Re: ABA centers in Houston

[Guest guest]

>

> Of all the ABA centers in Houston, Which would anyone recommend?

BTTC,

> Aim High Academy, The Shape of Behavior or TYAP.

> Also what are advantages or disadvantages of center based programs vs

> home based programs.

> As always thanks for your advice.

>

> Francisco

>

You might also look into Including Kids, Inc. near Kingwood or Spectrum

of Hope in Cypress. We went with Spectrum of Hope because of the

proximity to our home plus the willingness of the director and staff to

work with our schedule (wanted only part-time and later in the

afternoon so he could still attend PPCD in the morning. We went with a

center based program because it does not require the family to find a

BCBA and staff to implement the program and we did not have to deal

with the stress of hiring and developing our own staff. It also is

also less stessful than having folks coming and going from your house

all day. Hope this helps!

[Guest guest]

We use the BTTC in Rosenberg because they have seven BCBA's on the premisis and

there is unlimited access to watching your child's program without having to

make an appointment. The BCBAs also have years of experience working with

children that have developmental delays.

You do not have the headache of training therapist and then having them to leave

your home and you having to find another one to train again. That is the

professionals jobs that you hire.

Re: ABA centers in Houston

>

> Of all the ABA centers in Houston, Which would anyone recommend?

BTTC,

> Aim High Academy, The Shape of Behavior or TYAP.

> Also what are advantages or disadvantages of center based programs vs

> home based programs.

> As always thanks for your advice.

>

> Francisco

>

You might also look into Including Kids, Inc. near Kingwood or Spectrum

of Hope in Cypress. We went with Spectrum of Hope because of the

proximity to our home plus the willingness of the director and staff to

work with our schedule (wanted only part-time and later in the

afternoon so he could still attend PPCD in the morning. We went with a

center based program because it does not require the family to find a

BCBA and staff to implement the program and we did not have to deal

with the stress of hiring and developing our own staff. It also is

also less stessful than having folks coming and going from your house

all day. Hope this helps!

[Guest guest]

Francisco:

My daughter has attended the Shape of Behavior in the

Woodlands from the time she was diagnosed at 2 1/2

until now (she's just over 4). We have been very

happy there and my daughter has made huge gains. When

she started she was non verbal, had no receptive

language, and terrible eye contact. Now her receptive

language is excellent, she is talking more and more

every day, and eye contact is much improved. They

encouraged me to enroll her in a typical preschool

with her twin brother and provided a shadow to go with

her. Since she started in September she has made huge

social gains. I attribute a great deal of her

progress to the work at The Shape of Behavior. In

addition, everyone there has been very loving to her.

In addition, The Shape of Behavior has several

locations through out the Houston Area, which makes it

very convenient for those of us not in the city.

We are moving to Rochester, New York, so we will be

leaving there and I'm very sad about it, although I've

heard services in New York are outstanding and free.

ABA isn't cheap, but it is worth every penny. We

dipped into savings, sold stock, got money from

grandparents, any where we could to pay for it. Now

the Shape of Behavior is working more with insurance

companies, which should help newer parents to this.

started out at 1/2 days 5 days a week and

gradually increased a little bit, but we haven't done

too much more than that. She went to PPCD a couple of

times a week, but I didn't think that was as effective

as the ABA or other things we're doing, so I dropped

it since she was getting a little overwhelmed. We

also go to speech therapy 1-2 times a week and we do a

very little biomedical -- Omega 3 fish oil (Eye Q

liquid vanilla) from Equazen in the U.K

www.equazen.com and supplements from Brainchild

Nutritionals in California.

My husband has a cousin with a daughter who was also

diagnosed at 2 1/2 and mainstreamed by kindergarten.

She is now what I guess you could call recovered. We

did every thing he told us to do and I hope to have

the same results, although does still have a way

to go, especially in speech and social areas.

There's hope, don't despair. This yahoo group is a

great resource, so you are on the right road for your

child. If you can manage to do the ABA, I highly

recommend it. I truly believe it's the best way to

teach an autistic child.

Good luck!

Waybright

--- worrieddad1 wrote:

> Of all the ABA centers in Houston, Which would

> anyone recommend? BTTC,

> Aim High Academy, The Shape of Behavior or TYAP.

> Also what are advantages or disadvantages of center

> based programs vs

> home based programs.

> As always thanks for your advice.

>

> Francisco

>

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

We won't tell. Get more on shows you hate to love

(and love to hate): Yahoo! TV's Guilty Pleasures list.

http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/265

[Guest guest]

Francisco:

My daughter has attended the Shape of Behavior in the

Woodlands from the time she was diagnosed at 2 1/2

until now (she's just over 4). We have been very

happy there and my daughter has made huge gains. When

she started she was non verbal, had no receptive

language, and terrible eye contact. Now her receptive

language is excellent, she is talking more and more

every day, and eye contact is much improved. They

encouraged me to enroll her in a typical preschool

with her twin brother and provided a shadow to go with

her. Since she started in September she has made huge

social gains. I attribute a great deal of her

progress to the work at The Shape of Behavior. In

addition, everyone there has been very loving to her.

In addition, The Shape of Behavior has several

locations through out the Houston Area, which makes it

very convenient for those of us not in the city.

We are moving to Rochester, New York, so we will be

leaving there and I'm very sad about it, although I've

heard services in New York are outstanding and free.

ABA isn't cheap, but it is worth every penny. We

dipped into savings, sold stock, got money from

grandparents, any where we could to pay for it. Now

the Shape of Behavior is working more with insurance

companies, which should help newer parents to this.

started out at 1/2 days 5 days a week and

gradually increased a little bit, but we haven't done

too much more than that. She went to PPCD a couple of

times a week, but I didn't think that was as effective

as the ABA or other things we're doing, so I dropped

it since she was getting a little overwhelmed. We

also go to speech therapy 1-2 times a week and we do a

very little biomedical -- Omega 3 fish oil (Eye Q

liquid vanilla) from Equazen in the U.K

www.equazen.com and supplements from Brainchild

Nutritionals in California.

My husband has a cousin with a daughter who was also

diagnosed at 2 1/2 and mainstreamed by kindergarten.

She is now what I guess you could call recovered. We

did every thing he told us to do and I hope to have

the same results, although does still have a way

to go, especially in speech and social areas.

There's hope, don't despair. This yahoo group is a

great resource, so you are on the right road for your

child. If you can manage to do the ABA, I highly

recommend it. I truly believe it's the best way to

teach an autistic child.

Good luck!

Waybright

--- worrieddad1 wrote:

> Of all the ABA centers in Houston, Which would

> anyone recommend? BTTC,

> Aim High Academy, The Shape of Behavior or TYAP.

> Also what are advantages or disadvantages of center

> based programs vs

> home based programs.

> As always thanks for your advice.

>

> Francisco

>

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

We won't tell. Get more on shows you hate to love

(and love to hate): Yahoo! TV's Guilty Pleasures list.

http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/265

[Guest guest]

I forgot to respond on clinic based vs. home based.

We had a twin brother at home who made it very

difficult to do any work at home that didn't also

involve him. For us, we really liked going to

" school. " That's what we called it even though an ABA

clinic isn't really a school. thrived with the

structure of school and still does. Our home is

perceived as a fun place where she can relax. At home

we do some work, but mostly we play and try to

interact as much as possible while doing so. Her twin

brother has turned into quite a little therapist!

Another nice thing about a clinic is that I am not the

one doing most of the work, freeing me up for other

things. A friend of mine is doing a home program and

it is going very well, but she is more involved and it

is a lot of work for her. She said the cost works out

to be about the same, but she does have more control

over it, which is important to her.

It really depends on your family and what you think

will work best for you. You could always try the

clinic first until you learn more about ABA and then

if you think a home program will work better, then try

that out. Just make sure you find a good consultant

recommended by someone on this list.

The Shape of Behavior has made their clinic feel like

a school. They do circle time and have some other

group activities to give social interaction. It would

be harder to organize this with a home program. Also,

they alternate " table time " with " natural environment "

teaching where the therapist " shadows " the child while

they play. I'm no expert, but the natural environment

teaching feels like Floortime, but they continue to

take data and prompt like they do during the table

work.

Again, good luck and I apologize for the lengthy

responses, but I've been where you are now and know

what it feels like. I'd like to help as much as I

can.

--- worrieddad1 wrote:

> Of all the ABA centers in Houston, Which would

> anyone recommend? BTTC,

> Aim High Academy, The Shape of Behavior or TYAP.

> Also what are advantages or disadvantages of center

> based programs vs

> home based programs.

> As always thanks for your advice.

>

> Francisco

>

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

Don't pick lemons.

See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos.

http://autos.yahoo.com/new_cars.html

[Guest guest]

I forgot to respond on clinic based vs. home based.

We had a twin brother at home who made it very

difficult to do any work at home that didn't also

involve him. For us, we really liked going to

" school. " That's what we called it even though an ABA

clinic isn't really a school. thrived with the

structure of school and still does. Our home is

perceived as a fun place where she can relax. At home

we do some work, but mostly we play and try to

interact as much as possible while doing so. Her twin

brother has turned into quite a little therapist!

Another nice thing about a clinic is that I am not the

one doing most of the work, freeing me up for other

things. A friend of mine is doing a home program and

it is going very well, but she is more involved and it

is a lot of work for her. She said the cost works out

to be about the same, but she does have more control

over it, which is important to her.

It really depends on your family and what you think

will work best for you. You could always try the

clinic first until you learn more about ABA and then

if you think a home program will work better, then try

that out. Just make sure you find a good consultant

recommended by someone on this list.

The Shape of Behavior has made their clinic feel like

a school. They do circle time and have some other

group activities to give social interaction. It would

be harder to organize this with a home program. Also,

they alternate " table time " with " natural environment "

teaching where the therapist " shadows " the child while

they play. I'm no expert, but the natural environment

teaching feels like Floortime, but they continue to

take data and prompt like they do during the table

work.

Again, good luck and I apologize for the lengthy

responses, but I've been where you are now and know

what it feels like. I'd like to help as much as I

can.

--- worrieddad1 wrote:

> Of all the ABA centers in Houston, Which would

> anyone recommend? BTTC,

> Aim High Academy, The Shape of Behavior or TYAP.

> Also what are advantages or disadvantages of center

> based programs vs

> home based programs.

> As always thanks for your advice.

>

> Francisco

>

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

Don't pick lemons.

See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos.

http://autos.yahoo.com/new_cars.html

[Guest guest]

Hi Francisco. There are some other ABA centers in Houston too. You can find

them listed on http://www.feathouston.org/ .

You know, I really don't know that there's any one " best " center. I've gotten

to visit a lot of them. All of the ones I've visited have a lot to offer. Most

also have some weaknesses. Some may be a perfect match for one family and not a

great match for another family. I think the thing to do is to prioritize what

you are looking for in a program and then visit several of them to see how they

differ. Here are some factors that you might consider when you visit different

centers.

a.. Setting: Some are in office parks, some are in residential neighborhoods,

some have playgrounds, some have indoor motor areas, etc.

b.. Teaching environments: Some look almost like a regular school classroom,

with different kinds of work stations, circle time and group learning activities

(but employing ABA during those times). Others do 1:1 in individual therapy

rooms. Others do 1:1 at desks set up in a larger classroom.

c.. " Methodology " : Some clinics tend to stick closely to the verbal behavior

(VB) approach. A couple of clinics are reported to look a little more Lovaas-y

(from what I have heard -- haven't seen those myself). Some clinics use some

TEACHH elements, such as visual schedules.

d.. Supervision: Ask about how therapists are supervised. Who oversees them

on a daily/hourly basis, how are they trained, what is the BCBA's involvement?

Is there a video monitoring system and how is the video used?

e.. Improving behaviors: In my opinion, this an area where the clinics really

vary in their success and in their approaches. Who will conduct an FBA? When

would an FBA be done? What kinds of behavior plans would they consider for your

child? If your child has significant behavior problems (severe self-injurious

behavior, as an example), you'll need to ask a lot more detailed questions about

behavior plans. I would suggest getting Foxx's books: " Increasing

Behaviors " and " Decreasing Behaviors " to inform yourself about the pros and cons

of different types of programs.

Anyway, these are a few ideas you might want to consider. It's definitely not a

comprehensive list, but hopefully it will give you some things to start thinking

about. Good luck, and keep us posted on what you decide.

Geraldine

ABA centers in Houston

Of all the ABA centers in Houston, Which would anyone recommend? BTTC,

Aim High Academy, The Shape of Behavior or TYAP.

Also what are advantages or disadvantages of center based programs vs

home based programs.

As always thanks for your advice.

Francisco

[Guest guest]

Hi Francisco - I've done both types of programs, in home under the

supervision of TREAT (the home version of TYAP, both run by Dr.

) and at Including Kids, a center based program.

When we started, my daughter was 22 months old, and we went the home

base route. You would have to hire your therapists, and have them

go thru training. In our case, TREAT was the overseer. You have to

purchase/provide all learning materials, reinforcers, office

supplies, ect. They want a room in your house to be designated a

therapy room. She was so young, I couldn't imagine sending her off

to a school. We did this route for 18 months.

In the meantime I had heard about Including Kids and towards the

end of the 18 months started sending her there 2x a week for 'buddy

time' which was like a preschool in that she was exposed to other

kids and was taught how to interact with other kids.(circle

time/story time/interactive work)

We then decided to send her full time to InKids. In my opinion she

was at the age where she needed to be with other kids. At home, I

felt she was somewhat isolated in that she was always working with a

therapist. There wasn't much time left over to play with other

kids. When you are doing 36-40 hrs a week, you have therapists

coming and going 7 days a week.

We're very pleased with her progress. She is now doing 'inclusion'

3 mornings a week at a typical preschool with an aide and the rest

of the time at InKids. She will be going to a typical, 'regular'

school this fall with an aide. I can't say enough good things about

the director and staff at InKids. They've been wonderful.

No matter what route you take, my advise is to stay on top of what

is going on. Ask questions about programs, tell the director (BCBA)

what is important to you and your family. Tell them what you want

for your child in addition to 'regular programs'. For example, if

you want your child to shake hands when being introduced to someone,

tell them you want it. If you want your child to use a napkin at

the table, tell them. Read your child's notes for the day, make

comments. Praise good therapists! Watch the sessions.

We've done a barage of things - speech, Tomatis, cranial sacral,

tons of biomedical, special diets. All helped in their way, but I

firmly believe that ABA taught her how to learn and how to apply

that knowledge to other areas in her life. We've still got a ways to

go, conversational language being a big one, but I can see light at

the of the tunnel now.

Best of luck to you! Keep asking questions and picking our brains,

we're here to help as much as we can!

Stephanee

ps. if you decide to go gfcf, the yahoo group gfcfkids is a great

resource. I lived on that board for 1 year after our diagnosis, and

yes, I do have other young children.

>

> Hi Francisco. There are some other ABA centers in Houston too.

You can find them listed on http://www.feathouston.org/ .

>

> You know, I really don't know that there's any one " best " center.

I've gotten to visit a lot of them. All of the ones I've visited

have a lot to offer. Most also have some weaknesses. Some may be a

perfect match for one family and not a great match for another

family. I think the thing to do is to prioritize what you are

looking for in a program and then visit several of them to see how

they differ. Here are some factors that you might consider when you

visit different centers.

> a.. Setting: Some are in office parks, some are in residential

neighborhoods, some have playgrounds, some have indoor motor areas,

etc.

> b.. Teaching environments: Some look almost like a regular

school classroom, with different kinds of work stations, circle time

and group learning activities (but employing ABA during those

times). Others do 1:1 in individual therapy rooms. Others do 1:1

at desks set up in a larger classroom.

> c.. " Methodology " : Some clinics tend to stick closely to the

verbal behavior (VB) approach. A couple of clinics are reported to

look a little more Lovaas-y (from what I have heard -- haven't seen

those myself). Some clinics use some TEACHH elements, such as

visual schedules.

> d.. Supervision: Ask about how therapists are supervised. Who

oversees them on a daily/hourly basis, how are they trained, what is

the BCBA's involvement? Is there a video monitoring system and how

is the video used?

> e.. Improving behaviors: In my opinion, this an area where the

clinics really vary in their success and in their approaches. Who

will conduct an FBA? When would an FBA be done? What kinds of

behavior plans would they consider for your child? If your child

has significant behavior problems (severe self-injurious behavior,

as an example), you'll need to ask a lot more detailed questions

about behavior plans. I would suggest getting Foxx's

books: " Increasing Behaviors " and " Decreasing Behaviors " to inform

yourself about the pros and cons of different types of programs.

> Anyway, these are a few ideas you might want to consider. It's

definitely not a comprehensive list, but hopefully it will give you

some things to start thinking about. Good luck, and keep us posted

on what you decide.

>

> Geraldine

>

>

> ABA centers in Houston

>

>

> Of all the ABA centers in Houston, Which would anyone recommend?

BTTC,

> Aim High Academy, The Shape of Behavior or TYAP.

> Also what are advantages or disadvantages of center based

programs vs

> home based programs.

> As always thanks for your advice.

>

> Francisco

>

>

>

>

>

>