ELIJA Encourages you to respond to the TIME Magazine Article

[Guest guest]

The following is my repsonse to the TIME magaizine article entitled

A Tale of Two Schools

We at the ELIJA Foundation encourage you to write your response and

reaction to this article and email it to

letters@...

or fax it to 212 522 8949

or send it via mail to

Time MAgazine

Letters, Time & Life Building

Rockerfeller Center

NY NY 10020

You can see the article at

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1191852-1,00.html

May 10 2006

To The Editor in Chief of Time Magazine

Re: A Tale of Two Schools

I would like to express my disheartened review of the article

featured in your May edition of Time Magazine, written by your

reporter Wallis entitled A Tale of two Schools. The

article's agenda was apparently written to compare two different

methodologies which are utilized for children with Autism.

As a parent of a child with Autism and a consumer to the array of

intervention services which are available for my son, I was

completely appalled by the inaccurate portrayal of the science based

treatment model of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which is the

methodology used at The Alpine Learning Group(ALG) that was featured

in the article.

It was an irresponsible stance that was taken by your highly

influential magazine, to sway your readers into visualizing that

Applied Behavior Analysis is an impersonalized, dispassionate and

inhuman treatment model to utilize with our children with Autism.

The writings suggested that the children that attend The Alpine

Learning Group, in comparison to students that attend The Celebrate

the Children School (CTC) were missing out on an affectionate and

sympathetic learning environment. As if, the students at ALG were

being deprived of social praise, shouts of encouragement and human

interaction. As if, teachers at the ALG or similar schools do not

contrive situations of motivation to achieve skills such as

spontaneous communication and eye contact. As if, the school doesn't

have an " agenda " to teach children to learn how to learn under

reinforcing and motivational circumstances, which by the way is one

of the core principles of ABA.

The article, at best, was a complete sabotage and uneducated

description of Applied Behavior Analysis and the brilliant work that

has been achieved by Dr. and her associates and other schools

which have endlessly devoted their lives to providing accountable,

effective, scientifically validated and individualized education for

children living with Autism.

As a side note, The CTC school services children with other

disabilities other than Autism. The ALG primarily serves children

with severe behavioral issues who have experienced failure in the

available public special education settings and who require a high

degree of individualized attention and intervention. Children who

engage in face slapping, head banging, spine slamming and other self

injurious behaviors, need a carefully monitored, highly

individualized type of intervention that on an educated guess, crepe

paper and imaginary pools of water would not effectively be the

first mode of defense.

It was a reckless decision to disseminate a poor characterization of

the only science based treatment endorsed by The U. S. Surgeon

General and the New York State Department of Health, which

conveniently was NOT mentioned in your article.

TIME apparently doesn't understand the detriment and devastation

that you may have inadvertently caused to families of children with

Autism, who will be persuaded by your article to not seek a

scientifically based treatments because of the intentional distorted

view of a school that utilizes Applied Behavior Analysis.

Most importantly, my son who is now 8, would have never learned to

ask for his morning waffle, have the ability to sit with us during

family dinners, learn how to independently bathe himself, or tell me

he needs a " band aid " when he gets a stub on his toe. He was also

toilet trained by the age of 3, and now in a self contained ABA

class in a public school, can do basic math problems and read simple

sentences. ABA has improved our family's quality of life. Does he

still have Autism, absolutely, and it is life long. Will I continue

to use ABA to teach him skills he will need as he grows into a young

man, yes. ABA is a way of life. It is 24 hours. It is NOT a related

service. ABA is responsible for being accountable and shaping

behaviors in multitude of fields, not only in the treatment of

individuals with Autism. It has and will continue to improve my

son's chances of living an independent life.

How unfortunate, that Time Magazine, on such a carefully watched and

highly sensitive topic, would allow your writer to not diligently

educate herself on the science of ABA before finalizing her article.

The article was insulting and defeating to all parents,

professionals and even the children with Autism themselves who have

achieved great victories utilizing the science of ABA.

With much respect to our community, we ask that in the future, you

use due diligence before heedlessly dispersing such defamatory

information on a science that has worked years in keeping it's

credibility and beautifully helped the lives of individuals with

Autism and their families.

" Beautiful " is not a word that is commonly used in the same sentence

as " science " , however there are no other words that I can use to

explain, what I see on a day to day basis on the achievements of my

son.

T. Dibra

Mother of a child with Autism

Co Founder of The Elija Foundation , an educational organization in

Long Island NY

www.elija.org

Co Founder of Effective Interventions Inc, A clinic for children

with Autism

www.effectiveinterventions.com

Founders of The ELIJA School

www.elijaschool.org

516 433 4321

Dibra

665 N. Newbridge Rd

Levittown NY 11756