Stay in DCPS or ABA full time for 4 year old?

[Anonymous]

We have an autistic almost four year old who spent last year in prek3 in DCPS with an IEP. She is also receiving floortime method developmental therapy OT and ST privately but it is about six hours per week or less. We think she needs more support - she doesn’t really participate with the class, does a lot of spacing out and lying on the floor, does not speak to peers. Does not have major behavioral issues in classroom like aggression or tantrums. She seems to like school and has good relationships with the teachers but she is so far from K ready. We have her enrolled for prek4 in DCPS next year but wonder now if we need to pull her out for a full time ABA or other specialized program instead.

We have done a lot of reading on these forums and are not opposed to ABA but have not tried it as her diagnosing psychologist suggested floortime first. It seems a lot of parents had success with ABA support in classroom or part time with school. Her school previously said no third party providers - would it be worth asking again or is DCPS very inflexible on this? If we can’t do in gen ed classroom support therapy, is a full time program appropriate for a child with her issues (mostly the spacing out, not attending to class activities, failure to interact socially with peers)? Recommendations for suitable programs that would take BCBS FEP? Appreciate any insights or advice. We are located on the DC silver spring border in DC so Maryland options are feasible for us especially silver spring.

[Anonymous]

Each insurance has different procedural requirements for initiating and receiving ABA services so first step call them, get a provider list, and see what you need and in what order. You will also want to schedule an initial ABA eval with one of those providers. After that you can evaluate best options, right now you’re missing too many puzzle pieces.

If you want an outside provider in a Public school and the school tells you no then hire a lawyer. There’s a lot of legalities I’m not privy to but ultimately IMO it comes down to 1) is the need there & not being met 2) can the need be met by the school system- if not currently are they willing to hire to meet that additional need 3) if need cannot be met by the school system, does the outside provider provide value 4) if 1,2, & 3 are all met but the parent still wants an outside provider & school is still denying, then does the outside provider bring additional (key word) value to the table. I’ve yet to be denied but I am highly educated and experienced, and sometimes additional education really has been the key to being allowed in. Find someone very well educated and well experienced before you head down this road with a resistant school system. Also, the lawyer is not optional, no provider will navigate this themselves they’ll tell you to get a lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Do you have the financial means and time available to do a full home-based program? Either with or without the school?

[Anonymous]

I would do the ABA if she’s not engaging at school.

[Anonymous]

If you have the time & resources for it I’d do a verbal behavior based EIBI program- probably start in the home & the ABA provider can help you assess feasibility at school.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1126669.pdf

You don’t need to understand all this, just wanted to direct you to the section on additional practical recommendations paragraph 2, the first 3 resources. Find a provider that’s familiar with these resources & has utilized them previously, is familiar with most of the info in this paper, and integrates that knowledge into their services. A good interview question would be to show them the reference page, if they’ve not read at least 30% (including all the books by Catania, Skinner, and Sidman) just keep looking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have the time & resources for it I’d do a verbal behavior based EIBI program- probably start in the home & the ABA provider can help you assess feasibility at school.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1126669.pdf

You don’t need to understand all this, just wanted to direct you to the section on additional practical recommendations paragraph 2, the first 3 resources. Find a provider that’s familiar with these resources & has utilized them previously, is familiar with most of the info in this paper, and integrates that knowledge into their services. A good interview question would be to show them the reference page, if they’ve not read at least 30% (including all the books by Catania, Skinner, and Sidman) just keep looking.

DCPS isn't going to allow outside providers. OP, start with the ABA full time and if it doesn't work return to DCPS. The BEST thing we did was do intensive services at 3-5.

[Anonymous]

What’s the point of full time ABA? I would look for a private school or private placement before I would do that. It’s not clear this child needs any behaviors modified. She probably needs a setting where teachers have methods to engage her and teach basic literacy. If she is not engaging at all in PK4 then I think you need to look to upping the level of placement. Just because she doesn’t have behavior issues doesn’t mean she is accessing the curriculum.

but I’m not sure what full time ABA would mean. If it was my kid I would want her in a school, not a clinical setting dedicated to modifying her behavior. (and - I am not against ABA, I just don’t understand how full time ABA can be appropriate.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s the point of full time ABA? I would look for a private school or private placement before I would do that. It’s not clear this child needs any behaviors modified. She probably needs a setting where teachers have methods to engage her and teach basic literacy. If she is not engaging at all in PK4 then I think you need to look to upping the level of placement. Just because she doesn’t have behavior issues doesn’t mean she is accessing the curriculum.

but I’m not sure what full time ABA would mean. If it was my kid I would want her in a school, not a clinical setting dedicated to modifying her behavior. (and - I am not against ABA, I just don’t understand how full time ABA can be appropriate.)

At 3 years old 90 % of my services are provided at home, not in a “clinical setting”. The reason this is ideal vs a traditional school setting is programs can be tailored to the individual in their most natural environment, rather than trying to work with the individual in the context of the classroom schedule whilst working with the teacher and other students and other variables and distractions that make isolating new skills difficult to nearly impossible.

It provides an opportunity for the environment to be arranged in a way that’s most productive for the individual to grow and learn inside and outside of therapy sessions, it provides an opportunity for indirect and direct parent training, it provides an opportunity for parents to learn not only the how of what they see in therapy but also the why behind it.

At age 3 most parents choose to be in the room for all therapy sessions- this is fine with me unless/until it inhibits progress. If that point comes arrangements are made for open door sessions, video taping, real time observations, etc so that the parent can watch and learn and still ask questions while minimizing any distractions or interactions that may not be beneficial to learning. You simply don’t get this at school.

The amount of flexibility in home also far exceeds that at school. At school if I want to teach something new I need to get a new IEP, permissions, maybe find time within the school day, get a different classroom, etc. At home I can ask the parent, make a few updates, and be done with it.

At home I can work with the parents and family to identify needs across multiple areas without worrying about whether it fits into the IEP. I (along with the parents) control the goals, the way skills are taught, the environment, and many other things. At home my skills are not limited to just ending tantrums, whereas at school that may be what I’m limited to. In one home based session I might do matching, gross and fine motor skills, play skills, imitation skills, transitioning, decreasing tantrums, increasing compliance, visual performance, phonics/reading, number/math, multiple aspects of language (mand, tact, intraverbal, etc), play skills, self help skills, writing/pre-writing skills, auditory comprehension skills, social skills, safety skills, and much more. I control the frequency with which I do these- if they’re having trouble with something new I get to plan my sessions so that the last 30 minutes are to focus on those weaker skills. At school there’s just not that flexibility. Also, there are many skills that just don’t overlap across settings. Things like street crossing, riding in a car, community safety, accepting no, calculated disruptions, etc can rarely be addressed at school.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that within just within 3 hours I can focus on 20 skills but actually by design teach 60 skills. I can also answer questions as they come up for the family, work with other providers, & attend IEP meetings & advocate for the child’s needs (something you can’t do if employed by the school). I can go to a new situation a parent wants to try (usually a social situation with peers) and say yes I love this or absolutely not or maybe next year but first we need to do x,y, and z.

A home based ABA team is a resource that is just different from that which you get in school. At age 3 I’d almost always choose home based if given an option between a school and home setting. A hybrid school/home setting can also be effective depending on individual needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the point of full time ABA? I would look for a private school or private placement before I would do that. It’s not clear this child needs any behaviors modified. She probably needs a setting where teachers have methods to engage her and teach basic literacy. If she is not engaging at all in PK4 then I think you need to look to upping the level of placement. Just because she doesn’t have behavior issues doesn’t mean she is accessing the curriculum.

but I’m not sure what full time ABA would mean. If it was my kid I would want her in a school, not a clinical setting dedicated to modifying her behavior. (and - I am not against ABA, I just don’t understand how full time ABA can be appropriate.)

At 3 years old 90 % of my services are provided at home, not in a “clinical setting”. The reason this is ideal vs a traditional school setting is programs can be tailored to the individual in their most natural environment, rather than trying to work with the individual in the context of the classroom schedule whilst working with the teacher and other students and other variables and distractions that make isolating new skills difficult to nearly impossible.

It provides an opportunity for the environment to be arranged in a way that’s most productive for the individual to grow and learn inside and outside of therapy sessions, it provides an opportunity for indirect and direct parent training, it provides an opportunity for parents to learn not only the how of what they see in therapy but also the why behind it.

At age 3 most parents choose to be in the room for all therapy sessions- this is fine with me unless/until it inhibits progress. If that point comes arrangements are made for open door sessions, video taping, real time observations, etc so that the parent can watch and learn and still ask questions while minimizing any distractions or interactions that may not be beneficial to learning. You simply don’t get this at school.

The amount of flexibility in home also far exceeds that at school. At school if I want to teach something new I need to get a new IEP, permissions, maybe find time within the school day, get a different classroom, etc. At home I can ask the parent, make a few updates, and be done with it.

At home I can work with the parents and family to identify needs across multiple areas without worrying about whether it fits into the IEP. I (along with the parents) control the goals, the way skills are taught, the environment, and many other things. At home my skills are not limited to just ending tantrums, whereas at school that may be what I’m limited to. In one home based session I might do matching, gross and fine motor skills, play skills, imitation skills, transitioning, decreasing tantrums, increasing compliance, visual performance, phonics/reading, number/math, multiple aspects of language (mand, tact, intraverbal, etc), play skills, self help skills, writing/pre-writing skills, auditory comprehension skills, social skills, safety skills, and much more. I control the frequency with which I do these- if they’re having trouble with something new I get to plan my sessions so that the last 30 minutes are to focus on those weaker skills. At school there’s just not that flexibility. Also, there are many skills that just don’t overlap across settings. Things like street crossing, riding in a car, community safety, accepting no, calculated disruptions, etc can rarely be addressed at school.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that within just within 3 hours I can focus on 20 skills but actually by design teach 60 skills. I can also answer questions as they come up for the family, work with other providers, & attend IEP meetings & advocate for the child’s needs (something you can’t do if employed by the school). I can go to a new situation a parent wants to try (usually a social situation with peers) and say yes I love this or absolutely not or maybe next year but first we need to do x,y, and z.

A home based ABA team is a resource that is just different from that which you get in school. At age 3 I’d almost always choose home based if given an option between a school and home setting. A hybrid school/home setting can also be effective depending on individual needs.

The child is 4 and needs to be taught to read and write soon, not how to compliantly sit in a chair or whatever. OP needs to research educational programs which are almost certainly not FT ABA much less home based ABA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the point of full time ABA? I would look for a private school or private placement before I would do that. It’s not clear this child needs any behaviors modified. She probably needs a setting where teachers have methods to engage her and teach basic literacy. If she is not engaging at all in PK4 then I think you need to look to upping the level of placement. Just because she doesn’t have behavior issues doesn’t mean she is accessing the curriculum.

but I’m not sure what full time ABA would mean. If it was my kid I would want her in a school, not a clinical setting dedicated to modifying her behavior. (and - I am not against ABA, I just don’t understand how full time ABA can be appropriate.)

At 3 years old 90 % of my services are provided at home, not in a “clinical setting”. The reason this is ideal vs a traditional school setting is programs can be tailored to the individual in their most natural environment, rather than trying to work with the individual in the context of the classroom schedule whilst working with the teacher and other students and other variables and distractions that make isolating new skills difficult to nearly impossible.

It provides an opportunity for the environment to be arranged in a way that’s most productive for the individual to grow and learn inside and outside of therapy sessions, it provides an opportunity for indirect and direct parent training, it provides an opportunity for parents to learn not only the how of what they see in therapy but also the why behind it.

At age 3 most parents choose to be in the room for all therapy sessions- this is fine with me unless/until it inhibits progress. If that point comes arrangements are made for open door sessions, video taping, real time observations, etc so that the parent can watch and learn and still ask questions while minimizing any distractions or interactions that may not be beneficial to learning. You simply don’t get this at school.

The amount of flexibility in home also far exceeds that at school. At school if I want to teach something new I need to get a new IEP, permissions, maybe find time within the school day, get a different classroom, etc. At home I can ask the parent, make a few updates, and be done with it.

At home I can work with the parents and family to identify needs across multiple areas without worrying about whether it fits into the IEP. I (along with the parents) control the goals, the way skills are taught, the environment, and many other things. At home my skills are not limited to just ending tantrums, whereas at school that may be what I’m limited to. In one home based session I might do matching, gross and fine motor skills, play skills, imitation skills, transitioning, decreasing tantrums, increasing compliance, visual performance, phonics/reading, number/math, multiple aspects of language (mand, tact, intraverbal, etc), play skills, self help skills, writing/pre-writing skills, auditory comprehension skills, social skills, safety skills, and much more. I control the frequency with which I do these- if they’re having trouble with something new I get to plan my sessions so that the last 30 minutes are to focus on those weaker skills. At school there’s just not that flexibility. Also, there are many skills that just don’t overlap across settings. Things like street crossing, riding in a car, community safety, accepting no, calculated disruptions, etc can rarely be addressed at school.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that within just within 3 hours I can focus on 20 skills but actually by design teach 60 skills. I can also answer questions as they come up for the family, work with other providers, & attend IEP meetings & advocate for the child’s needs (something you can’t do if employed by the school). I can go to a new situation a parent wants to try (usually a social situation with peers) and say yes I love this or absolutely not or maybe next year but first we need to do x,y, and z.

A home based ABA team is a resource that is just different from that which you get in school. At age 3 I’d almost always choose home based if given an option between a school and home setting. A hybrid school/home setting can also be effective depending on individual needs.

The child is 4 and needs to be taught to read and write soon, not how to compliantly sit in a chair or whatever. OP needs to research educational programs which are almost certainly not FT ABA much less home based ABA.

They cannot learn to read and write if they don’t have basic skills. ABA can help. Stop giving bad advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the point of full time ABA? I would look for a private school or private placement before I would do that. It’s not clear this child needs any behaviors modified. She probably needs a setting where teachers have methods to engage her and teach basic literacy. If she is not engaging at all in PK4 then I think you need to look to upping the level of placement. Just because she doesn’t have behavior issues doesn’t mean she is accessing the curriculum.

but I’m not sure what full time ABA would mean. If it was my kid I would want her in a school, not a clinical setting dedicated to modifying her behavior. (and - I am not against ABA, I just don’t understand how full time ABA can be appropriate.)

At 3 years old 90 % of my services are provided at home, not in a “clinical setting”. The reason this is ideal vs a traditional school setting is programs can be tailored to the individual in their most natural environment, rather than trying to work with the individual in the context of the classroom schedule whilst working with the teacher and other students and other variables and distractions that make isolating new skills difficult to nearly impossible.

It provides an opportunity for the environment to be arranged in a way that’s most productive for the individual to grow and learn inside and outside of therapy sessions, it provides an opportunity for indirect and direct parent training, it provides an opportunity for parents to learn not only the how of what they see in therapy but also the why behind it.

At age 3 most parents choose to be in the room for all therapy sessions- this is fine with me unless/until it inhibits progress. If that point comes arrangements are made for open door sessions, video taping, real time observations, etc so that the parent can watch and learn and still ask questions while minimizing any distractions or interactions that may not be beneficial to learning. You simply don’t get this at school.

The amount of flexibility in home also far exceeds that at school. At school if I want to teach something new I need to get a new IEP, permissions, maybe find time within the school day, get a different classroom, etc. At home I can ask the parent, make a few updates, and be done with it.

At home I can work with the parents and family to identify needs across multiple areas without worrying about whether it fits into the IEP. I (along with the parents) control the goals, the way skills are taught, the environment, and many other things. At home my skills are not limited to just ending tantrums, whereas at school that may be what I’m limited to. In one home based session I might do matching, gross and fine motor skills, play skills, imitation skills, transitioning, decreasing tantrums, increasing compliance, visual performance, phonics/reading, number/math, multiple aspects of language (mand, tact, intraverbal, etc), play skills, self help skills, writing/pre-writing skills, auditory comprehension skills, social skills, safety skills, and much more. I control the frequency with which I do these- if they’re having trouble with something new I get to plan my sessions so that the last 30 minutes are to focus on those weaker skills. At school there’s just not that flexibility. Also, there are many skills that just don’t overlap across settings. Things like street crossing, riding in a car, community safety, accepting no, calculated disruptions, etc can rarely be addressed at school.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that within just within 3 hours I can focus on 20 skills but actually by design teach 60 skills. I can also answer questions as they come up for the family, work with other providers, & attend IEP meetings & advocate for the child’s needs (something you can’t do if employed by the school). I can go to a new situation a parent wants to try (usually a social situation with peers) and say yes I love this or absolutely not or maybe next year but first we need to do x,y, and z.

A home based ABA team is a resource that is just different from that which you get in school. At age 3 I’d almost always choose home based if given an option between a school and home setting. A hybrid school/home setting can also be effective depending on individual needs.

Not what they are asking and not helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the point of full time ABA? I would look for a private school or private placement before I would do that. It’s not clear this child needs any behaviors modified. She probably needs a setting where teachers have methods to engage her and teach basic literacy. If she is not engaging at all in PK4 then I think you need to look to upping the level of placement. Just because she doesn’t have behavior issues doesn’t mean she is accessing the curriculum.

but I’m not sure what full time ABA would mean. If it was my kid I would want her in a school, not a clinical setting dedicated to modifying her behavior. (and - I am not against ABA, I just don’t understand how full time ABA can be appropriate.)

At 3 years old 90 % of my services are provided at home, not in a “clinical setting”. The reason this is ideal vs a traditional school setting is programs can be tailored to the individual in their most natural environment, rather than trying to work with the individual in the context of the classroom schedule whilst working with the teacher and other students and other variables and distractions that make isolating new skills difficult to nearly impossible.

It provides an opportunity for the environment to be arranged in a way that’s most productive for the individual to grow and learn inside and outside of therapy sessions, it provides an opportunity for indirect and direct parent training, it provides an opportunity for parents to learn not only the how of what they see in therapy but also the why behind it.

At age 3 most parents choose to be in the room for all therapy sessions- this is fine with me unless/until it inhibits progress. If that point comes arrangements are made for open door sessions, video taping, real time observations, etc so that the parent can watch and learn and still ask questions while minimizing any distractions or interactions that may not be beneficial to learning. You simply don’t get this at school.

The amount of flexibility in home also far exceeds that at school. At school if I want to teach something new I need to get a new IEP, permissions, maybe find time within the school day, get a different classroom, etc. At home I can ask the parent, make a few updates, and be done with it.

At home I can work with the parents and family to identify needs across multiple areas without worrying about whether it fits into the IEP. I (along with the parents) control the goals, the way skills are taught, the environment, and many other things. At home my skills are not limited to just ending tantrums, whereas at school that may be what I’m limited to. In one home based session I might do matching, gross and fine motor skills, play skills, imitation skills, transitioning, decreasing tantrums, increasing compliance, visual performance, phonics/reading, number/math, multiple aspects of language (mand, tact, intraverbal, etc), play skills, self help skills, writing/pre-writing skills, auditory comprehension skills, social skills, safety skills, and much more. I control the frequency with which I do these- if they’re having trouble with something new I get to plan my sessions so that the last 30 minutes are to focus on those weaker skills. At school there’s just not that flexibility. Also, there are many skills that just don’t overlap across settings. Things like street crossing, riding in a car, community safety, accepting no, calculated disruptions, etc can rarely be addressed at school.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that within just within 3 hours I can focus on 20 skills but actually by design teach 60 skills. I can also answer questions as they come up for the family, work with other providers, & attend IEP meetings & advocate for the child’s needs (something you can’t do if employed by the school). I can go to a new situation a parent wants to try (usually a social situation with peers) and say yes I love this or absolutely not or maybe next year but first we need to do x,y, and z.

A home based ABA team is a resource that is just different from that which you get in school. At age 3 I’d almost always choose home based if given an option between a school and home setting. A hybrid school/home setting can also be effective depending on individual needs.

The child is 4 and needs to be taught to read and write soon, not how to compliantly sit in a chair or whatever. OP needs to research educational programs which are almost certainly not FT ABA much less home based ABA.

They cannot learn to read and write if they don’t have basic skills. ABA can help. Stop giving bad advice.

Wait what? You don't actually believe that. So many children with autism read and write early and can use that talent as a springboard to develop whatever the hell you consider "basic skills". That's unbelievable that you still believe that kind of 1950's nonsense that was used to deny people communication.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the point of full time ABA? I would look for a private school or private placement before I would do that. It’s not clear this child needs any behaviors modified. She probably needs a setting where teachers have methods to engage her and teach basic literacy. If she is not engaging at all in PK4 then I think you need to look to upping the level of placement. Just because she doesn’t have behavior issues doesn’t mean she is accessing the curriculum.

but I’m not sure what full time ABA would mean. If it was my kid I would want her in a school, not a clinical setting dedicated to modifying her behavior. (and - I am not against ABA, I just don’t understand how full time ABA can be appropriate.)

At 3 years old 90 % of my services are provided at home, not in a “clinical setting”. The reason this is ideal vs a traditional school setting is programs can be tailored to the individual in their most natural environment, rather than trying to work with the individual in the context of the classroom schedule whilst working with the teacher and other students and other variables and distractions that make isolating new skills difficult to nearly impossible.

It provides an opportunity for the environment to be arranged in a way that’s most productive for the individual to grow and learn inside and outside of therapy sessions, it provides an opportunity for indirect and direct parent training, it provides an opportunity for parents to learn not only the how of what they see in therapy but also the why behind it.

At age 3 most parents choose to be in the room for all therapy sessions- this is fine with me unless/until it inhibits progress. If that point comes arrangements are made for open door sessions, video taping, real time observations, etc so that the parent can watch and learn and still ask questions while minimizing any distractions or interactions that may not be beneficial to learning. You simply don’t get this at school.

The amount of flexibility in home also far exceeds that at school. At school if I want to teach something new I need to get a new IEP, permissions, maybe find time within the school day, get a different classroom, etc. At home I can ask the parent, make a few updates, and be done with it.

At home I can work with the parents and family to identify needs across multiple areas without worrying about whether it fits into the IEP. I (along with the parents) control the goals, the way skills are taught, the environment, and many other things. At home my skills are not limited to just ending tantrums, whereas at school that may be what I’m limited to. In one home based session I might do matching, gross and fine motor skills, play skills, imitation skills, transitioning, decreasing tantrums, increasing compliance, visual performance, phonics/reading, number/math, multiple aspects of language (mand, tact, intraverbal, etc), play skills, self help skills, writing/pre-writing skills, auditory comprehension skills, social skills, safety skills, and much more. I control the frequency with which I do these- if they’re having trouble with something new I get to plan my sessions so that the last 30 minutes are to focus on those weaker skills. At school there’s just not that flexibility. Also, there are many skills that just don’t overlap across settings. Things like street crossing, riding in a car, community safety, accepting no, calculated disruptions, etc can rarely be addressed at school.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that within just within 3 hours I can focus on 20 skills but actually by design teach 60 skills. I can also answer questions as they come up for the family, work with other providers, & attend IEP meetings & advocate for the child’s needs (something you can’t do if employed by the school). I can go to a new situation a parent wants to try (usually a social situation with peers) and say yes I love this or absolutely not or maybe next year but first we need to do x,y, and z.

A home based ABA team is a resource that is just different from that which you get in school. At age 3 I’d almost always choose home based if given an option between a school and home setting. A hybrid school/home setting can also be effective depending on individual needs.

The child is 4 and needs to be taught to read and write soon, not how to compliantly sit in a chair or whatever. OP needs to research educational programs which are almost certainly not FT ABA much less home based ABA.

They cannot learn to read and write if they don’t have basic skills. ABA can help. Stop giving bad advice.

Back up your advice with evidence. I don’t think there is any evidence that intensive full time ABA is required to teach a child with autism how to read. OP should go visit schools like Ivymount before she concludes that.

As much as you do not want to hear it, ABA is a *support* for kids in school not the whole focus of school. The days when we thought that intensive ABA was all kids needed are long gone.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for all these responses and helpful to hear different perspectives. We are concerned primarily with ability to engage in basic classroom activities like even attending long enough to a story or lesson without spacing out/disengaging, not completing takes or transitioning to activities with the group, and social skills with peers. Less concerned about the academics which we think she has been able to acquire at developmentally appropriate rate between school and home.

We have already advocated for additional services with the DCPS IEP and understand she is getting as much as she qualifies for (3 hours sped teacher, 2 hours a month speech, 4 hours a month OT). We are supplementing with the private therapies in Floortime model but it is hard to fit this all in if she is in school full time. So it sounds like it would be hard to add ABA privately at home in sufficient hours to help her if we kept her at DCPS. If they won’t let us have push-in support from a therapist in the gen ed classroom, would a full-time ABA center based model be best? Or put her in a private daycare that allows push-in ABA or other therapist support in the classroom? It would hurt to have to pay out of pocket for daycare vs an ABA center that (I think?) could be covered by insurance, but I also wonder whether a full-time ABA center model would be right for her profile since she doesn’t have significant disruptive behaviors, and we don’t want her to pick that up there.

[Anonymous]

At age 3 we did both. FCPS in the mornings and child-led ABA at home in the afternoons.
At age 4 and 5 we moved our child to mainstream pre-k with 1-on-1 ABA support (since FCPS does not allow ABA aides paid by the student’s parents)
We redshirted and went to GenEd private with some support for kindergarten.
It’s working well for our DC.