ABA, speech development, and frustration
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| Tue, 08-23-2005 - 3:05pm |
Hi, everyone -- I haven't been able to post for a few days (tech difficulties) plus we've been away on vacation. I'm just now starting to catch up on all the recent posts. But something has come up and I need input from those who have " been there, done that." ABA seems to be the way to go and from what I've read and heard, it's important to start now when Calvin is so young. But we live in the sticks and it turns out there aren't any CERTIFIED ABA therapists in the area -- just ABA TRAINED therapists. Now I know sometimes a certification doesn't necessarily mean the person is any better, but is that the case with ABA therapy? This is honestly one of those things we would be willing to move for if it's that important (not loving living in the sticks as it is), but I can't tell if it is. Our service coordinator is not the most resourceful of individuals and she just doesn't seem to have an answer for us. Other than that there are plenty of speech therapists, OTs, and special educators to go around, so he's getting help in those areas.
Which brings me to my next question, which I'm sure no one can answer, but I'll throw it out there because I'm getting really frustrated and sad. When is Calvin going to talk? I mean really talk? Sure he has a handful of words -- 10 full words and five or six word fragments. About a dozen signs. But it is like pulling teeth. I am so frustrated because he understands so much (will follow directions, and point to whatever we name, etc.) but his expressive speech is just not there -- or it's building soooooo incrementally that I just can't see it. I have been secretly hoping that one day he would just pipe up and the famed "langauge explosion" would start to take place, but here we are at 28 months and ARGH! Is this pretty typical and do I just need to be more patient? Hope? Insight? Anyone?
All the best --
Kellie & Calvin

Hi Kellie,
As I understand it, ABA certification is a relatively new credential and many really qualified ABA people aren't certified (mine isn't, and he still charges $75 an hour, thank you very much!) What matters is that you get someone good. They can train lots of people to do it (college students, etc.), all you need is someone talented and trained. I'm glad to hear there are other specialists around for you. That's important, too.
I wish I could help you on the talking thing. My DS is 4-years old. And he talks, even in sentences, to communicate his wants (mostly food, toys, etc.) But he doesn't talk just to talk, if that makes sense. In all honesty, he hasn't progressed that much verbally since he was Calvin's age. I guess everyone is different.
You might post over on the "Ask the Speech Pathologist" board. Aside from being really nice and very knowledgable, Bari, the cl, has a DS who is PDD-NOS.
Take care,
Cathy
Well, I echo that certification is relatively new. Also, who is certifying and what qualifies as certification? I was an ABA therapist until 6 years ago (SAHM since then). DH still is in the field as an autism specialist (on of the heads of the autism program) at one of the largest districts in the nation. I asked him about certified ABA therapists. The closest he knows of is a new thing call BCBA or board certified behavior analyist. It is similar to a teaching type credential is my understanding and may be just here in CA. Not sure.
Anyway, I wasn't certified in ABA. DH has a masters and 15 yeas experience in ABA and isn't certified in ABA. I know of a few people who have thier masters in it so I suppose they are. But as far as I know there isn't a national certification process as of yet. So I would wonder exactly what "certified" means.
I have been out of the field long enough though to not know what is up and coming. More than someone with a certification, I would interview specific people and see who you think will be able to teach your son. What is thier philosophy? What is thier personality? Are they reliable, do they interact well with Calvin? Or do they feel like a salesman, lol. I will also say a good ABA person individualizes a program based around the child and doesn't force a child to adhere to thier one pat program. It is more than discrete trials.
I also think that a group or program that uses an eclectic approach is best. An ABA base but with knowledge and willingness to use other methods depending on what works for a child be it sensory integration, floortime, etc. I am wary of anyone who thinks thier method is the only method.
There is a great publication about teaching young children with autism put out by the national academy of sciences. Basically the finding wasn't so much for one particular kind of therapy, but rather that young children with autism had frequent intensive intervention (at least 25 hours a week). More important is the personality of the child and family as to what approach is best to use with them. Though I am partial to ABA being a former ABA person, I am an eclectic ABA person who also believes in the value of floortime, sensory integration, diet, TEACCH, etc. It is a matter of figuring out which program or group available to you is most likely able to help Calvin the most.
HTH
Renee
I think the PP have answered your question about the ABA certification. I also need to echo that I would be very careful about putting too much focus on just one method of therapy. My son is 31 months old now and was diagnosed with Austim at 22-23 months. For each family, depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the child, a different therapies make more sense. With Ian we have done very little ABA training. We ended up focusing more on Floortime and RDI, because we did not think the ABA approach would be best based on his needs. Although ABA is the prevalent therapy, it is definitely worth looking into other therapies, esp. if once you are into it, you do not feel the therapy is working the way you would like it to.
On the language explosion, I have a few thoughts. Ian was about where your son is at 28 months. Ian's most pronounced language explosion occurred in the last 2 months, although by no means is he caught up with his peers. The language explosion itself will occur when your son makes a big step in the social realm. Once he feels a deeper need to interact, and his brain has a better understanding of social interaction, lauguage will naturally follow. From what I have studied, it is not so much that autistic children have some sort of speech problem per se (unless they also have apraxia or some other disorder)...the issue is more that their brains do not process the purpose behind speaking since they are not as socially motivated as their NT peers.
I know the speech thing is very frustrating!! We have been so excited that Ian is finally communicating more that his therapists have had to tell us to stop working on the speech so much, and continue to focus on the underlying social aspects of his behavior. It is hard though...I am so thrilled with the fact that he has more words that I just want to focus on that!!