Thoughts on ABA therapy?

[Gentlemommy]

I'll admit, I have some big concerns about it. It does not jibe with my general parenting style. At all. I'm considering taking dd to get evaluated at a highly recommended place that offers ABA therapy in addition to PT/OT and social therapy. I was really excited about it because in all other ways it seems perfect-it's close, there is a team of therapists working together, the parent who highly recommended it has a dd that has many of the same issues my dd has, ect. The other place is an hour away, has a 6 month wait list, and generally deal with typically presenting, more severe cases.

Is there freedom, when using the ABA method, between individual therapists? im wondering what to do at this point, make the phone call and go see or just go with the other location first...thanks in advance for any insight.

[SproutMamaK]

I loved it for my kids. It doesn't mesh with my parenting style, either, but it's effective for teaching. At a certain point you just have to do what works. My kids have had no problems adjusting to not being rewarded for every good action in the real world, etc. We were careful to try to help them understand the hows and whys of why certain behaviour was (or was not) expected of them, and then used cost/response systems alongside it to reinforce what they were being taught.

 

Even though I was initially very hesitant about it, it had an enormous positive impact on my kid's lives. I highly recommend it. You an give it a shot for a few sessions and sit in with them to see what you think, and then go from there. Just don't expect instant results for it, it can take a while for progress to be made initially, especially depending on what stage she's at right now.

[Gentlemommy]

Thank you for that positive feedback! Is there a website or book you would recommend for a person just starting and trying to understand the methods? I'll admit that the documentary I watched on it seemed...so cold. I don't know, can't explain it well. I have no problem with rewarding sometimes, that wasn't even it. It was the lack of warmth from the therapists I guess. Which is why I wondered if it can vary from person to person or if that was a part of the actual methodology.

[Innisfree]

In our (still fairly short) experience, ABA has been positive, warm, and very enjoyable for our dd.  We are seeing slow improvements, I think, but we've only been at this over the summer.

 

The question of switching between different therapists may depend on staffing levels at your provider.

 

I'm not sure what documentary you saw, and I wish I did have a book to recommend.  I guess, for us, it came down to needing help. We weren't making progress on our own, and ordinary parenting techniques we grew up with were actively counterproductive. We were ready for anyone who could help. 

 

I'd be glad to try to answer any more specific questions you have, but I'm not sure if I'm understanding your concerns very clearly. Do you already have a diagnosis? Is the evaluation to diagnose, or merely to see how many hours of ABA are recommended?

 

You may also get more responses on the Learning Challenges board.

 

 

[myfunnybunch]

I used ABA techniques with my dd many many years ago, and was an autism therapist in programs using ABA, from pure ABA programs to programs that incorporated ABA techniques along with a variety of other programming. In all teaching, the therapists were across the board warm, gentle, and respectful.

 

ABA can be implemented in a very gentle loving way, and should be supported by other therapies. Even the most "strict" (meaning most closely following classic ABA therapy) program I was involved in also incorporated play therapies and very gentle teaching. A good well-rounded program/therapist will treat the child as a *child* first, rather than as a therapy subject.

[Kathryn]

I hated it. But it wasn't ABA, it was the company we used. There was only one local company accepting kids when my son's name came up for our state's ABA waiver. It was great the first week when the therapists he was assigned all had several years of experience. However, one week into it, his lead therapist was reassigned to a different location and the new one was brand new to ABA and was a complete airhead. He had his two line therapists still though. A week after that, we were informed that his favorite line therapist was leaving. The replacement was again brand new to ABA, had no clue what she was doing, and very obviously didn't like kids or the job. We had the other line for a few months before she quit also. When the replacement was almost exactly like the other new line but she also didn't show up half the time, and we'd had so many issues with these people, we finally left. Because of the inexperience and poor attitudes of the therapists we ended up with, we actually saw behavior get worse.

 

To make a long story short, check out their turnover rate and the training and experience of the therapists.

[LucyStoner]

We had a mostly bad set of experiences with it.

 

It has it's uses, many providers do a hybrid of ABA/floortime play based therapy and there are many good practitioners out there. It definitely can work.

 

That said, as the demand increases with expanded insurance coverage, there is a huge issue of short staffing and quick hiring that impacts quality. Some people doing ABA have minimal experience or training. We ultimately found that a different approach worked best for our son and discontinued the ABA sessions when we found the sessions were triggering worse behavior than we were trying to solve.

[mommy5]

I feel like, in many ways, ABA is what saved my son from regressing and falling apart.  That may sound dramatic but it really really felt like a life saver.  We started using it full time 5 years ago.  I love it.  My son has full time therapy in home and it is wonderful.