This week Steve and I took the Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) Training course that home therapists are required to take to work with kids with autism. It's offered to parents so that we can understand the programs and assist as needed, and also so we can better understand our kids and our interactions with them. It was all very interesting. It's VERY much based on the principles of operant conditioning. The trainers were great, and the other parents and home therapist that attended were fantastic. It actually was a lot of fun, which I hadn't expected. It also helped me to see that this home therapy will actually be fun for Jesse as well. It's meant to be.
I was really surprised too, at how the discussion we had seemed to tie some things together for me. Some things that Jesse does have always been a mystery to me. Like a year ago when he repetitively rolled himself off the couch to fall sideways on the floor. When he repetitively bangs his head, arm, leg, back again the wall or furniture. It's all a sensory issue! It's not seeing, hearing, smelling, touching or tasting. It's proprioception! It's one of the seven senses we have (there's also vestibular), and Jesse seems to just need more of that sensory input!
There were other times though, during the course, that I though how Jesse really doesn't fit the bill. I know there's a huge range of abilities and issues when it comes to an autism diagnosis, but in many ways Jesse is just so NORMAL! For example, they explained that imitation usually has to be taught. Imitation or mimicry is one of the major ways kids learn how to do things or how to act, and it's often (usually?) absent in kids on the spectrum. Well, Jesse mimics EVERYTHING! From chasing around the kids at active play and "falling" when they fall, so mimicking Steve's mannerisms and speech. And there were other things too....I can't recall them all at the moment due to sheer exhaustion, but it really made me doubt, at time, the diagnosis. I guess all we can do it wait and see. His ADOS will be repeated at age 3 and he may or may not come away from it with the diagnosis again.
***edited May 1, 2010 to add:
The title of this post will tell you how far removed I am from my B.Sc. in Behavioural Neuroscience. I'm only now realizing it should be "Just call me Skinner".
Showing posts with label ABA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ABA. Show all posts
Friday, April 9, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
"My Baby!"
Yes, this is what Jesse said today. I'm adding it to his list of two-word phrases, which, until today, has consisted only of "bye [insert noun]." He says "bye bees," "bye Mom" (I nearly fell on the floor when he said that to me when I dropped him off at day care last week), and "bye Da/Josh/Nan/Pop."
This sweet little phrase turned my otherwise crappy afternoon into pure awesomeness. We were meeting with Miss Crabby-Ass insurance adjuster when he said it. I had just taken him out of the room because he was getting loud. I was holding his baby doll (which was MY baby doll 29 years ago) and he reached out and said "my baby!" Clear as day. He hasn't said it since, but I'm hoping to hear it again soon.
In other news, we reached a deal with the other guy's insurance agency. They're giving us a grand total of $1000 for our car, but we get to keep the car and scrap her. (They're paying to replace the car seat as well.) We also found a new(ish) car to replace Steve's 1999 Sonata. It's another Sonata. A 2006 model. Steve is quite pleased that for once his car will be newer than mine (by about 5 months). We get to pick her up tomorrow. I was so worried that we wouldn't have found another car by the time Steve goes back to work next week. (He's on holidays this week for the ABA training.) We need two cars since Steve works about 30 minutes outside of town and Jesse has his speech therapy and various other appointments during the week that I need to take him to.
So that's a couple of things that are now out of the way.
Tomorrow Steve and I start the ABA training. We had hoped to be doing this with our newly hired home therapist, but we haven't even gotten around to looking at the resumes yet. We'll probably be starting that task tomorrow night or Wednesday night. The ISSP is tentatively scheduled for April 19th. Only then will funding be approved to pay our home therapist, so I don't feel too behind.
Oh, and we're also going gluten free (GF) this week. I just need to pick up some foods to get us through the first week or so while we learn how to incorporate non-gluten containing foods into our diet. I'll definitely write more on this later. Oh, and my book report. I'll have to work that in too. Damn, I'm such a procrastinator!
This sweet little phrase turned my otherwise crappy afternoon into pure awesomeness. We were meeting with Miss Crabby-Ass insurance adjuster when he said it. I had just taken him out of the room because he was getting loud. I was holding his baby doll (which was MY baby doll 29 years ago) and he reached out and said "my baby!" Clear as day. He hasn't said it since, but I'm hoping to hear it again soon.
In other news, we reached a deal with the other guy's insurance agency. They're giving us a grand total of $1000 for our car, but we get to keep the car and scrap her. (They're paying to replace the car seat as well.) We also found a new(ish) car to replace Steve's 1999 Sonata. It's another Sonata. A 2006 model. Steve is quite pleased that for once his car will be newer than mine (by about 5 months). We get to pick her up tomorrow. I was so worried that we wouldn't have found another car by the time Steve goes back to work next week. (He's on holidays this week for the ABA training.) We need two cars since Steve works about 30 minutes outside of town and Jesse has his speech therapy and various other appointments during the week that I need to take him to.
So that's a couple of things that are now out of the way.
Tomorrow Steve and I start the ABA training. We had hoped to be doing this with our newly hired home therapist, but we haven't even gotten around to looking at the resumes yet. We'll probably be starting that task tomorrow night or Wednesday night. The ISSP is tentatively scheduled for April 19th. Only then will funding be approved to pay our home therapist, so I don't feel too behind.
Oh, and we're also going gluten free (GF) this week. I just need to pick up some foods to get us through the first week or so while we learn how to incorporate non-gluten containing foods into our diet. I'll definitely write more on this later. Oh, and my book report. I'll have to work that in too. Damn, I'm such a procrastinator!
Monday, March 15, 2010
What a breakthrough!
I feel like the big brick wall I've been bashing my head against for so long has started to crumble. We had Jesse's weekly speech therapy appointment this morning. Jesse's SLP, M., was THRILLED with his progress! I took my Flip video camera with the video of Jesse talking in the bathtub from last night and showed her. So right away she tossed her plan for incorporating signs into his therapy and wants to dive right into increasing his vocabulary and getting him saying things spontaneously.
During the appointment she got him to say "eat" and "bus." He's also now saying "bye." I can hardly keep up! She gave me some tips for how to play with him and encourage spontaneous talking and new words. Such a productive 1/2 hour!
In other news:
We had our follow-up with the physiotherapist. She gave me some more information sheets on how to deal with the sensory issues. We have some proprioception work to do with him. She's pleased with his range of motion in his ankles, but thinks that he could tighten up if he continues to toe walk so much. She advised me to do some stretches with him and keep an eye on his range of motion. She'll keep his file open, so that if I need to, I can call her up and make an appointment and we can get Jesse right back in to see her without the
wait. She did think Occupational Therapy would be a good idea though, to help with the sensory issues, and I will be asking for a referral to OT at our appointment with Dr. C on Wednesday.
I also spoke with the social worker, J., this morning. We still don't know when we'll be assigned a senior therapist. It was supposed to be a 2-3 week wait. It's now been 4 weeks. And J. said that she "hopes" it'll only be "another week or so." So frustrating! I told her that this makes it REALLY difficult in terms of hiring a home therapist. They want someone hired by the next ABA training session (April 6-8). But how am I supposed to hire someone when I have no idea how many hours I'll be hiring someone for? I don't know if it'll be 15 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours? Something in between? Who would even be willing to take a job if they have no clue what kind of hours I can offer them? So I'm sort of at a loss as to what to do about that right now. I guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed that someone will get the lead out get moving on this.
I have to focus on the positive though, right? And I am. I'm going to work on Jesse's speech with him and do as much as I can. He's already come SO FAR in just the last couple of weeks. It's actually really exciting!
During the appointment she got him to say "eat" and "bus." He's also now saying "bye." I can hardly keep up! She gave me some tips for how to play with him and encourage spontaneous talking and new words. Such a productive 1/2 hour!
In other news:
We had our follow-up with the physiotherapist. She gave me some more information sheets on how to deal with the sensory issues. We have some proprioception work to do with him. She's pleased with his range of motion in his ankles, but thinks that he could tighten up if he continues to toe walk so much. She advised me to do some stretches with him and keep an eye on his range of motion. She'll keep his file open, so that if I need to, I can call her up and make an appointment and we can get Jesse right back in to see her without the
wait. She did think Occupational Therapy would be a good idea though, to help with the sensory issues, and I will be asking for a referral to OT at our appointment with Dr. C on Wednesday.
I also spoke with the social worker, J., this morning. We still don't know when we'll be assigned a senior therapist. It was supposed to be a 2-3 week wait. It's now been 4 weeks. And J. said that she "hopes" it'll only be "another week or so." So frustrating! I told her that this makes it REALLY difficult in terms of hiring a home therapist. They want someone hired by the next ABA training session (April 6-8). But how am I supposed to hire someone when I have no idea how many hours I'll be hiring someone for? I don't know if it'll be 15 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours? Something in between? Who would even be willing to take a job if they have no clue what kind of hours I can offer them? So I'm sort of at a loss as to what to do about that right now. I guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed that someone will get the lead out get moving on this.
I have to focus on the positive though, right? And I am. I'm going to work on Jesse's speech with him and do as much as I can. He's already come SO FAR in just the last couple of weeks. It's actually really exciting!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Frustration
It's been 4 weeks since our initial meeting with the social worker. We were told then that a senior therapist would be assigned to us within three weeks. It's now been 4 weeks. Four LONG weeks. I called and left a message with the social worker, but she hasn't called me back. This is just not sitting well with me! The senior therapist is supposed to do 3-4 weekly appointments with Jesse to help determine his therapy needs. Until then, we don't know how many hours of ABA therapy per week Jesse will need. How are we supposed to hire someone when we have no if we're hiring for 15 hours per week, or 30? And a little bit of guidance as to what qualifications or characteristics of skills to look for in a home therapist would be helpful.
Somebody needs to get with the program! Argh!
Somebody needs to get with the program! Argh!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Intake
Steve and I had our intake appointment with the autism program social worker yesterday. Talk about information overload. The basic gist is this:
-we'll be assigned a senior therapist in about 3 weeks
-the senior therapist will see Jesse once weekly over 3-4 weeks to evaluate his needs
-we then go to an ISSP (individual support services plan) meeting, attended by all the people who'll be involved in Jesse's therapy, to make decisions regarding the treatment plan
-Steve and I attend start the process of hiring a home therapist
-Steve and I attend the 3 day ABA (applied behavioural analysis) training session
Over the course of the next 6-8 weeks, we'll also have appointments with the autism program's psychologist, Jesse's neurologist, the physiotherapist at the Janeway that works with kids with PDD, Jesse's GP, the social worker (again), and possibly others. It's getting difficult to keep track of it all.
I was hoping to possibly make use of the critical illness insurance that my parents have purchased for Jesse - using it to cover lost income while I took a leave of absence from work - but I think I'm going to save that for if/when we truly need it. The autism program here in NL covers the cost of ABA home therapy. As a treatment, it's shown the best outcomes for kids with ASD. However, not all children do well with ABA. So if it comes to the point where we're considering other treatment options, we'll have to pay out-of-pocket for those, as they aren't covered by the provincial health care system.
I guess I'm going to have to get really good at time management.
-we'll be assigned a senior therapist in about 3 weeks
-the senior therapist will see Jesse once weekly over 3-4 weeks to evaluate his needs
-we then go to an ISSP (individual support services plan) meeting, attended by all the people who'll be involved in Jesse's therapy, to make decisions regarding the treatment plan
-Steve and I attend start the process of hiring a home therapist
-Steve and I attend the 3 day ABA (applied behavioural analysis) training session
Over the course of the next 6-8 weeks, we'll also have appointments with the autism program's psychologist, Jesse's neurologist, the physiotherapist at the Janeway that works with kids with PDD, Jesse's GP, the social worker (again), and possibly others. It's getting difficult to keep track of it all.
I was hoping to possibly make use of the critical illness insurance that my parents have purchased for Jesse - using it to cover lost income while I took a leave of absence from work - but I think I'm going to save that for if/when we truly need it. The autism program here in NL covers the cost of ABA home therapy. As a treatment, it's shown the best outcomes for kids with ASD. However, not all children do well with ABA. So if it comes to the point where we're considering other treatment options, we'll have to pay out-of-pocket for those, as they aren't covered by the provincial health care system.
I guess I'm going to have to get really good at time management.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)