ABA for non-autistic child

[IsabelOSullivan]

I know bout ABA from this board and also a friend of mine has a 'classicly' autistic son who does ABA. It works well for him.

My DS is 3.5 and had an assessment for autism this week. He doesn't have it (i knew this). BUT they thought he had issues around control and anxiety. This was very apparent in the session. We were there for two hours. he enjoyed it, he liked the attention and got quite playful and jokey with one of the women there. But he struggled when they placed demands on him (like 'pass me the red car etc) not because he doesn't understand, but because he hates to be out of control. they also thought he might have some problems processing information has he hesitates at lot and sometimes looks blank.

We have a family history of mental illness/OCD and we have been referred to CAMHS (child mental health services). They think he will struggle in school when more demands are placed upon him and are recommending early intervention.

i think the diagnosis is spot on but they were worse than useless when it came to any actual practical suggestions for what 'early intervention' might be. They actually asked me if I had found anything out about early intervention for OCD? The standard intervention for OCD is Cognitive BEhavioural therapy, but he is way too young for that.

I want to start ABA with DS as I think it might help him with some of his anxiety and control issues. But will they just laugh at me?

OCD is often comorbid with autism/aspergers but DS is really not at all autistic. has lots of friends, gets jokes and subtleties, shares nicely, and is actually quite socially sophisticated (for a three year old).

Anybody doing ABA with higher functioning autism? Aspergers? or anything else? Any advice very welcome.

Yes I have looked at PDA and I think he is a candidate for it, but I don't think they diagnose it that easily do they?

What is Schramm's chapter on the control child???

Does your son have ABA?

I think DS will actually cope LESS well as he gets older, and that is certainly what they were implying at the assessment this week.

Thanks Lenin, that's really helpful. We are currently wondering how much to tell people. He can 'pass for normal' much of the time and I'm unwilling to admit to others he has problems, but like you point out, people knowing about his anxieities may help reduce them ultimately. Though I guess it depends on how sympathetic people are too.

His play with other kids is absolutely brilliant. He gets invitations to playdates from people I don't even know. He has an amazing imagination and does loads of great role play (i think that can be a PDA thing)

In stark contrast he is virtually selectively mute with some adults and we've been to SALT because they consider him at risk of this. preschool have a special plan to try to help him speak to adults and it does seem to be helping.

When people talk about 'ABA' on this board, they are generally referring to EIBI (Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention) which is generally used for very young kids with ASD. ABA is a more general term referring the application of behavioural techniques (ie use of reinforcement, defining behaviours and measuring them to bring about meaningful durable change with different people in different settings at different times).

As such ,it is of course incredibly useful to anyone who wishes to learn how to do something better.
I (as a practritioner) am most interested and experienced in using behavioural techniques with children with general learning disabilities asnd this is where ABA really needs to develop.

Most practitioners are using EIBI-at present.

thanks Moondog. that makes sense and sounds like it could be appropriate for DS. I am thinking of asking someone quite young/looking for some experience. He responds quite well to positive attention from 'non threatening' adults so I'm thinking it might help him overcome some of his problems. e.g. currently he is too anxious to draw because he is scared of getting it wrong. if we don't address this it is going to become a problem at school. Any ideas on who I could contact as a first port of call?

Lenin. yes talking about his worries takes them away to a certain extent, but sometimes he freezes and can't talk. Play with children is great. He can share and negotiate. If something doesn't go his way e.g. someone snatches something, he just sort of freezes. he can recover reasonably quickly from this though. We also have some sensory issues and sleep problems. the sleep has got a lot better though - i've been improving his diet and I think that might help.

we know there is something neurological going on because of the family history, but if it is ASD it is extremely atypical!

Play is reasonably varied. Lots of imagination/role play (too much) but also construction and sport (loosely defined!)

his play is not as varied as my other NT child's but there's not a huge difference.

Thanks, yes I'm looking forward to hearing about CBT for children in the future too, but I don't want it to be too late for my own child!

Keep posting. it sounds like we are both doing some things that are helping. and I think understandig it is the first step to overcoming it. will read schram, but fear it will look rather alarming on the coffee table...!

Mm, sounds like you are doing ABA yourself sort of. Which I guess I am a bit as well, but just seeing DS interact with the professionals at the assessment made me realise he tries harder for other people often and they have more energy than I do. which is why I am considering bringing someone else in.

What does your son do with a counsellor?

thats really interesting thanks. I don't really know what to do or where to turn. Basically the professionals we've seen are advising 'early intervention' but have nothing practical to offer. we have no official dx and won't qualify for a statement at this stage. I don't have much faith in CAHMS which is where we've been refered next. We don't have much money or space in our home either but I feel we do need to do something now when he's receptive to it, rather than when he is 12 locked in his room, doing rituals or handwashing or whatever it happens to be.

I think I'm going to look up a few practitioners locally. We could never afford a full ABA programme, and I don't think we need one, but my gut instinct is that a bit of practical play-based therapy might really help. And we could afford a few hours a week.