Borderline AS/HFA Early Intervention ABA. Help Please!

[swingsnroundabouts]

Hi all.

I suspect that my DS may have AS/HFA or be on the borderline.

He is soon to be 5, and struggling at the moment in mainstream reception. He is in a dreamworld a lot of the time, doesn't seem to be very aware of what's going on around him, can't take in group instructions, is slow to catch on and really struggles to make friends and interact with his peers appropriately. He is very bright, loving and talkative, is reading well ahead of his age, can write but finds it hard. He gets fixed on details rather than seeing a big picture, and finds it hard to concentrate at school, but is fine at home. He seems to find the school environment quite overwhelming at times.

I have decided not to go down the dx route, as I think this would not be worthwhle path- I have decided that whatever it is he has, he needs intervention to get his social communication skills up to where they should be and help with his concentration.

I am considering using an early years intervention specialist and setting up an intensive programme probably using the ABA route, and would love to hear from any mums who have used this approach for HFA/AS children to find out what their experiences have been regarding progress.

My hope is that he can eventually catch up with his peers on the social skills/concentration side and become more aware of whats going on around him. I thnk he may have to repeat reception.

I would also be glad of any recommendations for ABA consultants for AS/HFA- Has anyone used Sean Rhodes?

I would definitely initiate SA and look into statementing so that he gets some support in school as well as teh home programme. Has the teacher flagged some issues yet?

We use this consultant.

Hello
We are in a very similar position with our son. He's nearing the end of a year of pre-school where it has become apparent that his development has gone off on a tangent rather than just being a bit behind.

I've tried ringing most of the ASD orgs, local and national. Some of them I just can't get through to. Some will only engage with us once he gets a full dx (another six months wait for that). So far I've found Peach the most helpful.

Good luck with the ABA. I too am looking for a consultant.

I think that getting support in school will be key. We will be funding the programme. Yes, teachers have flagged all the issues and he is on SA+. Its a private school with long waiting list and if they are not going to be supportive of a programme, or say that there are no places for him to repeat reception, we may have to move him to another school.

Do you think that a tutor for time in school needs to be very experienced with ABA? My concern is that I don't want him to become 'dependent' on help at school and would only want someone to step in as and when necessary.

Thanks for link!

My son is 5 and has high functioning autism. We have been doing ABA since January last year and he has made terrific progress, particularly with his language.

Our consultant is Duncan Fennemore who is very good. Sean Rhodes also has an excellent reputation.

We didn't have ABA trained support in school and with hindsight this was a mistake. You need a peer group to practice with when you are targeting Social Communication, so an ABA trained person in school would definitely be beneficial. From my experience, ABA trained shadows are also a lot better at stepping back when help isn't needed than learning support assistants.