Wow! I'm surprised at the variety of responses (even if they did lean towards not waking). Thanks so much! I think they're all up between 6 and 7 most days, and I really do enjoy it when they sleep in a bit more, but our morning routine has just not been working the past few months. Maybe I'll continue to let them sleep, but start thinking about tweaking other parts of their routine (like the fact that they eat breakfast for an hour or more most mornings...) before anything else! :) They do go to bed pretty early (730 for nonreaders, 800 for readers who have quiet time after 730) in addition to the younger two still napping of course. I *wish* they all slept later, honestly... But what I wish for more is consistency! lol. I think that's what really gets me - just not knowing what to expect or how much time I have before they wake or who's going to sleep later, etc.

I'm in the custom of letting my kids sleep until whenever they wake naturally. It's usually around six, but often somewhere between six and seven (and occasionally earlier). What I'm finding though is that having a variable start to our day makes planning other things harder. I'd like to have breakfast and chores done by 8 so we can have some family time in the morning and start other things by 9, etc. I'm looking for advice on whether I should just chill our if I should start waking them at a consistent time. In particular, my kids are young (7,5,3,1) so I don't NEED to get much "school" done most days. On the other hand, I know myself and I know my kids, and I know that if our morning is too variable, we never really "recover" and the whole day is a bit chaotic. Just looking for the wisdom of folks who've been there, done that. :)

In theory, it will be covered by both our primary and secondary insurance. Unfortunately, it is a new benefit for both of them starting 1/1/17, so details are lacking. Furthermore, we have very few ABA providers in the state because it has not been covered by most places in our state until this year, which means that it's very hard to actually get in some place. Our secondary ins still has the issue of only allowing "licensed providers" (not "certified" ones, as ABA providers usually are), but the primary ins doesn't have that problem. I've called both recently trying to get some new information, but they've said that late December would be a better time to call for new plans. It floors me a bit that they wouldn't have these details worked out already, but oh well!

Well, things just got a little easier deciding whether or not to pursue ABA or continue to see our current psych. I think that, previously, I was concerned about somehow offending the psych by going the ABA route (even though she said she didn't recommend it for a 7 yo). But I just found out that my son's insurance (he has a primary through my husband's work and secondary medicaid through the state) is changing in January and our psych is only covered by one of the three plan options and our PCP is also only covered by one of the three plan options - but a different one. So I'm kind of relieved that I don't even have to try to explain to her why I'm going a different route and I can just explain that, as much as we appreciate her, keeping our PCP was our priority, and that's why we're going a different route with my son instead of staying with her. Don't get me wrong - I really like her and would've liked to continue seeing her. I don't really relish starting over with someone new. But it had also reached a point where my "liking" her was interfering with decisions I was having to make regarding what is best for my son (when her advice to not pursue ABA didn't seem to be in his best interest, actually), and I really didn't like being in that position.

Maybe I'm just misunderstanding folks, but they seem to be telling me that the ABA includes working with the child as well as the adult, and that the insurance won't pay for individual therapy for the child from two different places at once: so they won't pay for ABA through one place while we continue to see our established counselor through another. They keep saying it comes down to billing codes and that he can't get individual therapy from two places at once. And that sounds ridiculous to me because I feel like the types of therapy are obviously different! Does that sound like a load? I've had two different ABA clinics in my state and two different insurance companies tell me that if I went with them/ABA, then I could not continue seeing our normal psych. And maybe it wouldn't be necessary, bc we'd have so much other support? But I don't really like feeling like I'm put in a position to have to choose just one. I may just try both anyway and see if insurance notices or makes a stink of it... Either way, I suppose I have to wait because our current insurance only covers the virtual place where there's a wait list, and our new insurance won't kick in until January to give me more options locally. I hate waiting. lol.

Well, I talked with pretty much everyone else who I had calls out to today and the prognosis is not good. They either don't really do ABA, don't take our insurance, or don't do in-home stuff (and require the kid be at the center 5 hours a day). Moreover, I couldn't do any of those options and still see our current psych (there's some sort of issue with only using one provider for one type of service that I don't understand at all - like someone would really want to be "double-dipping" by getting extra therapy sessions that they didn't need?) Here's hoping that things can change next year. I went ahead and changed our insurance today so that we have more options next year. It's going to be much more expensive, unfortunately, but I didn't really see any other option. I don't want to have to tell my kid some years down the road that there was help available to him but we were too cheap to get it. :( I feel kind of like we're getting it from both ends though: we lose an income so that I can stay home to homeschool (because it was obvious even w/o the official diagnosis from 3 years old that normal schooling would not be what was best for him) and now we have to pay more in insurance too. My husband's job is not considered skilled labor and doesn't pay the big bucks! The things we do for our kids, right?

So the only place in the state that is covered by my insurance and does in-home ABA is an hour away and does it "virtually." The set up cameras in your home and send a "trainer" out (not sure what qualifications a trainer has, except that they're the one to work with your kid) and then the actual behaviorist watches 5-10% of the camera footage to work with the trainer on a plan for the kiddo. Does that sound weird, based on your collective experience? I got on the waiting list (and who knows how long that will take to work through!), but feel a little uncertain. Also, I don't know if this is ok to ask or not, but can someone please talk to me about ASD with respect to disability services? Is it considered a disability? Is it something you get SSI for? I would assume not (at least in all but the most severe cases) since it's becoming to prevalent, but I don't really understand a lot of this right now.

I will call back tomorrow and ask, but the lady today seemed very knowledgeable about the situation. She says that the credential of BCBA is a certification, and not a license (which seems to agree with what I read on their website http://bacb.com/bcba/), and the way their provider system is set up it will only allow licensed providers to be approved providers. She said it's terrible, and behind the times since ABA started being covered (mandated by the state, she said) in 2014, but that it's not at the top of the priority list for folks who make these decisions and hence why it probably won't get addressed until spring or summer of next year. She referred me to one place about an hour away that is the only place to have people who are both licensed and also BCBA certified, but they only do center stuff and don't do in-home ABA. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I did find one other person who's actually in my town who has LMHP and BCBA after her name (the website above has her listed as someone who supervises others as well), but it's not clear she'll take my insurance either and I'm waiting for a call back from her.

Well phoey. Apparently there's a glitch in my insurance provider system that makes it so that only license providers can be covered, and not certified ones. So since most ABA providers in my area are certified but not licensed psychologists, none of them are covered by insurance. They're working to fix the provider enrollment system... but it probably won't be fixed until next summer. :P

Yes, I do think she operates this way. She was also very "do what's best for you" before hand, even though she said this past week (hindsight? wishful thinking? genuine? it's not clear to me, bc I like her and think she's probably genuine, but it *seems* a little self-serving...) that she's known since the beginning, but didn't want to push us since I was very resistant to any sort of labels or diagnoses (until things got completely out of hand). Thanks. :)

Don't they automatically share medical records? I know my psych and my ped share communication and I think the OT as well. Is there anything I need to say/do when I meet with them to avoid that sharing at this point? Thanks for the encouragement that I don't need to worry about folks not seeing it, as well. It was interesting to see the results of our testing, because I had him right at the cut-off of levels 2 and 3, whereas my hubby and family friend had him almost dead center level 2. But of course, I'm the one who's with him all day, every day. I thought we'd be further apart, just from looking at their answers compared to mine, but I guess it all somehow matched up fairly close. Seems a little strange, but reassuring nonetheless. :)

Is there anything in particular I should ask or look for with regards to being bright or is that irrelevant to ABA? I'm a little wary of bringing someone in who won't see things or just sees high functioning, but maybe that's just old fears because I don't have experience with ABA yet.

Thank you very much. I contacted three different folks who offer in-home ABA in my area, and will hopefully hear back from them in the next few days. I'm not sure exactly what to tell our normal psych, since I feel like I'm sort of going against her suggestion, but I feel like there's a lot that could help from having someone here with us (though I'm not sure, because he definitely has a normal facade he can put on in front of others for a decent period of time...). Maybe I'll just use my hubby as a scape-goat, since it's just easier to say "Hubby really wants to try it for a little bit and just see how it works..." I do feel like I'd like to keep seeing her, because she gives me a lot of tools to use with him (and all the children, actually), and I really benefit from and appreciate that. But I think I really could also use a bit of a break and someone else working with him some. I wish I could find something to take in to talk with the psych about regarding older kids benefiting too. So far, it's been lots of individuals/anecdotal stuff, which is good, but not exactly scientific. Oh well! :)

This was so helpful in helping me understand how ABA is different than what we're already doing with the psych. Thank you. It has also helped me to feel less guilty with calling around to get information. Apparently, my state didn't cover ABA (or some such mess - I'm a little unclear on the details but someone on the phone was telling me this today) until 2014, so we have very few ABA providers because they all left the state many years ago so they could find work.

Yes, there are options for them in my area. I think I'm nervous about offending someone (we really like this lady!) by going somewhere else. If all treatment/care would be equal, I'd just as soon stay with her. It's hard for me to think about going somewhere else when she's nice and says she can do it, because I feel like I'm basically saying I don't trust her judgement... How do you really look at all your options? Do you talk with the different people? I feel like anyone can *say* they're good, but how do I know?

Summary is: Oldest child is a boy, 7 (newly, bday in Aug), relatively bright/advanced, and diagnosed this week with ASD, level 2, with a referral for sensory processing disorder and another for adhd. His most problematic areas (according to the GARS) were cognitive style (fixed interests, characteristics), emotional responses, and social communication. That's pretty much inline with our experience as well. The psych has been seeing us for several years and says she can certainly do ABA (said something about having at least twice the number of credits in the area that are usually required to be certified), but she finds it more helpful for the 5 and under age group because kids his age start thinking for themselves a lot more (those weren't her exact words, and I'm not really sure what that has to do with ABA...). She put us in contact with a place in town that has some social groups (I don't know if that's the right word? groups for asd kids to learn and practice social stuff) and does a lot with asd kids (as well as the two referrals for following up on the sensory and adhd issues). She said we're more than welcome to see the other practice (that focuses almost exclusively on asd) for everything if we'd rather, but that she also has the experience and training to help us as well so it's totally up to us how we want to proceed.

Ok, I apparently need to look up what all these acronyms mean! lol. Maybe I'll come back with questions after I look up RDI and PRT and whatever other rabbit trails that leads me down! :) What is a p-doc? The lady we see is a clinical psychologist who coordinates with our normal pediatrician (he's the one who referred us to her originally) and referred us to the OT for a sensory processing eval. I threw her card away a long time ago (when we programmed her number into my phone...) but I'm pretty sure it said something along the lines of "cognitive behavioral therapy." But she does see us as a family - so do you mean someone else who would work with him alone while I'm not there? I love the idea of having a bit of a break sometimes - for my own sake, as well as the sake of my three younger children - but I'm not sure how this all works yet, so I hope you don't get tired of my questions! :) This is good to know. Thank you. I'm pretty sure our insurance is a pretty decent plan and would cover whatever we needed, though I can't say that for sure since I don't really know what we need yet. :)

I might add that I read alot of different things, but it just seems like the list of things here in the "components of an effective ABA program" are things we're already doing (with the exception of peer training and story based interventions - though I was reading more about those last month). http://www.appliedbehavioralstrategies.com/what-is-aba.html

So what is ABA exactly? Because I've read some about it, but it seems a bit vague to me. Things like "systematically applying interventions based upon the principles of learning theory to improve socially significant behaviors to a meaningful degree, and to demonstrate that the interventions employed are responsible for the improvement in behavior" sound like a really fancy way to say continuing to do what we're doing (seeing a psych who gives us ideas on how to change things or teach things). What am I missing? I mean, does our counseling have to be ABA or NOT? I think I'm confused, so I'm sorry if this is a dumb question!

Well, I feel a sense of relief mixed with validation after today's appointment. She put him at level 2, which means I don't even really need to second guess the results like I probably would've if he'd been closer to borderline. She said he also tests high for having ADHD but that she would rather not add that diagnosis on initially - at least until he's been evaluated for sensory processing issues, because adhd symptoms can often mask sensory issues. So what now? Besides an evaluation for sensory issues, what happens now? How are things different? She has massive experience studying but advised against ABA since he's seven... I feel unsure of what I feel, if that makes any sense. Mostly I feel relieved that it's not all in my head like a number of friends and family suggested. I guess I'm just curious what happens now?

Thanks, all! I already told her I'm going to help her put them on in the future, because I know she was just yanking them too hard. She loves wearing her ballet outfit, that it may take me some time to get her to warm up to the idea of wearing pants over her tights, but that's a great idea. Thanks so much!

So I'm starting to get the idea that I should take out stock in a tights company. DD5 started ballet this year, and we're going through tights like crazy, but she's not being careless - just young and doing normal things for her age. So I'm looking for *either* quality tights that will be more durable OR cheap tights that I won't mind replacing frequently. I'm completely new to everything ballet and have made a lot of dumb mistakes so far (e.g., signing her up at the nearest dance school instead of researching it, and having her spend her first month of "ballet/tap instruction" learning how to twerk before moving her to a different school....) so I'd just like to figure out what I need to do and know about tights while we're still pretty early in the game! :)

I honestly don't know. I do prop him up a lot, I think, because I'm there all the time and can see a problem well before it erupts and then intervene to diffuse it altogether (most of the time, at least, so that meltdowns rarely occur in public). Also, we have fewer problems at playdates because it's generally time where I don't have many expectations of him (chores, schoolwork, etc.) and he's allowed to do anything he wants to (within reason, of course). The meltdowns usually happen at home or at the end of the playdate, when it's time to go home. The therapist listens pretty good. And at one point when I spoke with her yesterday, I even mentioned that I feel silly for getting all worked up over this (I definitely started crying in the office when trying to explain how frustrating and difficult family life has been lately) and I haven't talked about it with my friends much, but all but one friend (the one who I did give forms to) told me I was being ridiculous (I talked with two others: one told me that none of this would have become a problem if I hadn't homeschooled, and the other told me that kids are kids and everybody has problems and there's no reason to get doctors involved looked for labels and excuses - somehow, I wasn't really encouraged by either answer). I mentioned that, unlike some issues I've had with my daughter, it's hard for me to list one or two big things that disrupt our day; it's like a thousand small things every day. And the therapist reassured me that, even from the little things that I was describing that happened yesterday morning (our appointment was at 9 am), it's ok to be upset that stuff like that is happening all the time, and it's ok to want to identify what's going on and get help. And whatever is going on, it's not trivial and she agreed that he needs more help than he's getting now. I think I'll let my friend fill them out, but then look at them and talk with her (not to change answers of course, but just to hear more of her thoughts about them). The therapist knew going in that my friend may not know him well enough to give good feedback. She wasn't going to give an extra copy of the forms for her initially, but then I thought we might as well see, and my friend promised to be honest if she doesn't feel like she has enough experience to fill them out well. So we may or may not end up using her feedback. Fingers crossed!

She has a son who's mostly in the same boat, so we've talked about it alot. I'm not sure what she's seen and what she hasn't. I'm interested in seeing what she has to say. Is it wrong to look at her eval before turning them in?

I've wondered about this, bc I just got insurance info for next year and one of the limits was 60 therapy sessions (OT, speech, physical all combined), though it said that, for some conditions, limits may not apply. And it made me wonder how that all will come out in the wash!