Anonymous wrote:My daughter is 5. We haven’t done ABA because I’m concerned about how adult autistics experienced it as abusive and traumatizing. We’ve done OT and tried play therapy. We haven’t stuck with the play therapy, though, because my daughter wasn’t really engaging. She loves OT and it seems to help. She’s in a gen Ed classroom for kindergarten with pull outs and is doing fantastic! Preschool was hard for her. Lots of meltdowns and social struggles. But kindergarten is going really well so far.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have positive stories for kids that did 30- 60 hours per week of ABA including parents pitching in for additional 1:1. Not 10 hours though.

Op Thanks for sharing. Including for mild autism? We were told b/w 10-20 for his deficits.

But now worried we should do more?

Or were these numbers for level 3 maybe?

We were planning to put him in a mainstream school with additional support.

Levels varied, I’ve worked with many many children of all levels ages 14 months-18 years old. I still stand by the more the better in EI, regardless of level of the learner. Find a good BCBA or BCaBA with good BCBA oversight that can provide some parent training along with home based ABA. Sit in on all home sessions until the provider tells you youre inhibiting progress (don’t be offended this usually happens at some point), then record all sessions. Utilize everything they tell you, take data as asked, run programs on your own, make or buy any teaching materials they ask for. You can spend lots of time to save money or lots of money to save time as far as materials and additional RBT/1:1 hours go.

Do your due diligence and find a good provider- ask about educational background, experience, years certified, etc. Like every professional you want to choose someone that works for you and your family. Choosing a good provider is most important part. www.BACB.com

For a child under 5 I’d look for someone specializing in verbal behavior- though that shouldn’t be their only qualification by any means. You can buy a copy of the ABLLS-R book and check trackingsheets.net. You’ll probably want to request an ABLLS-R or VB-MAPP, as well as ask for EVT and PPVT be completed up front. If they can’t provide at least an ABLLS-R or VB-MAPP as part of the intake process I’d keep looking for a different provider.

I’d also get hearing/eyes tested, rule out medical causes, look into speech, OT, nutritionist, etc. and create a “team” of people that overlap a few minutes each week in the home. Take your home providers to doctors appointments once in awhile. Hold monthly or Bi-monthly team meetings-This creates a constant collaborative environment and ensures you’re all doing what is in the best interest of your family and child.

This is all “best practice” advice, obviously your child’s needs might vary, but my “best case” professional experiences have done all these things starting at 14 months-3 years. It’s a ton of work, money, and logistics for a parent and everyone involved really, but I truly feel the pay off of its worth it IME. You’ll probably have many people that disagree with me, so please do your own research and always do what works best for your child and family,

Anonymous wrote:Yes my nephew has don’t great and is now in 2nd grad3 at public school, no accommodations, very good at math and video games, and sometimes blows up at a sibling. They have to pick their battles on what to discipline, it mainly if he touches or throws something at others. It hasn’t happened at school, to my knowledge. we have watched him and we know if we need to go over something we quiet the room, look him in the eye, make him apologize and have a consequence (no ipad time).
He had animal care therapy too which helped. Lots of socialization via the parents and community

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is 7. He never did ABA because it is not a good fit for him. Even ABA manager said out loud that there was no kid could match his social level at age 3 at their facility. I think I could cancel his private speech therapies anytime now because his speech is almost awesome. He talks a lot, communicate well, and he has friends at school. He is academically gifted that many things are too easy to him. I think his strength is logical thinking, math, learning fast ( if he is interested). He can talk to anyone and be dropped off at anywhere like camps/classes/parties/play dates.

The only signs one could tell he is on spectrum is sometimes he is inflexible, cannot understand subtle social cues, emotional and not attentive to other people emotion/environment. He is also behind on skills of taking care of himself and team sportsmanship, but he is making progress. I would love to nurture his strengths/interests ( chess, all kinds of broad game/card game, math and video games), but I am not sure if those are the things that I want to concentrate working on at age 7.

Don't think of it as, is chess or board games good activities for 7 year olds. Rather, is 7 a good age to nurture my child's strengths and help him find his passions? And the answer to that is always yes. So get him into a chess club or regular board game night or math problem solving group (not Kumon or anything focusing on acceleration, but something where he can explore math concepts in a fun and social setting). He will do best at all the challenges you mention if he's practicing somewhere he is focused on strengths and with other kids who love the same things.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is 7. He never did ABA because it is not a good fit for him. Even ABA manager said out loud that there was no kid could match his social level at age 3 at their facility. I think I could cancel his private speech therapies anytime now because his speech is almost awesome. He talks a lot, communicate well, and he has friends at school. He is academically gifted that many things are too easy to him. I think his strength is logical thinking, math, learning fast ( if he is interested). He can talk to anyone and be dropped off at anywhere like camps/classes/parties/play dates.

The only signs one could tell he is on spectrum is sometimes he is inflexible, cannot understand subtle social cues, emotional and not attentive to other people emotion/environment. He is also behind on skills of taking care of himself and team sportsmanship, but he is making progress. I would love to nurture his strengths/interests ( chess, all kinds of broad game/card game, math and video games), but I am not sure if those are the things that I want to concentrate working on at age 7.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is 7. He never did ABA because it is not a good fit for him. Even ABA manager said out loud that there was no kid could match his social level at age 3 at their facility. I think I could cancel his private speech therapies anytime now because his speech is almost awesome. He talks a lot, communicate well, and he has friends at school. He is academically gifted that many things are too easy to him. I think his strength is logical thinking, math, learning fast ( if he is interested). He can talk to anyone and be dropped off at anywhere like camps/classes/parties/play dates.

The only signs one could tell he is on spectrum is sometimes he is inflexible, cannot understand subtle social cues, emotional and not attentive to other people emotion/environment. He is also behind on skills of taking care of himself and team sportsmanship, but he is making progress. I would love to nurture his strengths/interests ( chess, all kinds of broad game/card game, math and video games), but I am not sure if those are the things that I want to concentrate working on at age 7.

Anonymous wrote:My level 1 DS is now 17. He’s improved in some areas but still struggles in others. School is going very well and he will likely attend college, but his main deficits are social rather than academic. Get your child involved in as many activities as possible while he’s young and prioritize socializing with peers. Help him find his Tribe.

Anonymous wrote:My child was diagnosed at age 5. No language or intellectual disability. We didn't do ABA based on my reading of how autistic people experience it. He did mostly parallel play, long after others his age had moved on, but that didn't make him unhappy. Had friends at the end of ES and now, in high school, but MS was HARD. The best thing we've done is nurture his special interests and made sure that he had a place to shine, outside of school. No academic problems until late ES, when his talent for facts and concrete understanding was no longer helpful. School is hard, but he'll graduate from high school and most likely go to college.

Does that count as a success?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have positive stories for kids that did 30- 60 hours per week of ABA including parents pitching in for additional 1:1. Not 10 hours though.

Op Thanks for sharing. Including for mild autism? We were told b/w 10-20 for his deficits.

But now worried we should do more?

Or were these numbers for level 3 maybe?

We were planning to put him in a mainstream school with additional support.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have positive stories for kids that did 30- 60 hours per week of ABA including parents pitching in for additional 1:1. Not 10 hours though.

Op Thanks for sharing. Including for mild autism? We were told b/w 10-20 for his deficits.

But now worried we should do more?

Or were these numbers for level 3 maybe?

We were planning to put him in a mainstream school with additional support.