Free ABA Workshop

[Guest guest]

ABA: What it is and How it works.

Presented by Achieve Beyond

This workshop will cover:

* An introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis

* Research behind ABA

* How to evaluate the quality of an ABA program

* Overview of insurance coverage for ABA and related services

* Answer general questions attendees might have regarding ABA

The workshop is free.

August 21st, 2010 10am-12pm

Shorewood Public Library Meeting Room

650 Deerwood Dr

Shorewood IL 60404

Please contact akoroleva@... with any questions or to register.

[Guest guest]

Me either!

> >

> > While it's wonderful that they are providing free ABA workshops for those

that need it, I particularly want to know if they made it clear what type of

" developmentally delayed " 2 to 12 year old this therapy was appropriate for?

> >

> > As we know through this group from members here over the years, as well as

if you do a quick search on Google -ABA therapy is not the automatic therapy of

choice for developmentally delayed children -and in fact this is the first time

I'm hearing this. It's not only inappropriate therapy for a child say that has

apraxia but it can be detrimental and lead to secondary to the original

diagnosis behavioral problems due to frustrations to even psychological

disorders such as post traumatic stress.

> >

> > So before I go on as I have many examples and much information in this area-

please let us know that they were clear that this approach is NOT appropriate

for all children that may have communication delays. In fact the only one I

know it for sure is appropriate for is for those with autism.

> >

> > If however a child has autism and apraxia or some other underlying speech

impairment, then the ABA therapist should be aware of this and it should be

modified ABA and even then it is only appropriate if that form of therapy only

addresses those areas that are not affected by motor planning or other physical

impairments. While some therapies may be a waste of time or money because they

are inappropriate for that individual's needs due to their disability,

impairment, physical or psychological -ABA is the only I know that can be

detrimental -and the only I know that is linked to in a few cases charges of

child abuse.

> >

> > We have a family that is a member of this group and you can find the story a

few years back in the archives who's therapist for their apraxic child was put

in jail for the therapy and the therapist used as defense the therapy. How did

they know? They had a teddy cam that captured the therapy of her putting a bag

over the apraxic child's head, pulling his hair, slapping and pinching him etc.

> >

> > Another ABA therapist that used the therapy approach as defense is convicted

and serving jail time for a much more severe crime than child abuse - may want

to google Bott-Graham also used the therapy as her defense and I

believe is still in jail for the murder of a 4 year old autistic child named

Cameron. What really pisses me off is that this woman had a history of being

charged with abuse even prior to Cameron's murder and yet was still employed.

> >

> > I know that ABA can be very good and is provided by some excellent

therapists. I am fully aware that even though this therapy started with

electroshock negative behavioral methods that today more positive reinforcements

are used. But positive can be cruel too when the child isn't able to perform

the command. In preschool, my son was the innocent victim of the ABA approach

used for my son (back then they didn't believe in " apraxia " ) My son one day took

his socks and shoes off for OT, but the next when he didn't do it they assumed

he was " being manipulative " and the therapist said nobody was to help him. He

sat on the floor and cried during OT -a child who could not talk and ask for

help. And then he sat on the floor and cried while all the other children had

the special snack. He was talked to a few times and told that " if you take your

socks and shoes off you can have the snack with the rest of the children "

> >

> > They let my son sit on the floor and cry " ma " for HOURS. When I picked him

up from preschool his face was puffy and his voice was hoarse and he just kept

saying " ma " " ma " " ma " sounding like a frog. That was one of his only words at

that time. I only found out exactly what happened because the preschool

teacher herself told me in vivid detail to inform me " just how manipulative " all

these school professionals found my son to be -and that I was to " not give in to

his demands or I would be making their job more difficult " . I took my son right

to Dr. Trevor DeSouza who we have spoken about in this group -a neurologist from

town NJ who put in writing that it was " inappropriate to punish a child

with a motor planning impairment " and explained that with a motor planning

impairment you may be able to do something one time and not again, or you may

not be able to do it on command. He ended by saying to give my son Tanner " the

benefit of the doubt " Do you know the school professionals at first didn't

accept that note from this neurologist either?!! The one OT said to me " Oh

please. If there was something neurologically wrong with Tanner we would know "

And I said " Well I don't know, but then again I'm not a neurologist "

> >

> > Yes I got my son put into out of district placement soon after that at the

Summit Speech School -but some parents may view this therapy as wonderful. So I

have personal reasons outside of knowing stories about the downsides of this

therapy if misused- again even if used with " positive " reinforcements.

> >

> > Proceed with caution with ABA. Too many kids today are misdiagnosed with

autism. Know if it's needed before being sucked into free warm fuzzy workshops

because there are quite a few parents who could put together a nightmare

workshop with photos of children who this therapy hurt of what can go wrong with

this therapy if not needed and not done appropriately.

> >

> > I am fully aware there are bad everything in the world -teachers,

therapists, doctors etc...but this is the only therapy that even when done

'right' can be very wrong if not needed -so proceed with caution. I can get

statements in writing from respected PhD speech professionals about this too.

> >

> > We have had at least one mom in this group who has an autistic child who is

an ABA therapist that wrote some words on this worth archiving which I can find

if wanted -and all that have been members here over the past decade know my

feelings -I'm not anti ABA -but I am also not going to say " try it " like I would

for saying cranial sacral therapy which may be beneficial or may not be- but it

won't hurt the child.

> >

> > But again you are only sharing your personal experience and you just may not

have made clear what they did make clear -and I do hope that is the case. But

just in case they didn't- I will at least here.

> >

> >

> > =====

> >

[Guest guest]

I'm sorry to hear of all of these negative experiences. I really didn't get a

negative vibe from the workshop. , maybe you could read the resources

provided on their website and let me know if the approach has stayed the same

over the last decade or if ABA has evolved?

And in response to your comments, I said: " He showed case studies for

developmentally delayed kids from preschool age to 12-years-old. " To me,

preschool would be age 3-4.

His case studies included a kid with Down's Syndrome.

I also attended with our SLP and we decided that we needed to take a different

approach. My daughter is non-verbal and this week, she did 2 new signs. Major

approximations and no crying. Success!

>

> While it's wonderful that they are providing free ABA workshops for those that

need it, I particularly want to know if they made it clear what type of

" developmentally delayed " 2 to 12 year old this therapy was appropriate for?

>

> As we know through this group from members here over the years, as well as if

you do a quick search on Google -ABA therapy is not the automatic therapy of

choice for developmentally delayed children -and in fact this is the first time

I'm hearing this. It's not only inappropriate therapy for a child say that has

apraxia but it can be detrimental and lead to secondary to the original

diagnosis behavioral problems due to frustrations to even psychological

disorders such as post traumatic stress.

>

> So before I go on as I have many examples and much information in this area-

please let us know that they were clear that this approach is NOT appropriate

for all children that may have communication delays. In fact the only one I

know it for sure is appropriate for is for those with autism.

>

> If however a child has autism and apraxia or some other underlying speech

impairment, then the ABA therapist should be aware of this and it should be

modified ABA and even then it is only appropriate if that form of therapy only

addresses those areas that are not affected by motor planning or other physical

impairments. While some therapies may be a waste of time or money because they

are inappropriate for that individual's needs due to their disability,

impairment, physical or psychological -ABA is the only I know that can be

detrimental -and the only I know that is linked to in a few cases charges of

child abuse.

>

> We have a family that is a member of this group and you can find the story a

few years back in the archives who's therapist for their apraxic child was put

in jail for the therapy and the therapist used as defense the therapy. How did

they know? They had a teddy cam that captured the therapy of her putting a bag

over the apraxic child's head, pulling his hair, slapping and pinching him etc.

>

> Another ABA therapist that used the therapy approach as defense is convicted

and serving jail time for a much more severe crime than child abuse - may want

to google Bott-Graham also used the therapy as her defense and I

believe is still in jail for the murder of a 4 year old autistic child named

Cameron. What really pisses me off is that this woman had a history of being

charged with abuse even prior to Cameron's murder and yet was still employed.

>

> I know that ABA can be very good and is provided by some excellent therapists.

I am fully aware that even though this therapy started with electroshock

negative behavioral methods that today more positive reinforcements are used.

But positive can be cruel too when the child isn't able to perform the command.

In preschool, my son was the innocent victim of the ABA approach used for my son

(back then they didn't believe in " apraxia " ) My son one day took his socks and

shoes off for OT, but the next when he didn't do it they assumed he was " being

manipulative " and the therapist said nobody was to help him. He sat on the

floor and cried during OT -a child who could not talk and ask for help. And

then he sat on the floor and cried while all the other children had the special

snack. He was talked to a few times and told that " if you take your socks and

shoes off you can have the snack with the rest of the children "

>

> They let my son sit on the floor and cry " ma " for HOURS. When I picked him up

from preschool his face was puffy and his voice was hoarse and he just kept

saying " ma " " ma " " ma " sounding like a frog. That was one of his only words at

that time. I only found out exactly what happened because the preschool

teacher herself told me in vivid detail to inform me " just how manipulative " all

these school professionals found my son to be -and that I was to " not give in to

his demands or I would be making their job more difficult " . I took my son right

to Dr. Trevor DeSouza who we have spoken about in this group -a neurologist from

town NJ who put in writing that it was " inappropriate to punish a child

with a motor planning impairment " and explained that with a motor planning

impairment you may be able to do something one time and not again, or you may

not be able to do it on command. He ended by saying to give my son Tanner " the

benefit of the doubt " Do you know the school professionals at first didn't

accept that note from this neurologist either?!! The one OT said to me " Oh

please. If there was something neurologically wrong with Tanner we would know "

And I said " Well I don't know, but then again I'm not a neurologist "

>

> Yes I got my son put into out of district placement soon after that at the

Summit Speech School -but some parents may view this therapy as wonderful. So I

have personal reasons outside of knowing stories about the downsides of this

therapy if misused- again even if used with " positive " reinforcements.

>

> Proceed with caution with ABA. Too many kids today are misdiagnosed with

autism. Know if it's needed before being sucked into free warm fuzzy workshops

because there are quite a few parents who could put together a nightmare

workshop with photos of children who this therapy hurt of what can go wrong with

this therapy if not needed and not done appropriately.

>

> I am fully aware there are bad everything in the world -teachers, therapists,

doctors etc...but this is the only therapy that even when done 'right' can be

very wrong if not needed -so proceed with caution. I can get statements in

writing from respected PhD speech professionals about this too.

>

> We have had at least one mom in this group who has an autistic child who is an

ABA therapist that wrote some words on this worth archiving which I can find if

wanted -and all that have been members here over the past decade know my

feelings -I'm not anti ABA -but I am also not going to say " try it " like I would

for saying cranial sacral therapy which may be beneficial or may not be- but it

won't hurt the child.

>

> But again you are only sharing your personal experience and you just may not

have made clear what they did make clear -and I do hope that is the case. But

just in case they didn't- I will at least here.

>

>

> =====

>

[Guest guest]

Sorry, should have been clear when I said communication. They start with sign

language and then some kids spoke over time and some didn't.

> >

> > While it's wonderful that they are providing free ABA workshops for those

that need it, I particularly want to know if they made it clear what type of

" developmentally delayed " 2 to 12 year old this therapy was appropriate for?

> >

> > As we know through this group from members here over the years, as well as

if you do a quick search on Google -ABA therapy is not the automatic therapy of

choice for developmentally delayed children -and in fact this is the first time

I'm hearing this. It's not only inappropriate therapy for a child say that has

apraxia but it can be detrimental and lead to secondary to the original

diagnosis behavioral problems due to frustrations to even psychological

disorders such as post traumatic stress.

> >

> > So before I go on as I have many examples and much information in this area-

please let us know that they were clear that this approach is NOT appropriate

for all children that may have communication delays. In fact the only one I

know it for sure is appropriate for is for those with autism.

> >

> > If however a child has autism and apraxia or some other underlying speech

impairment, then the ABA therapist should be aware of this and it should be

modified ABA and even then it is only appropriate if that form of therapy only

addresses those areas that are not affected by motor planning or other physical

impairments. While some therapies may be a waste of time or money because they

are inappropriate for that individual's needs due to their disability,

impairment, physical or psychological -ABA is the only I know that can be

detrimental -and the only I know that is linked to in a few cases charges of

child abuse.

> >

> > We have a family that is a member of this group and you can find the story a

few years back in the archives who's therapist for their apraxic child was put

in jail for the therapy and the therapist used as defense the therapy. How did

they know? They had a teddy cam that captured the therapy of her putting a bag

over the apraxic child's head, pulling his hair, slapping and pinching him etc.

> >

> > Another ABA therapist that used the therapy approach as defense is convicted

and serving jail time for a much more severe crime than child abuse - may want

to google Bott-Graham also used the therapy as her defense and I

believe is still in jail for the murder of a 4 year old autistic child named

Cameron. What really pisses me off is that this woman had a history of being

charged with abuse even prior to Cameron's murder and yet was still employed.

> >

> > I know that ABA can be very good and is provided by some excellent

therapists. I am fully aware that even though this therapy started with

electroshock negative behavioral methods that today more positive reinforcements

are used. But positive can be cruel too when the child isn't able to perform

the command. In preschool, my son was the innocent victim of the ABA approach

used for my son (back then they didn't believe in " apraxia " ) My son one day took

his socks and shoes off for OT, but the next when he didn't do it they assumed

he was " being manipulative " and the therapist said nobody was to help him. He

sat on the floor and cried during OT -a child who could not talk and ask for

help. And then he sat on the floor and cried while all the other children had

the special snack. He was talked to a few times and told that " if you take your

socks and shoes off you can have the snack with the rest of the children "

> >

> > They let my son sit on the floor and cry " ma " for HOURS. When I picked him

up from preschool his face was puffy and his voice was hoarse and he just kept

saying " ma " " ma " " ma " sounding like a frog. That was one of his only words at

that time. I only found out exactly what happened because the preschool

teacher herself told me in vivid detail to inform me " just how manipulative " all

these school professionals found my son to be -and that I was to " not give in to

his demands or I would be making their job more difficult " . I took my son right

to Dr. Trevor DeSouza who we have spoken about in this group -a neurologist from

town NJ who put in writing that it was " inappropriate to punish a child

with a motor planning impairment " and explained that with a motor planning

impairment you may be able to do something one time and not again, or you may

not be able to do it on command. He ended by saying to give my son Tanner " the

benefit of the doubt " Do you know the school professionals at first didn't

accept that note from this neurologist either?!! The one OT said to me " Oh

please. If there was something neurologically wrong with Tanner we would know "

And I said " Well I don't know, but then again I'm not a neurologist "

> >

> > Yes I got my son put into out of district placement soon after that at the

Summit Speech School -but some parents may view this therapy as wonderful. So I

have personal reasons outside of knowing stories about the downsides of this

therapy if misused- again even if used with " positive " reinforcements.

> >

> > Proceed with caution with ABA. Too many kids today are misdiagnosed with

autism. Know if it's needed before being sucked into free warm fuzzy workshops

because there are quite a few parents who could put together a nightmare

workshop with photos of children who this therapy hurt of what can go wrong with

this therapy if not needed and not done appropriately.

> >

> > I am fully aware there are bad everything in the world -teachers,

therapists, doctors etc...but this is the only therapy that even when done

'right' can be very wrong if not needed -so proceed with caution. I can get

statements in writing from respected PhD speech professionals about this too.

> >

> > We have had at least one mom in this group who has an autistic child who is

an ABA therapist that wrote some words on this worth archiving which I can find

if wanted -and all that have been members here over the past decade know my

feelings -I'm not anti ABA -but I am also not going to say " try it " like I would

for saying cranial sacral therapy which may be beneficial or may not be- but it

won't hurt the child.

> >

> > But again you are only sharing your personal experience and you just may not

have made clear what they did make clear -and I do hope that is the case. But

just in case they didn't- I will at least here.

> >

> >

> > =====

> >

[Guest guest]

I learned the hard way and after i read  melanie " story it hit me that i was not

alone 

my son had soem same things happen to him i then researched and found what would

work best for my son  for his apraxia the kaufman ways and  kaufman say and

sign  worked for us  for his sensory the alertprogram.com  wokred the best after

all the issues with kids and sensory is  also  the input they need but

also learning  self regulation so they can  organize their body and brain to

regroup for input of sensory things and relaxkids.com has helped my son learn

self relax skills  and helps keep down  anger  stress  and more i have found

other ways to help my child relaxkids offers great articles and a blog  full of

tips for home and school plus sells to the usa as well 

in the end  melaine's story is so true it  happened to my son and i ound  that

in my areas they go nuts over aba and thing its the be all end all but its not

teachers  don't use it rigth schools miss use it and so on and alot of times

peopel just get side tracted brainwash that its the be all end all and it truly

is not its what works best for the child and  their systems and disorders and 

their many many ways  to use  aba is just one of many ways but whats sad is no

oen see's other ways  until its to late anyway  i agree with lisa

" Sorry, should have been clear when I said communication. They start with sign

language and then some kids spoke over time and some didn't. "

Honestly I don't even know how to answer that I'm so horrified. Again ABA is not

speech therapy. 75% of late talkers will speak -just late. If your child is in

the other 25% then you need to know if they need motor planning, strength,

sensory, oral motor or other speech therapy to help them become verbal. I

suggest you read The Late Talker http://www.cherabfoundation.org/latetalkerbook/

Best of luck to your child -and I really mean that.

=====

[Guest guest]

Thank you lisa i  will look into that cranial sacral and hippotherapy i use fish

oil i even use lavander mineral  bath salts  for relax tiem for his sensory

nervous system i use  vitamin E  as well i also wait foods and drinks  as well

yes it is hard in my areas Lehigh Valley PA  they so behind they have no clue in

schools how to work with apraxia  kids  they push ABA way to much and try to peg

kids wrong they don't  beleive in sensory processing 

its sad i wish this area would get more workshops in apraxia for schools to

learn all about it lol but yes i agree the more you share your story the more it

helps a family see wait lets research lets see if its right for our child  they

are many programs ideas tools to  use  it's just  some get tlaked into that aba

as the best way the be all end all way and they kinda  don't see it until its to

late and the child falls 

i always say research  look into get facts info studies  and talk

to your team before jumping into  that stuff and ask others how it worked for

them if the end shows alot say it was not good for their child then you weight

it out by their  stories and the studies and research you read  i agree its a

learning thing but it helps when  those share the ups and downs so you see

that  i glad you shared all this info today thanks nikki

From: kiddietalk <kiddietalk@...>

Subject: [ ] Re: Free ABA workshop

Date: Saturday, February 5, 2011, 6:33 PM

Hi !

My son Tanner also was diagnosed with sensory issues -think most apraxic

children today are multifaceted in presentation. We used OT as well to deal with

his sensory issues -but one that dealt with sensory integration dysfunction. I

have a page on feeding as he had strong sensory issues when it came to that as

it was " homework " at the time for Tanner that his one therapist allowed me to

put up on our site

http://cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/feeding.html

http://cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/mealtimetips.html

We didn't use a specific program, but in general once we got Tanner into

appropriate preschool placement, along with his private and school speech and

occupational therapy, alternative therapies that included but not limited to

cranial sacral, various listening therapies, hippotherapy, and the one that

helped accelerate the most were the fish oils,

http://pursuitofresearch.com/2010/12/01/therapeutic-use-of-fish-oil-for-apraxia-\

autism-and-other-communication-impairments/ his sensory issues became more

blended -but he still loves the drier, soft things. He still doesn't feel pain

always like others but since NV seems he's a bit more normal.

I'm sorry you had to go through it to. It's my hope if people like I continue to

share less children will have to suffer inappropriate therapy. Just because

there is more money by putting more shapes in the circle shaped holes, and for

sure ABA is one of the most expensive therapies as far as the amount of time per

week in comparison to others free workshop my foot!, not all shapes will fit

into the circle shaped hole -and you may break that shape trying to force it in!

=====