I know many on this board feel ABA is really worthwhile for children with ASD. I don't know much about how it works (am going to start reading up), but I am curious to know if anyone with more knowledge and insight than me thinks it might help my DD.
DD is 3.8 and currently has no diagnosis, but is on the spectrum. This is how she presents, with the areas I am most worried about (and hope we can work on improving)....
She can't hold a back and forth conversation. She has masses of echolalia, both immediate and also her own commentary. She asks an excessive amount of questions of a non-functional nature, that seem to have become a habitual response to statements by others - so if I say, 'Look DD, it's raining really hard', she will follow with, 'And Mummy, is it raining really hard?'. She also asks a lot of questions that she obviously knows the answer to, eg. 'Does it hurt?' if she bangs herself, or 'Am I having toast for breakfast?' when she is already eating it.
I am holding onto the fact that all this, and her endless repetition of scripted conversational topics, do show a desire to communicate, but conversationally it can feel like Groundhog Day. However, on many other occasions it is impossible to get an answer out of her at all. I don't think a lack of understanding is the principle problem (SALT assessment plus the SALT who did her recent ADOS said receptive language was bang on for age, and I feel this is more or less true), but more the issue is that she feels no desire to reciprocate socially and to converse for the pleasure of interacting with another person - she doesn't do small talk! I sometimes feel that she really will only engage if she wants her needs met, or to talk 'at' people about her areas of obsession. Otherwise comments and conversational overtures made by others can be just totally ignored, even when repeated numerous times. She retreats into her own world and this seems more valuable/rewarding for her than sharing ours. Sometimes she appears not to be actually doing anything for ages at a time, just staring off into space, or repeating stories from books to herself.
Similarly, she is very non-compliant unless it is something she already wants to do. She ignores repeated requests (to put boots on/hang up coat/come for meals for example) not just from me but also nursery staff. It is as if she simply doesn't see any value in responding to others and doing things to please/earn approval. I am aware that she is of course still young, but the behaviours seem excessive and particularly entrenched, even for her age. If going on a walk she lags behind, getting further and further away, and shows no desire to walk/share the experience with us. I constantly have this feeling that I wish there was a switch I could flip that would magically 'switch her on', or unlock something.
Reward charts haven't been very successful - she doesn't seem to care enough about or imagine far enough ahead to envisage the proposed reward, or else wants the reward immediately but doesn't see why she should work for it(!). The only things she responds to is the immediate removal of favourite things after bad behaviour.
She has areas of obsessive interest, and seems to be becoming ever more restricted to these as time goes on. Within these areas she occasionally has a little imaginative play/activity/desire to explore, but it is actually very repetitive and restricted, and certain imaginary scenarios with toys that she plays out always follow a precise script. She is obsessed with books/reading, and wants the same ones read to her over and over until she has memorised them verbatim, and thereafter she 'reads' them to herself for ages at a time.
She doesn't like trying new things and often refuses. I think there is some fear of failure there, but also inflexibility and a lack of motivation. I see that she is becoming defiant more often, yet nursery is more concerned by how passive and disengaged she appears there. She is not engaging with other children, but also is very easily distracted and can't focus/zones out. Nursery staff say that without the 1:1 support that they have been trying to give her there to keep her focused on activities and the routines of the day, she would just disappear to the book corner and spend all her time there (this I can well believe).
I know she is still very young, but my gut feeling is that none of this is going to magically get better by itself and that we need to do something to help her. I really fear for her future at the moment.
So, I guess my questions are - could ABA help my DD in these problem areas? If so, how do we go about finding a tutor? Do we interview? For how many hours a week should she have ABA, and for how long? Do you follow a course for weeks/months/years? How do you square ABA tuition with school (she is due to begin Reception in state mainstream in September)? She has no statement. We have applied for statutory assessment though I am assuming we will get turned down and need to appeal.
Any insight into how ABA might/might not be able to improve things for my DD in these areas would be really gratefully received. Thanks for reading!