Where to get the best ABA programme

[sweetteamum]

I've been looking into ABA for my dd, 11 - HFA.

I'd really love the help off you lovely people as to which programmes you use and are recommended.

I'm sorry but don't really know anyone who works with hfa, but you could join the ABA-UK Yahoo group where lots of parents advertise for tutors.

Thanks anyway sickof. It may be a good idea for me to buy a programme and work with her myself :)

What are you after exactly?

You can do that or try this website called www.rethinkautism.com. You can use it free for a week and see, if you like it then it is quite cheap to use

I'd like a beginners guide to it ;) I'd also like to work with my dd as I've seen so much positive feedback on it that it seems like a waste otherwise. I'm not by any means knowledgeable at all so would like tips on where to find the best place to start etc :)

I recommend this text very highly.
Readable, erudite and very clear.
Behaviour Analysis for Effective Teaching

I'd say it is the best book around when considering how to use behavioural principles with children who are not severely autistic.

I think one approach is to concentrate on what your child's difficulties are and see who/what can help with that.

Research wise, there really has been a move away from terms like high-low functioning because they add very little to our understanding of a child's needs.

Autism is autism. Research demonstrates, for example, that children at the so-called HFA end can have sensory issues just as impactful as those at the 'severe' end. The last two conferences I have been to with clinicians, have talked about the spectrum not being low-high functioning but being about some children having additional impairments such as intellectual impairments or communication impairments. This can make teaching basic skills more complex. But, it was pointed out that although we tend to equate 'function' with intellectual capacity (and so call children with above average intelligence - HFA), intellectual capacity has never been a criterion of autism diagnosis and so is irrelevant in terms of defining the 'severity' of the condition.

I think older children who are very aware of their differences can also be equally complex to deal with and if you want a consultant you will need someone who recognizes that ability to function and intellect are not the same thing and who is experienced at dealing with children who face very different challenges to those who have previously been categorised abysmally as 'low' functioning.

Each child is unique and has very different strengths and areas of difficulties. You may want to follow a programme with a consultant who understands that labels are not helpful and that the priority is the child's ability to cope and function in their world - both particular challenges for those categoriesed as HFA/AS. They may also need to have experience in dealing with children who may want to speak for themselves.

My experience is that there are very few around who can do this.

Thank you both very much for your responses.

I agree with you inappropriate, although dd is supposed to be the higher functioning end of the spectrum, it's severely affecting her ability to function in the 'real world' she doesn't have an average level of cognitive ability - her lows are very low and highs are more average than high. She doesn't quite fall into the lower end of learning difficulties but Camhs have not been able to assess her iq as she's so complex. On her report it states "do not automatically assume dd has average cognitive ability" as well as saying "she will experience issues with common sense"

It looks like I need to find her main weaknesses ie speech and language, social and communication, difficulties with vocabulary to name a few, then I need to work aba round those areas - have I got that right?

Moondog, thank you for the link also. I will see if I can get the book on kindle.

I used this when ds1 was younger and we were too broke to employ a consultant. There may be better options out there now, but it was useful at the time.

Thank you saintly. I will definitely look into that. We can't really afford a consultant :) but would really love to get started.

[[http://www.peatni.org/simple_steps/index.asp
Simple steps]] and Hanen more than words. Also Early start Denver model and Motivation and Reinforcement and this online course

A consultant is only ever someone to consult. 99% of a programme (planning, learning, prioritising, implementing, adapting) comes from the parents, whether or not they bring in some outside tutors. Which can sometimes be cheaper than you think, eg Trainee nannies are often amazing.

Sorry sweettea, saw 1 and it's 11 .

Don't worry mareey hehe ;)

Thanks for your time though.