Diy ABA programme

[Baggins2012]

Hi

I have a 20 month old son who has global developmental delay. I have found an excellent aba consultant and have just started an aba programme at home. To reduce costs I have not hired any tutors and am attempting to do the programme myself.

I have a 6 month old and a 4 year old, work 2 days a week, and have all the usual house chores to attend to.

I was wondering if anyone who has done an ABA programme themselves could give me any advice on how they managed it? My ds has a short attention span so will play for 5mins then wander off. I am struggling to even do a full hour a day.

It sounds like you have your hands full!

I didn't realise I was doing a DIY ABA programme but I guess I am. There are very few ABA practitioners where I am and the one I found could only offer me 3 hours a week. I later found that where she was previously located there were a high number of tutors so families had full time programmes, she has had to adapt her approach so the family does more themselves.

What has helped us is the ABA tutor being very specific about what she has done in each session and what to work on (she writes up a blog on each session which is useful). We have chosen what to focus on as well, for example getting my daughter to ask for things (she did a lot of naming, not much asking), climbing the stairs, doing a simple puzzle etc but decided to postpone skills which required more intensive intervention, for example toilet training. We also have a 6 month plan we are working towards, again helpful to have some really focused objectives so I can see where we are heading and what I can do to achieve it.

So far it is working well, although I am aware the rest of the week is nowhere near as intense as the 3 hour session. I work 3 days a week and also have a 6 year old but even on my days off we are not solely focused on ABA type training we just try to fit in little bits and build it into the day e.g. asking for things at meal times, using a spoon etc.

My daughter is 3.5 years old and also has a global development delay (due to learning disabilities not ASD) - I have already seen a big difference in the few weeks we have being doing ABA.

Hello,

Are you claiming DLA/extra tax credits for your son? He is still quite young so they might be more difficult to get but worth looking into.

Also have you tried getting funding for your ABA program from Caudwell?

In terms of actual program work - don't feel you need to be doing an hour block each day. Just be mindful that every interaction you have can be a teaching opportunity. For us starting ABA taught us to be more aware how we behaved/spoke etc

Good luck with everything.

I think a 5 minute attention span is pretty decent actually for a 20 month old. We started doing ABA when DS was 3.4yo and 5 minute bursts was much more than he could manage at that stage (since diagnosed with ASD, speech and language delay, and I also suspect learning difficulties).

Lady-thx for letting me know how u fit it in! I do the most aba work during meal times but need to try and find more times during the day. It doesn't help that I'm always running from one place to another so tend to not slow down and use situations like "going out " as a chance to use ABA.
Having a 6month plan sounds good. At the moment we are working on his requests as he has good eye contact but is non-verbal.

Booby-I am not eligible for tax credits but could hopefully get dla. I have the form but its soooo long and detailed that its taking me ages to complete it. I have all the relevant reports etc on hand though to send off with it.
I applied to caudwell just before Christmas but haven't heard anything from them.

Well- that's encouraging to hear that 5mins isn't too little!

How have u all found ABA in helping with ur dc? I heard that if u dont see any improvement after 3 months then it's not likely to work? And how intensively have u been doing it?

Hi,
Another idea if you can afford it is a mothers help for a few hours a week, generally a young nanny who is trying to gain experience, this would ensure your other children are cared for and occupied while you spend time with your son doing ABA?