Where we started
My pregnancy was normal and uneventful. R was born full term at 38 weeks. She was healthy and developed normally until about 13 months. At that time she became quiet, losing the couple of words she...
View ArticleGood-bye Early intervention
R. received ABA and speech therapy for nine months. It seems strange to type that because it really feels like it has been much longer. She had therapy for 5-6 hours a day. There were six people on...
View ArticleDoes she protest too much?
When we started on this autism journey tantrums were R’s main method of communication. Our ABA therapists with EI used to track data on crying, they considered crying for ten seconds or less to be a...
View ArticleLooking for answers
I’ve been looking for a book that goes into detail about child development. When R. had EI, the therapists spent a long time trying to get her to match pictures in a laminated version of the book...
View ArticleNo more zombie hands
ABAs imitation programs have been really challenging for R. At first she really did not have much of an ability to imitate at all. In the last 6 months or so I’ve noticed that she will imitate...
View ArticleEncouraging Communication-What’s working Part 1
Find an alternative communication method. We used PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) with R. We were fortunate that our ABA provider made all the icons and set up the binders. We used a...
View ArticleEncouraging Communication – What’s working Part 2
Play skills are directly related to communication abilities. One of the first things that our first ST told me was that developing play skills is crucial for early communication. I would like to...
View ArticleReading material- Art as an EI Tool for Children with Autism
Thanks to the library, I recently read the book Art as an Early Intervention Tool for Children with Autism by Nicole Martin. Ms. Martin has a younger brother with autism. She was trained by a...
View ArticleJanuary ABA team meeting
We had our monthly meeting today with the ABA team. One of my concerns is that R. is over generalizing the mand, want book. She is saying want book for nearly everything she wants. The supervisor...
View ArticleShowing her how rewarding life can be
One of the reasons that people seem to get down on ABA, is the use of reinforcers. I’ve heard it equated to animal training. There is some truth to that analogy, and I’ve learned that is not such a...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....