What exactly is ABA?

[Guest guest]

Our developmental ped. and now our regular ped have encouraged us to start

Xander in ABA therapy. Every one that I have talked to says that it's " highly

structured " therapy.

Our insurance will cover ABA therapy and there is a place close by that will

accept Xander for ABA therapy. But, before I jump through all the hoops (ie:

fill out all that paper work and spend hours on the phone with the insurance

company), I'd really like to hear from someone who has had a child with ASD AND

Ds in ABA therapy. Our son is considered very " low functioning " in every aspect

of his development(developmentally, he's about at the level of a 1 year old). He

does not walk (he's 6), is just starting to make sounds and his attention span

is very short. We're also now seeing a lot of the self-injurious behaviors and

he gets extremely frustrated with anyone that " messes with him " for long periods

of time. He has a lot of sensory needs too. Honestly, we're at the point that we

don't know what to do next for him....it's all trial and error at this point. 

We do, however, have a WONDERFUL private therapy center less than 10 minutes

from our house. Xander has been going there for over a year and does very well

with his therapies there(OT and speech). These therapists also go into his

school for school based therapies. So, we're very familiar with them and are

pleased with what's happening with Xander's therapy right now(the fact that he

DOES respond to these therapists is huge, in and of itself). So, the thought of

leaving that and moving to a new therapy center where we don't know anyone nor

if they'll actually work effectively with Xander (since they specialize in

Autism and don't usually work with kids with Ds) makes me nervous.

 

I guess I'm just asking for thoughts/opinions on ABA therapy. Is it valuable for

children who are on the lower end of functioning? Is it worth giving up the

therapy services that we already have in place in order to pursue ABA? Does it

actually make an impact for a child with a dual diagnosis? Is there a website or

something out there where I can learn about how to " treat " the behavior stuff

without having to take Xander to a place that specializes in Autism (since he

has more than " just " Autism)?

 

 

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