Is DIY ABA possible? Or, can it be paid for via Bupa type insurance?

[PoopyFingers]

Has anyone here had ABA therapy for their ASD DC? Or, does anyone use ABA type techniques to help their ASD DC?

Also, is it possible to pay an ABA therapist via Bupa type health insurance? DP's new job has a healthcare for family option, so I am looking into options here.

Is it possible to do "DIY" ABA? Could I train myself to do ABA without having to pay a tutor (which we cannot afford sadly)

I am told by an ABA therapist (I have been enquiring about this, but it is horribly expensive) that nowadays ABA is only seen to be needed for 10-15 hours per week, rather than the 40 hours I read about on the net. Still out of our price range though...

DS (3.10) is currently being assessed, and it is looking more and more as if he has mild ASD / Aspergers type issues.

Assessments include developmental paediatrician, SALT, preschool home visitor. He will be attending language and communication classes.

He is a friendly soul, but likes his own space and to play on his own terms. He has balance problems, but no tics or odd movements.

As he is only slightly on the spectrum, if at all, I think he'd respond well to ABA - just wondering how realistic it is that I basically just do this myself?

In the US it is very common for parents to claim ABA costs on their BUPA equivalent, and in fact many company health schemes will pay for ABA too, but as far as I know it's not been done over here yet (though there's always a first time, you could be the test case!) We did get a private diagnosis financed by BUPA, but that was all they would cover - we did that via Dr Daphne Keen. I do think you can do ABA yourself, given patience and persistence. Can I cheekily suggest you read my articles about doing ABA which are on the blogs section of mumsnet? I've gone into quite a lot of detail about how the ABA tutors got my boy to talk (but maybe that is not relevent for your DS?). Once you've done it for a while, and recorded his progress, you can approach the LA with proof of ABA's effectiveness for your boy's "particular special educational needs", and then make a case to get funding (however, I would think that it's an easier battle if you have had at least some ABA professional involvement, as sadly they think of us as "just mums" and so might not believe quite so readily in the progress claims.)

The other cost effective thing to do is to get the VB Mapp book, which gives you absolutely easy-to-follow, step-by-step guides to working through the skills a kid needs before and as he starts school. It is a great book but expensive to buy. I have a copy I'm not using any more if you want to borrow? Do you know how to Private Message on here?

The VB Mapp sounds great - off to put kids to bed, will message again in a bit.

Some people on here have done DIY ABA successfully. For me that would be impossible. It very much depends on your own abilities but also on your child. Mine was very hard to reach, fleeting attention, behaviour problems etc it was too tough a mountain to climb. There are books, online programmes (PEAT - Simple Steps is one) etc you could look at and some people can take that info and apply it to their child, I didn't find that possible. I find it has to be demonstrated for me.

What we did instead was to hire an ABA supervisor (who sets and reviews the programmes) and do all the tutor hours ourselves. We did 15-20 hours a week between me and DH. There was an upfront cost of £1500 I think to do initial testing and a 3 day workshop. Then we paid £400 a month for 8 hours of supervision. The supervisor came every week for 2 hours. That was crucial for my DS as he picked things up quickly and we had to move him on. It was also enough to show progress and we simultaneously sent him to nursery where he got the mainstream provision (where he did not make progress) and applied for a statement. It took a year to get to tribunal and we then won a fulltime (35 hour) ABA programme based on the fact we had achieved good progress and the LA provision had not. Since he has had 35 hours he has made significantly faster progress, but he is severe ASD (although normal IQ) and probably has a lot more issues than your DS so needs lots and lots of programmes. eg he is 4.5 but many of his skills at 2.5 level.

It wasn't an easy option to do the hours ourselves - the first 6 months were ok but then we struggled to maintain the hours and motivation, especially with a tribunal which our LA made very difficult.

We applied for and got high rate DLA care and a few hours a week direct payments (from social services). We used that towards ABA and used the DP to get a tutor a few hours a week when we ran out of steam. My mum has always given us a bit of money a month to help out. There are also charities you can try (although its tough out there for charities at the moment) eg Caudwell Children sometimes fund ABA. There are others and if you start a thread people will suggest some.

If you live near a Univ Psychology dept you can sometimes get students to volunteer who are looking to go into ABA. We have a lovely local Mum who is an ex teacher and comes and plays with DS a few hours a week - she has a bit of ABA training but was just someone with time on her hands.

You may be able to get by with fewer hours - as your child sounds milder. You may find that even a few hours of ABA supervision a month would give you programmes to work on. Most providers will give you a free initial interview when they meet your child. The other thing you could think of is sending your child to mainstream nursery and paying for a few hours a month of ABA supervision / training of the staff there. We could only afford for a very minimal amount of ABA to go into nursery and although it was far from ideal, it did lead to an improvement on what was happening there - the staff at least had a few relevant programmes which had been demonstrated to them which they were happy to do each day eg language, play, social etc. They actually liked having a plan to work to.

Autism Partnership (Ron Leaf) do a book called Work in Progress which is an ABA curriculum and I found that the best book for explaining the different programmes in a way I could understand but other people recommend Educate to Recovery by Robert Schramm. But I didn't find that as clear although other people on here love it.

I am sure you will get many different views but for us getting a very experienced supervisor / consultant to set the programmes was much better value than getting a tutor. I found the programmes once they had been set and demonstrated easy to do. And had we had friends or relatives nearby I would have roped them in. Like I say sometimes you can advertise for volunteers eg gumtree / univ notice boards.You might not need 8 hours a month supervision.

Have you looked at PEACH? They run introductory courses for about £50 and Autism Partnership do ones too, although I am sure there are others. There is a Yahoo ABA site when workshops etc are often posted.

We did see progress with 15-20 hours, but have seen more with 35. But it really does depend on the child. I think its hard to do more than 10-15 hours a week as a parent as you have to do the 24/7 care as well.

This person here also posts on here from time to time and many of us have spoken to her. she is very generous with her time and you can ring her for advice. She travels and does consultancy and is very much of the view you can train parents to do ABA type approaches and they don't need to be 40 hours a week. She would be worth a call.

Lots to take in - I am a bit overwhelmed and will return to read this tomorrow with a clear head (had a 150 mile drive today visiting relatives).

I am aware that as I will struggle to do ABA as I am drowning in house stuff (currently preparing to sell house to sell) and DP is commuting so we have a long day (6am start, eat evening meal at 9 or 10pm).

Exhausted, but soooooooooooooo want to improve DS's chances.

Thank you both so far - will post tomorrow.

Hi PoopyFingers. I am in pretty much the same place as you. Had never heard of ABA till joined MN a few weeks ago and now every waking hour is spent looking into it and other intensive interventions for my DD aged 3. Similar position with regard to having to self-fund and self-deliver and our house is mad too with me working 3 days/week and my husband travelling with his job.

No idea how we're going to sort it/afford it/fit it in but totally agree with the sentiment that will do anything to help DD fulfill her potential.

Good luck and perhaps we can keep each other updated!

Yes, it's possible. No. It doesn't get paid out of insurance but it should and it does in the states so you might have a chance legally.

It can be tough when starting out though so I would make sure you get someone VERY good at training and supervising until you get the skills. It isn't a disaster if you don't but it might take a bit longer for you to pick up the skills.

Poopyfingers and messmonster, there are some interesting posts at the end of the "alternative views of ABA " thread which come from some mums who have got some BUPA coverage of autism, albeit so far only on ex-pat packages. But BUPA is all one company, so if they pay it to Brit living abroad, why not here? Worth having a read anyway. I argued for my LA to part-pay ABA after proving its effectiveness over about 5 months. I did also have a comparison with TEACCH, under which he'd made ZERO progress over the preceding year and a half, so they couldn't argue "you haven't tried anything else".

Thank you all for your replies!

I have received an email from PEACH saying they are currently contacting insurance companies re funding for ABA, and are sending out info to me

sickofsocalledexperts Thank you soooooooooooo much for the offer of VB-MAPP - I am drowning at the moment though and am concerned that I fuck up lose your books - so will put that idea on hold for now (am in the process of moving house, and am very disorganised and untidy.

starlightmackenzie I have read many of your posts on other threads, and will continue to do so - you are obviously very well read up on stuff. You have confirmed what I already thought re funding - but I will bash on, and of course let you know any news which may be of benefit

messmonster (love the name btw!) yes, I am reading up on various ABA stuff - I did get a quote for a therapist but they charge £55 per hour which I frankly feel is exploiting desperate parents. ABA therapists do not seem any more qualified than any other NHS type therapist, in fact less so in this case and I feel that this is exploiting a gap in NHS funding for personal gain - a tad disingenuous. I'd pay it, but we're skint and that's that really.

I'll order some of the books from our local library, as they can buy them in for about 50p charge and try to work through them.

I do feel sadly, that I will make little progress due to personal circumstances, but will make what effort I can...!

Excerpt from PEACH email:

"Two organisations in Scotland may be able to help (and each of them has a website):
Enquire ? deals with special educational need ? 0845 123 2303
Education Law Unit ? deals with the legal side - 0141 445 1955"

Hope this helps anyone

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