Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The psych thinks ABA will help most with friendships/reading other people. It can also help him with tantruming at home, apparently. I agree, he needs something to help him. We are all at a break point, especially with the tantrums. Is ABA the best option or are there other approaches that we could explore. I’m going to follow-up with the psych to get more detail. I guess I’m just a little off put by the companies automatically telling me DC needs huge amounts of ABA each week without even meeting DC. These recommendations were based off of a 3 sentence email request I sent asking for more info. If we do what the ABA companies say, DC would be out of school half a day or in school and in ABA for almost 12 hours a day. Neither is appropriate for an 8 year old who likes school (but admittedly has huge academic struggles that we are also addressing), in my opinion. Again, I’m so new to this-I just want to hear how others have managed and what others have done.

NP here. That is bonkers. ABA helps with distinct tasks. Like learning how to toilet, or brush teeth, or things of that nature. It absolutely will NOT help with anything as nebulous as "friendships/reading other people." I mean unless the psych thinks that reducing maladaptive behaviors could help with friendships. ABA can help w/ that.

OP here again. I took notes during our meeting with the psych. She wants 2 hours/week of ABA to address “coping, frustration, and social concerns.” ABA companies are suggesting a minimum of 10 hours a week. Are you saying ABA may not work for what DC needs? If not, what else do you suggest? Social skills group? Therapy? DC doesn’t have trouble with life skills. Again, I’m going to go back to the psych for clarification. At this point, I’m wary of advice from ABA companies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The psych thinks ABA will help most with friendships/reading other people. It can also help him with tantruming at home, apparently. I agree, he needs something to help him. We are all at a break point, especially with the tantrums. Is ABA the best option or are there other approaches that we could explore. I’m going to follow-up with the psych to get more detail. I guess I’m just a little off put by the companies automatically telling me DC needs huge amounts of ABA each week without even meeting DC. These recommendations were based off of a 3 sentence email request I sent asking for more info. If we do what the ABA companies say, DC would be out of school half a day or in school and in ABA for almost 12 hours a day. Neither is appropriate for an 8 year old who likes school (but admittedly has huge academic struggles that we are also addressing), in my opinion. Again, I’m so new to this-I just want to hear how others have managed and what others have done.

NP here. That is bonkers. ABA helps with distinct tasks. Like learning how to toilet, or brush teeth, or things of that nature. It absolutely will NOT help with anything as nebulous as "friendships/reading other people." I mean unless the psych thinks that reducing maladaptive behaviors could help with friendships. ABA can help w/ that.

OP here again. I took notes during our meeting with the psych. She wants 2 hours/week of ABA to address “coping, frustration, and social concerns.” ABA companies are suggesting a minimum of 10 hours a week. Are you saying ABA may not work for what DC needs? If not, what else do you suggest? Social skills group? Therapy? DC doesn’t have trouble with life skills. Again, I’m going to go back to the psych for clarification. At this point, I’m wary of advice from ABA companies.

Find a new psychologist.

Anonymous wrote:I'm the pp whose child has speech, OT and PT. For what you're describing, you may want to consider speech. Our son has made a lot of progress just by having the SLP work with him on verbal transitions, and how to not appear rude even if it is not your intent, etc. People could be having a discussion and he would cut in and randomly begin talking about his special interest. Obviously not the way to make friends and influence people. With help from the SLP he is working on waiting his turn to speak and how to ensure people understand you are topic switching. This was a huge weakness for him. He was also able to participate in Unstuck and On Target through his school and that almost completely extinguished his tantrums. It teaches the kids about flexibility, having a plan b and plan c, and concepts such as "big deal, little deal." It was extremely helpful for him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The psych thinks ABA will help most with friendships/reading other people. It can also help him with tantruming at home, apparently. I agree, he needs something to help him. We are all at a break point, especially with the tantrums. Is ABA the best option or are there other approaches that we could explore. I’m going to follow-up with the psych to get more detail. I guess I’m just a little off put by the companies automatically telling me DC needs huge amounts of ABA each week without even meeting DC. These recommendations were based off of a 3 sentence email request I sent asking for more info. If we do what the ABA companies say, DC would be out of school half a day or in school and in ABA for almost 12 hours a day. Neither is appropriate for an 8 year old who likes school (but admittedly has huge academic struggles that we are also addressing), in my opinion. Again, I’m so new to this-I just want to hear how others have managed and what others have done.

NP here. That is bonkers. ABA helps with distinct tasks. Like learning how to toilet, or brush teeth, or things of that nature. It absolutely will NOT help with anything as nebulous as "friendships/reading other people." I mean unless the psych thinks that reducing maladaptive behaviors could help with friendships. ABA can help w/ that.

OP here again. I took notes during our meeting with the psych. She wants 2 hours/week of ABA to address “coping, frustration, and social concerns.” ABA companies are suggesting a minimum of 10 hours a week. Are you saying ABA may not work for what DC needs? If not, what else do you suggest? Social skills group? Therapy? DC doesn’t have trouble with life skills. Again, I’m going to go back to the psych for clarification. At this point, I’m wary of advice from ABA companies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The psych thinks ABA will help most with friendships/reading other people. It can also help him with tantruming at home, apparently. I agree, he needs something to help him. We are all at a break point, especially with the tantrums. Is ABA the best option or are there other approaches that we could explore. I’m going to follow-up with the psych to get more detail. I guess I’m just a little off put by the companies automatically telling me DC needs huge amounts of ABA each week without even meeting DC. These recommendations were based off of a 3 sentence email request I sent asking for more info. If we do what the ABA companies say, DC would be out of school half a day or in school and in ABA for almost 12 hours a day. Neither is appropriate for an 8 year old who likes school (but admittedly has huge academic struggles that we are also addressing), in my opinion. Again, I’m so new to this-I just want to hear how others have managed and what others have done.

NP here. That is bonkers. ABA helps with distinct tasks. Like learning how to toilet, or brush teeth, or things of that nature. It absolutely will NOT help with anything as nebulous as "friendships/reading other people." I mean unless the psych thinks that reducing maladaptive behaviors could help with friendships. ABA can help w/ that.

OP here again. I took notes during our meeting with the psych. She wants 2 hours/week of ABA to address “coping, frustration, and social concerns.” ABA companies are suggesting a minimum of 10 hours a week. Are you saying ABA may not work for what DC needs? If not, what else do you suggest? Social skills group? Therapy? DC doesn’t have trouble with life skills. Again, I’m going to go back to the psych for clarification. At this point, I’m wary of advice from ABA companies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The psych thinks ABA will help most with friendships/reading other people. It can also help him with tantruming at home, apparently. I agree, he needs something to help him. We are all at a break point, especially with the tantrums. Is ABA the best option or are there other approaches that we could explore. I’m going to follow-up with the psych to get more detail. I guess I’m just a little off put by the companies automatically telling me DC needs huge amounts of ABA each week without even meeting DC. These recommendations were based off of a 3 sentence email request I sent asking for more info. If we do what the ABA companies say, DC would be out of school half a day or in school and in ABA for almost 12 hours a day. Neither is appropriate for an 8 year old who likes school (but admittedly has huge academic struggles that we are also addressing), in my opinion. Again, I’m so new to this-I just want to hear how others have managed and what others have done.

NP here. That is bonkers. ABA helps with distinct tasks. Like learning how to toilet, or brush teeth, or things of that nature. It absolutely will NOT help with anything as nebulous as "friendships/reading other people." I mean unless the psych thinks that reducing maladaptive behaviors could help with friendships. ABA can help w/ that.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The psych thinks ABA will help most with friendships/reading other people. It can also help him with tantruming at home, apparently. I agree, he needs something to help him. We are all at a break point, especially with the tantrums. Is ABA the best option or are there other approaches that we could explore. I’m going to follow-up with the psych to get more detail. I guess I’m just a little off put by the companies automatically telling me DC needs huge amounts of ABA each week without even meeting DC. These recommendations were based off of a 3 sentence email request I sent asking for more info. If we do what the ABA companies say, DC would be out of school half a day or in school and in ABA for almost 12 hours a day. Neither is appropriate for an 8 year old who likes school (but admittedly has huge academic struggles that we are also addressing), in my opinion. Again, I’m so new to this-I just want to hear how others have managed and what others have done.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The psych thinks ABA will help most with friendships/reading other people. It can also help him with tantruming at home, apparently. I agree, he needs something to help him. We are all at a break point, especially with the tantrums. Is ABA the best option or are there other approaches that we could explore. I’m going to follow-up with the psych to get more detail. I guess I’m just a little off put by the companies automatically telling me DC needs huge amounts of ABA each week without even meeting DC. These recommendations were based off of a 3 sentence email request I sent asking for more info. If we do what the ABA companies say, DC would be out of school half a day or in school and in ABA for almost 12 hours a day. Neither is appropriate for an 8 year old who likes school (but admittedly has huge academic struggles that we are also addressing), in my opinion. Again, I’m so new to this-I just want to hear how others have managed and what others have done.

Anonymous wrote:ABA is designed to be intensive. That is the evidence based approach. It is not meant to be a couple hours a week. Because it reshapes and retrains behaviors you have to put on the time to have it be useful.

Anonymous wrote:Why did the psychologist think ABA is needed? Generally the companies try to get you to commit to a lot of hours but it isn’t always appropriate. Not all kids need ABA especially the higher functioning ones. What is more important is to keep tabs on life skills that they need to learn (ordering in stores, taking transit, cooking, etc) and making sure they learn. ABA can help with that but more like 1-3 hrs/week.

Anonymous wrote:ABA is designed to be intensive. That is the evidence based approach. It is not meant to be a couple hours a week. Because it reshapes and retrains behaviors you have to put on the time to have it be useful.

Anonymous wrote:Is there an alternate “therapy” we could use? Is ABA the gold standard? One place told me DC is late to start it, at age 8. I guess what I’m saying is DC’s autism has somewhat flown under the radar this whole time so it can’t be severe.. While I totally agree with the diagnosis, I also tend to think DC doesn’t need as much support as the ABA clinics are suggesting. Are there other routes/programs we could pursue? 15 hours/week of ABA just won’t work for the family…and especially for DC.