advice about aba

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2005
advice about aba
7
Sat, 08-27-2005 - 10:10pm
Hi,
My 2 year old son was recently diagnosed with pdd-nos. It was not a big surprise to me as I always felt something wasn't right from early on. He has had play and physical therapy since he was 13 months old and after his diagnosis he is now getting O.T and speech for pragmatic language.I have begun stage 1 of the yeast diet and would love to hear any advice about how this has worked for your child. Our doctor advised us to start an intensive behavioral therapy but all the therapist that have seen him since he was a baby say he is so high functioning he should not do it. I am so confused about what to do. I would love some advice from somone who has had the same problem. He has pretty good speech with some echolia, his obsession with trains is not as bad as it used to be, eye contact is variable, he is a very loving and affectionate little guy and is usually pretty well behaved.The only other problem we have with him is his limited diet. HELP!
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
In reply to: baboig
Sun, 08-28-2005 - 11:48am

Hello and welcome,

We have not gone the ABA route, mainly because when my DS was that age, nobody thought he was on the Spectrum, as he is so outgoing and engaging. He did well in a special ed environment with kids who had a mixture of disabilities; -provided the class size was very small.

I know some people on this board swear by ABA, and some prefer modified versions of it. Also, from what I understand, traditional ABA is very rigid, and that may not work for a high-functioning child. However, there are modified versions, which may work, but I don't know too much about them, or indeed if any are offered in your area. Others on the board may have more input on this, it is not an area I am very 'up' on, I'm afraid.

On a separate thread, I bumped up our "Picky eater tips" (now *there's* a subject I am very 'up' on!). I hope some of them help you.

Good luck,

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2005
In reply to: baboig
Sun, 08-28-2005 - 4:23pm
Paula,
Thanks for responding so quickly. It's nice to talk to someone who knows what we are going through. I think my family and friends are sick of me talking about it all. How old is your son? Is he mainstreamed? What therapy has worked for you? Have you tried the diet?Sorry about all the questions! I'm still torn about what to do about ABA. I'm terrified if I don't do it now, I will regret it later on down the road. I guess that's what's so scary for me, not knowing what the future brings for my DS.Do you have anymore children? I have a DD who is 14months old. She also is getting O.T because of sensitivity to touch but thankfully I don't see any other signs like I did with my DS at that age.Thanks for taking the time to read this.I would love some advice from a mom who's been there!
TERESA
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2004
In reply to: baboig
Sun, 08-28-2005 - 4:44pm

Hi Teresa!

Welcome to the board! We didn't go the ABA route either. Although it did turn out that I was already doing ABA type things at home with him already! I didn't know it at the time, I was just trying to get him to talk!! Nathan is 6 and dx'd HFA last year. He's pretty well behaved too, and only receives speech therapy at school. I've worked alot with him to get him to this point. His doctor basically told me that he would recommend using meds ONLY if his behaviors interfered with his daily life and schoolwork. So far, he's doing ok. I work with him everyday on his behavior, speech, routines, obsessions, etc. I don't actually "set aside" time for this....I just incorporate it into everyday situations. So I do have to stop what I'm doing ALOT and go over things with him. And usually more than once!! LOL He does learn by repetition, and is also a visual learner. And since his speech is much better now, communication isn't always as difficult as it used to be.

It is challenging to figure out what will work best for your child. All of our kids are different and respond differently to all the therapies that are out there! This is working for us, right now. We'll see what the future brings!

Michelle

Avatar for cathby
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-16-2003
In reply to: baboig
Sun, 08-28-2005 - 8:24pm

Hi,

My DS, "Jack Attack" (misleading nickname, he's actually very sweet) is just 4 and PDD-NOS. We have been on this road about 1-1/2 years, but just started ABA last winter. He is in a developmental pre-school (75% typical) but he gets ABA there as well. And we do a big home program (ABA in the home, by a coupla' therapists). We are paying for that ourselves, since we're battling the school district. They will do ANYTHING it seems to not provide @ home.

But we have an eval from a really well respected dev. ped, and she'd like Jack to get 25 hours a week of ABA, ideally. We also do lots of OT and SLP. He doesn't have any obsessive interests, eye contact ranges from great to so-so, social skills with peers are not good (although he does show interest). He is very sensory driven (sensory seeking) so that's why the OT.

If ABA is done properly, it could probably benefit your DS. I was afraid of it, but it isn't intimidating or drastic really. Just one-on-one learning for a kid who isn't getting enough from his environment.

I wish that we'd done the ABA sooner. He is getting skills from it (shapes, letters, counting, etc.) that he wasn't picking up on his own. Although it takes a while, I'm told, to reap the full benefit. It is modified ABA, by the way. Not hard core.

BTW, I also have two DDs, (7 years old and 19 months old) and they are typical girls (will talk you out of the room) but I'm not complaining

So this isn't really just advice, just my story!

Cathy

Here's a picture of Jack...

P.S. I don't know much about the yeast diet, but he does have a sensitivity to it and we've started an antibiotic regimen, along w/ a pro-biotic.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
In reply to: baboig
Sun, 08-28-2005 - 8:50pm

Teresa,

Sorry I included so little information about us. Peter turned 7 last month. We first noticed issues before his 2nd birthday, when he underwent a huge regression. At the time, I didn't recognize it for what it was; -thought he was reacting to a big house/daycare/job move. However daycare urged me to have him evaluated and at around 27 months, I did. They found speech and other delays and started him with speech and special ed program at home & daycare. Later, around 3yo, they evaluated him for OT and found sensory issues in almost all areas. He had a lot of behavioural issues, BTW.

He started special school for half-days at 3yo, and that program didn't do anything for his speech. We changed programs at 4yo to a full-day BOCES program, with only 5 other kids. At 4y 4mos, his language finally became actually *functional*. That was the turning point for us, and he has made huge strides since then.

He was diagnosed privately at about 5.5, but the School District doesn't recognize that he has Autism (looooong story). However, last year (1st grade) we lucked out on his program, and he was in a tiny special ed class in his home school with a teriffic teacher. I am hoping we will have the same again this year.

My DD is 21 months younger than her brother, and at around 23mos we noticed some mild speech delays and some other *stuff*. She failed to qualify for services under EI, but at 3yo, our marvellous school district evaluated her, and found issues with speech and sensory issues. She got ST and OT in (regular) preschool, I fought to have her re-evaluated at 4yo, because of echolalia and other interesting items, and she qualified for a Special Ed teacher to work with her in regular preschool 4x each week. She is 5 now, entering K afer labor day, to be mainstreamed with an aide, special ed consult, 4x per day and ST (she graduated from OT).

The school/program thing is difficult to figure out. I have no experience with education, and was originally overwhelmed by the decision. I think sometimes you have to go with your gut, and see what might work for your child. when Peter was in 3yo preschool, I knew the program he was in wasn't really working, -(he was making very slow progress) but I didn't know *why*. I visited every special ed program in my county when Peter was going into 4yo preschool. I observed classes, I spoke with teachers and directors, and eventually I decided on the BOCES program, purely from gut instinct (-Literally! I imagined Peter in each program I visited, Sometime my stomach lurched at the mere thought, and that program was ruled out straightaway!). As it happened, I decided right. As I mentioned, that year was a crucial turning point for us.

So in summary, I say: Ask questions, probe, turn stones over, test every option, be a complete pest if you need to be! Try to educate *yourself* on your son's specific issues and the options available to help *him*. Finding this board is a great start.

Diet: We never did a diet thing with either child. I seriously considered it with Peter. My Dr would not support me in it, and Peter was so underweight and his food choices so extremely limited, that I was afraid to go for it without medical support. Now that he eats more foods, I may consider it again, but not until he is settled in school and fully recovered from a recent minor head injury.

Ouch! Shoulder hurts. gotta go.

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-03-2004
In reply to: baboig
Sun, 08-28-2005 - 10:35pm

Hi and welcome to the board! Our 8 year old son was dx'd pdd-nos and sid, and we have never had him in an intensive ABA program. Although I think if someone had recommended it early on, we would have tried it, as we have tended to try anything and everything recommended to us. Paula is totally right about going with your gut, though, and everytime I don't listen to my gut response to a proposed treatment or plan, I am sorry later.

We have had our son in intensive therapy of many different sorts, though, continuously from age 3 and he has made tremendous and constant progress. He is also very high-functioning, loads of language, personality, humor, self-aplomb, has many friends and is learning more and more about how to behave. Anxiety is our real foe here, and the lower our son's stress the more fabulous he becomes. Because of this, and the lack of appropriate programming in NYC, we have our son in a small private school designed for ASD kids, where he is flourishing.

He has had some ABA in his various programming, but also floortime (Dr. Stanley Greenspan) and RDI (Relationship Development Integration, Dr. Steve Gutstein), and I feel the RDI may have provided the strongest benefit for him, BUT that was only started this last year. And, as I have said, his progress has been constant. We have taken him off wheat and milk, done therapeutic listening and many hours of OT and speech, and now he also does lots of talk therapy with a psychiatrist who specializes in ASD kids.

But as we know many children like him, I also know that each child is SO different, likewise what will be helpful for them is just as different. These boards are a really great resource for asking questions, sounding off, etc.

Again welcome. The beginning can be so very confusing, but the most important thing for your son is your loving and safe home, and your in-depth knowledge of your child will be the guide for everyone's decisions and for the path of therapy and the assistance that will be most useful for him in becoming who he really already is! Hmm, strange sentence, but I know what I meant by that, though, and hope you do, too.

yours,

Sara
ilovemalcolm

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: baboig
Mon, 08-29-2005 - 9:58am

well, I am probably one of the pro-ABA types on the board but I never did intensive home discrete trials ABA with the kids. Well, not where I had people come in and my kids never did discrete trials but we did and still do incorporate alot of ABA type approaches at home.

I am an old ABA therapist, but I worked for a company and I myself strongly believe in an eclectic approach. Using the best of all the methods out there that work for the individual child.

When Cait was in preschool I did use discrete trials for her speech/language homework. We have used a form of PECS though she was verbal to teach her how to communicate. We use loads of visuals, checklists, task analysis, and a token behvior program that is ABA. But I also use alot of incidental teaching similar to floortime or PRT, sensory integration, diet, music therapy, hippotherapy (theraputic horsebackriding) and the kids see a play therapist for social skills in a small group.

25 hours plus per week of intensive therapy (doesn't really matter which kind) is highly recomended for young children with autism by a puplication put out by the National Association of Sciences. The book is a collaboration of many of the top people in the autism field. The treatment could be ABA, TEACCH, Floortime, etc, or a mix of all. The important part is having him actively involved in learning new skills for at least 25 hours per week. It could even be attending playgroups with typical peers, gymboree or you teaching him to brush his teeth. But the important point is that he is involved not off in a corner by himself stimming. Save that for down time.

The important thing is to find a therapy and therapist that you feel comfortable with. There are some fabulous ones that can teach a child no matter what approach, and others that couldn't teach no matter what approach.

Good luck,

Renee

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