child's parents can make that final decision.  Have you ever considered Focus on the Future Training Center in Plano?  Of, course, this school is expensive (by my standards anyway)  but if you have the means, I would recommend it.I have been all over the DFW area looking at schools for my son, and it is a tough choice --still if I had to choose I would choose Focus.  The only thing that holds me back is that it is geared toward lower functioning students, and my son is high functioning.  The other schools I looked at focused mainly on academics and offer no in-house speech or OT.  Focus offers individualized instruction, speech, OT, music therapy, play therapy, social therapy, and community-based instruction.  I believe the the focus of their mission there is to bring a child to independence, so they focus on functional behavior and skills.  They taught me how to potty-train my child completely by the age of five (it only took three days).  I don't know at what age they start accepting children, but I do know it is pretty young.  You'd have to call to ask.  I have been very pleased with the summer camp they provide.Out of all the schools I looked at in the area, I felt this school would meet the most needs.I don't know if this helps, but if you want to see improvement in functional behavior then you will have to find a school and program that supports that.It does look like what they focus on brought much improvement in those areas, but as always, I believe parents should go with their gut instincts.  Do you feel he is better?  Do you see improvement?You have to sit down and decide what it is YOU want you child to be able to do in a year's time.  Map it out and ask yourself if the goals are specific, measurable, actively descriptive, relevant (he needs to learn this for independence) and reasonable (for him to learn in twelve months),  and lastly time -limited (this is where you decide how long it should take for him to master this with proper methodology, materials, and supports.Hope this helps.Haven

[Guest guest]

Thanks for clearing that up.  So, I would say Mand is the beginning of expressive language.I always thank God for the Internet!  With it I have learned so much!  I'd hate to think of where my son would be if it hadn't been for the Internet and the chance to connect with other parents and professionals!

Haven

[Guest guest]

Thank you all who responded

Appreciate it!

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy Sent: Wed, January 27, 2010 8:30:30 AMSubject: Re: ABA Therapy

Thanks for clearing that up. So, I would say Mand is the beginning of expressive language.I always thank God for the Internet! With it I have learned so much! I'd hate to think of where my son would be if it hadn't been for the Internet and the chance to connect with other parents and professionals!Haven

[Guest guest]

Hi Jaszeer,

I saw your post the other day and it's been on my mind to reply. My son was

diagnosed at 30 months and we started ABA when he was 32 months and are doing

bio-med treatments as well. He is now 40 months and has made steady progress.

Based on your location, I think my son might go to the same ABA center as your

child. I want to suggest a few things for you to consider. Discuss your

child's programs and progress with his therapist. While you see his data for

labeling, following instructions and manding/requesting, the level of difficulty

changes as well. There are different levels of each. For example, instruction

following starts with 1-step commands. Once he has mastered that, they will

work on 2, then 3-step commands. So, for each category, you should see the

percentages for progress go up, then go down as he masters a skill and moves on

to the next one. Also, the first month, he is getting used to a new routine,

building relationships with his therapists and the environment with other kids.

I pulled out my son's data sheets from last year (we had him 2 days/week

June-Aug, then 3 days Sept-Dec and now have him there 5 days). His first month,

he was working on receptive labels and his targets were simple objects: apple,

grape, zebra, etc. About three months in, the targets were multiple and we had

several days of 100% identification. He then moved on to colors, people

(mailman, doctor, etc), then features and functions of objects. There is a

progression and it starts simple and follows a natural language development

pattern.

I contemplated the ratio aspect with my son as well. I visited and observed.

Initially, my son didn't interact with the kids around him at all. The

therapist was amazing at building scenarios for individual skills, while

creating opportunities for the kids to interact. She would gradually get a toy

my son was interested in to the other child so he would have to interact with

that child. Today, my son is extremely social with the other kids and his

expressive language has exploded, something we wondered if we'd ever see. I

strongly encourage you to go and observe. When you do, the BCBA will explain to

you what they are doing. Raise your concerns and let them explain to you their

development plan for your son.

My husband and I also have found that we struggle with managing our expectations

while dealing with grieving our situation. We are given hope by success stories

of ABA and bio-medical treatments and expect quick results. In reality, we have

found that our son doesn't make the leaps we hope for, but he does make steady

progress. Now that several months have passed, we can look back and see how

much he's progressed. Dealing with autism and figuring everything out is

draining and each month feels like three, further increasing our expectations.

With all that being said, you are the advocate and parent for your child. If

your gut is telling you that you do not have your son at the right place for

him, then you should look elsewhere. You'll either confirm that there is a

better match for him, or find that he is in the right place.

I wish you well! Please let me know if I can provide you any more information

from our experiences, as I believe my son is at the same center and we have had

a great experience there!

Bonnie D.

>

> All,

>

> Please read and advise

>

> My kid has been going to this private ABA school(1:3 ratio), he gets therapy

for almost 35hrs a week. he is 3 yr old now and he has been there for almost

three months now, they concentrate more on improving attention & object

imitation. the same ABA school has Speech & OT consultant to advise his ABA

therapist once a month

>

> My wife and i think that he could have been more functional than what he has

learned, via 1 on 1 ABA therapy school.

> we did visited couple of other therapy schools in the neighborhood their kids

get more 1 on 1 session and we have seen huge improvement in just 4 months and

most of them aren't bio-medical

>

> my examination,Do you guys agree with me?

> if the kid was diagnosed between 20 and 30 months range , the best ABA

therapy would be 1:3 / Natural environment

> if the kid was diagnosed after 30 months , then 1 on 1 would result much

better than group therapy

>

>

> My bottom line question, what is the best way to evaluate, if the therapy is

really working for our kid ?

>

> here are some facts

>

> My son was diagnosed @ 30 months

>

> before Three months

> object labeling 30%

> following instructions 10%

> Mand 2%

> eye contact 10%

> object imitation 10%

>

> after Three months

> object labeling 60%

> following instructions 40%

> Mand 15%

> eye contact 25%

> object imitation 60%

>

>

>

> Jaszeer Mohammed

> Board Treasurer

> Cell: , Email:Jaszeer@...

> Manara Academy, Inc

> 320 Decker Dr, Irving, TX, 75039

>

[Guest guest]

Bonnie,Progress has been slow and steady for us from the start with a few " Wow! " moments thrown in from time to time.I, too, expected a faster pace.  My son is ten now, but then I contemplate where  we started:  no language, frequent tantrums, severe gut pain with gut wrenching crying, he only slept for two hours at a stretch,  and if he took a nap he would awaken in horrible pain and cry for two to three hours.I couldn't really go anywhere --at the grocery store, I had about thirty minutes before a melt down.  I couldn't eat out.  Sometimes he pooped on the floor.  He gave little eye contact.  He would have horrible, frightening staring spells resembling catatonia, if he got the least bit upset, he would gag and projectile vomit.  He self-limited to only certain foods.  he would put too much food in his mouth if not watched closely.  He offered no affection nor showed no desire for affection and did not particularly like to be held or hugged. He used to hit and kick me and once he nearly bit my finger off.  He persevered on running water, turning the TV on and off or the lights continuously. He walked on his tip toes and would spin until he got so dizzy he would fall down.  He would run down the hall and throw himself up against the door on the end of the hall so hard he would fall down.

Now he talks and laughs and creates and pretends and loves to be hugged and to hug.  Now he is potty-trained and attends to self hygienic needs and is pretty independent.  He has friends.  He is charismatic and charming and well liked by his teachers and classmates.   

He still has OCD concerning bathrooms.  He stims a lot. And his immune system is still a mess.  It took us eight years to get to where we are.  There have been regressions.  There have been set backs, but I believe slow and steady will win the race. He didn't stim at all by age four, but that came back.

I just don't want to lose " him " --his personality --the essence of who he is that finally emerged.  I wish every family could have the same success.  I wish biomed was the answer for all these kids.  But with biomed or anything else, you don't know if it will work unitl you try.  But I'd still take " trying " and failing over the " it's hopeless; there is nothing you can do " that we were told by the medical mainstream any day of the week.

[Guest guest]

Haven,

You are very inspiring! I have tears in my eyes as you described the night pain

and self-injury that were very much a part of our life as well. Now, I

appreciate night itching over severe physical pain. We do have to look back

over time to see the leaps that have been made even in small chunks. Thanks for

all you share and do to help us all!

Bonnie D.

>

> Bonnie,

>

> Progress has been slow and steady for us from the start with a few " Wow! "

> moments thrown in from time to time.

>

> I, too, expected a faster pace. My son is ten now, but then I contemplate

> where we started: no language, frequent tantrums, severe gut pain with gut

> wrenching crying, he only slept for two hours at a stretch, and if he took

> a nap he would awaken in horrible pain and cry for two to three hours.I

> couldn't really go anywhere --at the grocery store, I had about thirty

> minutes before a melt down. I couldn't eat out. Sometimes he pooped on the

> floor. He gave little eye contact. He would have horrible, frightening

> staring spells resembling catatonia, if he got the least bit upset, he would

> gag and projectile vomit. He self-limited to only certain foods. he would

> put too much food in his mouth if not watched closely. He offered no

> affection nor showed no desire for affection and did not particularly like

> to be held or hugged. He used to hit and kick me and once he nearly bit my

> finger off. He persevered on running water, turning the TV on and off or

> the lights continuously. He walked on his tip toes and would spin until he

> got so dizzy he would fall down. He would run down the hall and throw

> himself up against the door on the end of the hall so hard he would fall

> down.

>

> Now he talks and laughs and creates and pretends and loves to be hugged and

> to hug. Now he is potty-trained and attends to self hygienic needs and is

> pretty independent. He has friends. He is charismatic and charming and

> well liked by his teachers and classmates.

>

> He still has OCD concerning bathrooms. He stims a lot. And his immune

> system is still a mess. It took us eight years to get to where we are.

> There have been regressions. There have been set backs, but I believe slow

> and steady will win the race. He didn't stim at all by age four, but that

> came back.

> I just don't want to lose " him " --his personality --the essence of who he is

> that finally emerged.

>

> I wish every family could have the same success. I wish biomed was the

> answer for all these kids. But with biomed or anything else, you don't know

> if it will work unitl you try. But I'd still take " trying " and failing over

> the " it's hopeless; there is nothing you can do " that we were told by the

> medical mainstream any day of the week.

>