I'm an ML poster with a near 3.5 year old DS and 9 month old DD. DS was just diagnosed on Monday with ASD. I, of course, always "knew" something was a bit different, but still hearing the diagnosis out loud was a bit hard.
The evaluation recommended ABA and OT for his sensory (mainly auditory) issues. We were also right in the middle of searching through pre-schools and potentially changing up the daycare situation (his current place has good, qualified teachers, but it's loud and chaotic and he doesn't get as much 1-1 time with the teachers as he probably needs and it's causing some disruptive behavioral issues).
DH and I are a bit overwhelmed about where to go next. Do we find a school that will accommodate ABA and OT onsite or find an ABA and OT "center" and work pre-school/daycare around that? Did you find ABA worked better in a school/home environment or not? We don't have any family nearby and both work, so I am very anxious about figuring this out.
((hugs)) It's hard to hear it even if it isn't a complete shock.
I'm a SAHM but we've done out patient ABA and School ABA and both worked just in different ways. From 3-4 DD did out patient 1-1 ABA with a local team and did great getting the foundations she needed to build on. I LOVED her team.
This fall she started at an ABA based preschool program, she has a 1-1 ABA therapist but spends half her day in the classroom working on those skills (sitting and attending to circle time, following center rotation routine, walking in line, doing snack/lunch, putting up back pack, etc) but is pulled out for direct ABA work for 20 minute sessions throughout the day to work on traditional ABA work (she's working through level 3 of VB-Mapp a program many ABA's use to work on verbal and behavioral skills)
Look at what is available in your area (we drive an hour each way for DD's school this year and will do it 5 days a week next year) and do tours/interviews/check wait lists and go from there.
There's a pretty busy SN board over on The Bump spin off boards.
Thank you! Thankfully, there are a lot of options in our area, but that also makes it overwhelming to sift through so many choices. And, of course, I still need to consider DDs needs, so she doesn't get lost in the shuffle. I will check out the other boards too - thanks for the suggestion!
You;'re welcome! I forgot to add that her out patient team would go to the child's daycare/preschoool if the school was willing and work with them there for kids whose parents were working and not able to do it at their office. It was a case by case thing but they pretty much always did it, it was headed by 2 working Mom's though so they got how hard it is to juggle don't know how a bigger office would've handled it.
1) A private ABA school (ABA is not taught in our public schools and the ratio is not good) that a majority of the cost is paid by our group insurance. Ratio teacher/student depending on the day is 1:1 or 1:2. Public school was at 9 students:2(teacher/aide) and is 6 hours a day.
2)Check into your public schools. I would get your DS evaluated and see what he would qualify for. My son qualifies and he can get free services at the public school or if the school my son goes to is in the county the have someone do the services at the school.
3) We do private insurance OT(sensory related too) and Speech Therapy but get more sessions based upon our state's autism mandate. The mandate allows for as many sessions necessary even if the plan only states X sessions. I take my son to a place where they have a ton of sensory tools (ball pits, swings, balance beams)
4) We have a Medicaid waiver where there is a portion of the waiver that allows for ABA in the home 1 on 1. We work on non-school specific life skills etc (they are not allow to work on school related skills). 2 hours a day/4-5 days a week.
Post by Kcthepouchh8r on Mar 16, 2015 7:39:33 GMT -5
Welcome! I also have a child with asd. We opted not to do aba but a friend has a preschool age child who does. He does a 9-1130 program in a self contained classroom then does aba from 12-4 at home.
Post by spedrunner on Mar 18, 2015 19:20:39 GMT -5
I think you are going to receive various answers for this.
Personally i think there is a lot to take into account before making the decision that is best for you. My advice would be to educate yourself on the schools you are interested in and go from there.
I have worked in special education in both public and private schools. Each has their pros and cons. It really depends on what your goals are and what your child needs. There is so much inconsistency, things vary, programs vary from school to school.
Good luck and hugs! I know how difficult of a time this must be! Its overwhelming!
Given your son's age, I'd be inclined to select a private ABA classroom for a couple reasons.
- It's likely to have staff who understand children on spectrum and are experienced with their behaviors, as well as both their unique challenges and strengths.
- That staff will be those who have chosen to work with kids on spectrum rather than those who might just tolerate one.
- He's not going to be shown the door because of challenging behaviors.
- When a student has a 1:1 person- where ABA or para, general education teachers tend not to take ownership of the student's progress.
- A center-based program will likely work toward having your DS work with a few BCBAs/assistants which will allow them to find a good fit, encourage your DC to be more flexible in working with different people and also set him up to transition more easily if staff moves on.
- Depending on how atypical your son is behaviorally and the hours of ABA he'll be getting, you might consider spending part of the day in a traditional day care setting or with a nanny.
- It's best to consider the needs of your children individually. A lot of my friends who have one child on spectrum and another not, deliberately choose to keep them in different schools/day cares. It gives the NT child a break from the challenging behavior and a social space where they can operate outside of the shadow of ASD.