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I am now in a dilemma about the choice of my son's ABA therapy.
We have contacted two ABA centers. One is able to do home-based therapy and the other one refused saying they have the toys and equipments which I can not compete at home. They also believe we will see more progress in center-based therapy.
I still want it to be carried out at home and my son does not need to travel around 1 hour a day in the extremely hot weather in Dallas. However, the center who can offer home-based service has assessment next week and if everything goes smoothly I still need to wait for up to 2 weeks to receive therapy. The one who only provide center based and assess my son right now and start service right after the assessment.
The first on explains this to me as they might need to hire another therapist for my son if he is found too special in his assessment. Otherwise we only need to wait for up to one week to start.
We have a insurance policy covering unlimited ABA. I pay 15 dollars per visit and for the home-based one 25 dollars as mileage. Therefore there is not too much difference in price. The core thing is the home-based one takes about 2 weeks longer to start.
I could not find any reviews of the two either.
What would you think mums? Is the progress made through home-based therapy much less than that of a center-based one? I have talked with my son's teacher as well and she seems prefers the home-based one.
My plan for dear son is having 3 hours home-based ABA and relax with social life in the daycare in afternoon.
However, I don't know if it is worthy of waiting extra two weeks. Time is sensible.
How old is your son? That would factor into my decision.
My grandson had his first ABA in our home and it was excellent. I don't think you should worry about what toys they would use. Our ABA provider used things we had, but also sometimes brought specific things with her so she could work with him. He had in home therapy from the time he was 18 months until he was 3 and then she opened her office and we did continue in her office. The advantage of the office was that she could do social skills with him because she could schedule another child's therapy to overlap with his for part of the time.
My little one is 3 years and 8 months now. He got his diagnosis when he was 27 months old. However, at that time we lived in Europe where ABA resource is very rare. His Dad then sought any chance to work in the USA and got the chance to be expatriated here. He did about 3 months ABA before we left Europe and only now he gets the chance to continue. I am frustrated. As we all know the best intervention time is before 4. That is why even two weeks waiting appears much longer to me.
I would not worry about the 2 extra weeks to get in. It is not so much in the big picture. And in my experience, it is totally typical. In fact, I have generally had to wait longer than that.
I have generally preferred home-based or school-based therapy. Therapy in the child's natural environment. It is certainly more convenient that way. We don't get ABA, but we have had speech therapy, developmental therapy, and physical therapy done this way. We are about to start occupational therapy next week with a clinic-based therapist, only because I could not find an OT who both takes my insurance and will come to my area. It was either clinic-based, or pay out-of-pocket, so we are going with clinic-based for our first time. But in your case, I would go with the home-based option if it were me.
My little one is 3 years and 8 months now. He got his diagnosis when he was 27 months old. However, at that time we lived in Europe where ABA resource is very rare. His Dad then sought any chance to work in the USA and got the chance to be expatriated here. He did about 3 months ABA before we left Europe and only now he gets the chance to continue. I am frustrated. As we all know the best intervention time is before 4. That is why even two weeks waiting appears much longer to me.
There is NO cutoff date for progress. My grandson was in ABA from 18 months onward, but his real progress in verbal ability came after he was 8 and mainstreamed in our public school.
While it is true that young brains are a bit more plastic, changes can happen at any age.
No Evidence That Earlier = Better
While there are solid practical reasons for early intervention, there are -- so far -- no research studies that show that earlier intervention offers more hope of improvement than later intervention. In fact, Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Director of the University of Washington Autism Center, makes the following point: "For all we know, a child with a developmental delay may have a longer window of opportunity for growth. I think it's not helpful to alarm parents in that way. I've seen kids who start late and quickly catch up -- a lot of kids with intensive early intervention who progressed slowly and then took off in elementary schools."
The Bottom Line: Walk, Don't Run, to Early Intervention
Early intervention is clearly a good idea. But it's by no means clear that the earlier and more intensive the intervention, the better the outcome. Parents who rush to early treatment with the hope that their child will quickly "recover" from autism may be disappointed -- while parents who waited "too long" may see surprisingly positive outcomes.
At this age, I think I might be inclined to go with the center based therapy. Will they include OT and ST at the center. Often combinations of therapies at centers work well. It is true that for OT there are many things that a center will have that you will probably not have at home (like larger indoor swings and obstacle courses).
At this age, I think I might be inclined to go with the center based therapy. Will they include OT and ST at the center. Often combinations of therapies at centers work well. It is true that for OT there are many things that a center will have that you will probably not have at home (like larger indoor swings and obstacle courses).
Thanks Nana. The ABA center is only doing ABA through the very traditional way. I mean one to one sitting at a table. It is not play-based. They don't do OT, ST or any other therapies.
I would postpone the center-based one and give my son a start from the home-based one and when he gets used to this form, we might then transfer him to a center.
My husband would not like him to travel in the hot afternoon in the steaming Texas weather. And my son sleeps till 2 in the afternoon.
Thanks Nana. The ABA center is only doing ABA through the very traditional way. I mean one to one sitting at a table. It is not play-based. They don't do OT, ST or any other therapies.
I would postpone the center-based one and give my son a start from the home-based one and when he gets used to this form, we might then transfer him to a center.
My husband would not like him to travel in the hot afternoon in the steaming Texas weather. And my son sleeps till 2 in the afternoon.
If they are not doing Natural Environment training or VB, I would not want a child at that center. Some discrete trial *may* be necessary, but no program should be all at the table with discrete trials.
PM me with the name of the center. Have you looked at others? If not, I can ask some people about ones that do VB or NET for you. I am in the Houston area, but have people I know in Dallas/Ft Worth
There is NO cutoff date for progress. My grandson was in ABA from 18 months onward, but his real progress in verbal ability came after he was 8 and mainstreamed in our public school.
While it is true that young brains are a bit more plastic, changes can happen at any age.
Thank you for sharing this with me Nana. I actually am glad to read it. My baby is global delay. That is , he delays in everything. He smiled very early before 1 month. He sat up very early before 5 months old. However, then , he delayed in everything,significantly. I kind of think that he has a little timetable within himself. If he is not ready it is no use to push him. Though he delays in every major milestone but he never misses any of them.
I was trying to teach him to point on request, but he just could not do it. I gave up and several months later before he was nearly 3 years old, one day he just pointed to a road light turning back and looking at me saying light very naturally by himself. He has no tantrum, no behavioral issue, no allergy, no sleep issue. He responds to name being called by familiar people and has good eye contact when he wants so. He is very sweet and loves family members. His problem lies in functioning side. That is why I am so eager. He is learning now and loves to learn. I want to take the best of the time.
Thank you for sharing this with me Nana. I actually am glad to read it. My baby is global delay. That is , he delays in everything. He smiled very early before 1 month. He sat up very early before 5 months old. However, then , he delayed in everything,significantly. I kind of think that he has a little timetable within himself. If he is not ready it is no use to push him. Though he delays in every major milestone but he never misses any of them.
I was trying to teach him to point on request, but he just could not do it. I gave up and several months later before he was nearly 3 years old, one day he just pointed to a road light turning back and looking at me saying light very naturally by himself. He has no tantrum, no behavioral issue, no allergy, no sleep issue. He responds to name being called by familiar people and has good eye contact when he wants so. He is very sweet and loves family members. His problem lies in functioning side. That is why I am so eager. He is learning now and loves to learn. I want to take the best of the time.
That sounds so much like my daughter! She is also globally delayed, but doesn't have a real diagnosis yet to explain it. She met milestones on time until about 9 months, and then stopped doing new things for a long time. She is moving forward, but just slower than her peers. In everything - speech, motor, cognitive, social. She does not have an autism diagnosis at this time, but they do say that she has some attributes consistent with autism. We always wonder if she will "catch up" in time or not. We have never been offered ABA though.
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