happycc Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 This week we will be starting at home aba with my 2yrs old son. They will be having several therapist coming over during the week. My son has about 5hours a day five days a week. A bit less right now but will eventually lead up to it. I am currently homeschooling three kids. I want to know if anyone else have this going on as well. Have you had a kid doing at home aba with therapists and homeschooling 3 other kids? When I told them(Behavior Support Partnership) that I homeschool the older kids basically they said not a big deal but it seems like they have never dealt with something like this before. Also I noticed that early intervention really pushes the kids to go to regular school rather than keep them homeschooled. I am planning for my son to be homeschooled alongside with my daughters eventually. I guess I shouldn;t tell them that though. Services are being paid for by Regional Center of the east bay. My son also has speech therapy too on Tuesday. One hour of speech he is exhausted. I don;t know how he will handled 5 hours a day thing. Seems too much. Experiences anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSmomNY Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Sorry I can offer much except a hug. :grouphug: I am also trying to get an at home ABA program setup for my soon to be 2 year old son. I have 2 high school junior I am also homeschooling and I am getting Chemo for cancer. So I have no great answers but know you are not alone and YOU CAN DO THIS... :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 It is our second week of ABA/PRT (pivotal response therapy) here at our house. 1) First week we had sessions m-th. friday person couldn't make it. 2)It is not full 25 hours a week more like 19 -20 right now. 3)It was somewhat awkward as I had no idea what my role was. 4)Their focus was to build rapport with my son rather than get the goals going. 5)My son has a BIG binder here at the house with tons of papers and apparently goals. 6)It was very very distracting for my homeschooling kids. They really wanted to participate in everything. 7)The therapists were all very interested in including my homeschooling children and were part of the therapy sessions. My son has been in the honeymoon stage-charming and cooperating with the therapist. That is good. But I think the honeymoon stage might be over now. He had a fit today when the therapist was here and when she was gone...he was a little more content since. Second week: 1) I think they want more parent participation than I can give right now. 2) They are all over the house and basically a big part of our day. 3) They have loud voices. 4)They totally distract the older kids. 5)They are all very sweet therapists but none of them have a clue as to how to understand my son;s treatment plan and goals. A lot of questions. 6)They are so sweet with my kids. 7)I enjoy talking with them more than having them work with my son. 8)My son does not like it when they insist he does/says something before he gets something. 9)I am not sure if I like it either. Just seems so artificial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialmama Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 We're in our 9th year of ABA, just finished 2 years of PRT (from the Koegel Institute in CA... yes they came to Canada!) :D:D:D I can say that although they don't typically know much about homeschooling, they do know that they are there to support your family. They do know about kids with autism, and as you know, social skills are one of our kids' weak spots. They also thrive with structure and predictability. If they do mention school, it will not be because they are anti-homeschooling, rather it will be about meeting those ASD specific goals of socialization in a structured environment. They know your dc's progress depends upon that. Understanding this up front will allow you to do any of the following a) re-think your position b) brush up on providing a more structured environment, similar to Kindergarten, including a visual schedule for your dc's day c) come up with a few "typical" playdate pals who are not siblings or d) look into the ABA aides attending a daycare setting with your child for a few hours a day to work on those goals in such a setting. As long as "typical" peers are available regularly and the environment is more structured, they shouldn't push the school thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialmama Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I thought I should expand on the daycare thing. When this idea was brought to my attention when my son was 2, I decided to go for it. Daycares vary greatly in any area, so I started with calling and speaking to them. I needed to know if they were structured (circle time, play time, stations, snack time, etc.) and if they were open to having my son and his therapist attend part time specifically to work on socialization in that structured setting. Many were not okay with it, and that was fine. I wanted a place that would be totally supportive of it. Most didn't want part time placements, nor did they want "an outsider" present. However, once they understood that this "outsider" had police clearance and would be working specifically with my son (therefore it did not affect their caregiver/child ratio) then they were fine. I went to go see 3 different centres and chose one that was perfect for us and our pocketbook. He attended 5 mornings a week (Mon-Fri) from 9 to 11. We maintained this for a few years and gathered some great playdate pals for him, which we then integrated into the home therapy socialization sessions. It was a great way to meet so many goals, and most daycares will take children up to age 12. I thought I should expand on this because your therapists will likely suggest a school setting based on the above mentioned needs, but a good daycare could meet or exceed those same goals, and provide more flexibility as far as days and therapists being involved. We even set up a weekly time to videotape circle time and play time so we could monitor his progress, and I doubt a school setting would allow for that. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderchica Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 I was an ABA tutor for three years and loved it. I thought maybe I could give some perspective from "that side". First off, it's a big step having that many different people in your house for that amount of the day! It takes time to get used to it as a family. It will also take your son awhile to get used to the "flow" of this particular therapy. Some days he won't feel like participating and will fuss, but that's okay. It is particularly hard in the beginning when you are teaching the child to respond before they get their reinforcer. It has to be very very very consistent throughout the program. I can see how it seems artificial but that's the whole premise of ABA, which is very research based. In the early days, it's (example) "say ___", get half an M&M. As the child gets the hang of the program it will move on to doing several tasks and then getting a reinforcer. On days that the child just couldn't get work on his programs we would do a few of the most important ones and focus a lot on structured play. For a two year old we started at 3 hours per session and worked our way up. Building rapport and getting to know the child is huge the first couple of weeks. If you don't have rapport the kids will never do what you need. It's also a good way to start learning what type of reinforcers will work well for the child. Do you have a separate space for the therapists to work? I worked on weekends with one family with several kids. We did work in a separate area and then had a few programs the other kids could participate in (with parent permission). For example, this was a preschooler and we would have circle time for 10-15 and include his siblings. It was good for social interaction, learning to sit, and generalizing goals away from the table. My only concern is that you said the therapists don't understand the goals? Who set up the programming? Where are the therapists coming from? Generally a BCBA writes the goals and programs and trains the therapists or tutors. They need to have a thorough understanding of the programs because each therapist should be doing them the exact same way every single time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) No the therapists are all doing things differently with different toys. They are also kind of inconsistent in terms of what is allowed and not and when to give him what he wants. My son has had a whole weekend of diarrhea. Maybe that is what happened -he was fighting a virus. Hence his severe irritability. They pretty much all use whatever room I am in... I offered them a separate room but they said "no", they want to be a part of the family. Makes for a loud day. Example: Me: Hannah tell me what a noun is. A noun names a person, place thing or idea. Hannah: repeats after me Therapist in a loud high pitched voice: "Good Job, Talon. You said "Bubbles Good talking. Talon: POP POP POP (Talon jumps all over Hannah as he is trying to catch Bubbles and bubbles lands all over the FLL book and gets it wet. ) Me: Hannah lets focus on the book. Now tell me some nouns. Hannah: ball Talon: ball ball ball ball Therapist: These are not balls. These are bubbles. What's this? Me: Hannah, stay focused so what is this? Hannah: a noun Talon: ball ball ball Emily: Where is My Key to Fractions book mom? Mom: Are you doing your handwriting, Melissa? Melissa: Yes mom. Therapist: Let's POP some more bubbles! ALL the KIDS watch therapist pop more bubbles. Mom ready to call it day and just play. What is my role I wonder? Should I stand by and observe, participate, just do whatever I am doing, and ignore? What? Most of the time Hannah wanders over and starts playing with the therapists toys and doesn;t stay on task or ask me if she can. I turn my head around and she is off playing again. The therapists just incorporates it and doesnt say to Hannah I think you need to get back to work. Edited October 16, 2011 by happycc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderchica Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Sounds like you need to have a group meeting with the therapists, yourself and whoever has designed your program (BCBA) to discuss specifics- what is your role, where they can do sessions, etc. It's worrying that you say the therapists don't understand his goals/programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 (edited) is going much much much better. My son is doing really well. He loves his therapists and we like them too. They are now doing the therapy in the guest room and it is going much better and my son doesn;t try to sit on me constantly. They also go across the street to the park as well to do some of the sessions. My older kids would probably rather go with them and play but they are starting to attend a bit more to their schoolwork. My son is talking more now. Yeah! And he started pointing finally! He points. He points. He points. So excited and so much fun! Edited October 26, 2011 by happycc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSmomNY Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Thank you for posting the good news. We started ABA this week and it is alot of work. It is wonderful to get good news. My son is nonverbal but I have hope. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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