ABA - advice needed please

[sleepyhorse]

Hi there

DS is 3.5 yrs old, has no diagnosis yet but is displaying many ASD traits including no language, poor communication and social interaction skills, repetitive behaviour and no imagination in his play. He is having SALT and being assessed by a pediatrician

He has started recently at a MS nursery 5 mornings a week and seems happy but is not getting any 1-1 hence getting a bit worried that he is not going to progress in his development especially in those areas of concern.

I really want to find out a bit more about the ABA programme - I know that a lot of people go private with this but unfortunately we are not in a financial position to do this. Does anyone know if NHS provide this or does it depend on the LEA? Would DS be able to have this at his nursery or would iit have to be at home? And finally just wondering if people would like to share their experiences of this programme in terms of success? - Have you noticed a difference in your child with their development?

Would really appreciate any advice :-)

I saw great success with my boy and actually started at same age as your boy is, 3.5. The gains in terms of behaviour, speech, socialisation etc were great, though he remains autistic of course (no miracle cures!).

The truth is though that you tend to have to pay for a few months yourself, then make a case to the LA that it is having benefits above and beyond normal mainstream nursery, and try and get some funding.

Friends of mine have asked family for money. We remortgaged the house.

I'm not advocating going into debt, but I would definitely advocate trying ABA and soon - it has the best research behind it and early intervention with ABA is the only system that has shown really decent results with autistic kids, in terms of proper evidence. Many of the other interventions have only anecdotal evidence to back them.

And I've also seen ABA work wonders for kids with learning difficulties but no autism.

I have done a blog of two articles about my early experiences of ABA. If interested, click on AutismumandABA on wordpress blogs. Hang on, I'll just go and find the link.

autismandabamum.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/how-my-autistic-boy-learned-to-talk-via-aba/

sickofsocalledexperts - thank you so much! I will have a look now

WOW! Just finsihed reading your blog and have to say found it very interesting and has definately made me realise that Im one of these mums being sucked in by the LA and SALT with their approach of dealing with ASD. I never realised the LA's are so opposed to the ABA - shocking when there is clear evidence from what you have been saying that this such an effective programme - I guess it all boils down to money that they are not willing to dish out and its out children and us that have to suffer the consequences! Im so pleased that this has worked for your DS - you must be so happy that you made that decision!

So is this a course that can be done at nursery where a tutor comes in specifically for your child? OR does it have to take place in the home? How long is the course and how much money should I be asking the bank manager for?

Sleepyhorse, have PMed you the details of a free course run by PEACH which will answer some of your questions about funding.

sleepyhorse, we are planning of setting up an ABA programme for our DD. money is tight but I am just trying to sort DLA for DD - hopefully we will be awared DLA (we should but these days you never know) and would use her DLA to fund the ABA programme. we are thinking of doing just 15h/week and doing these hours ourselves (could never afford tutors) and basically just paying for supervision.

maybe this is something which is worth looking into for you?

also, did you apply for DLA yet?

Hi chocjunkie no I haven't applied for the DLA yet as I have been in denial re ds for ages and just been telling myself he is delayed. We still don't know what is wrong exactly with ds as he has no diagnosis yet. Do you need a diagnosis to get the DLA? How much can one expect to get? just trying to work out if I can afford the ABA with the extra financial help? How do I go about applying for one?

sleepy, no you don't need a dx to get dla. it is based on need. filling in the form is a real reality check (and it took me 6 month, though most do it faster ).

there are 3 rates (depending on the child's needs). if you get DLA it will also affect your tax credits. have a look HERE

for filling in the dla claim, just the cerebra guide HERE. it is great.

your son sounds as if he has needs over and above an average child. I would really apply for it!

you can apply either by calling the DWP and requesting a form (you have then 6 weeks to fill in the form and if dla is awarded, it will be backdated to the day you requested the form). you can also download and print off the form from the internet or do it online (though the online form only take a certain amount of characters - nowhere near enough for my essay).

also, do you work? if not and you get DLA middle rate you are then eligible for carers allowance (think about £50/week or something like that).