[FEAT BC Admin]

This area is for discussions in general topics.

Topic

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone, I have been successful billing 500.00 (per person under the plan receiving services from your Consultant) per year for Consultant fees and 500.00 per year, per person, for Phsyc. Assessments. Our extended medical is through Great West Life. If you have extended through this company, they will accept receits that are up to 24 months old. I am on my third year now getting these expenses covered. I'm sure there's other companies that would also cover these expenses as well, give it a try.
cobrattack@telus.net

Natasha
Zoe's mom

[Susan Burns]

hi everyone……I am attempting to bill some consultant fees through my BCAA extended insurance…….I will be sure to let parents know how that goes. spbpt2002@yahoo.ca

[Justin Himmelright]

I am on the lookout for any insurance companies that may provide some coverage for autism treatment related expenses (psyc. assesments, ABA, etc.) in their extended medical insurance packages. Does anyone out there have any good or bad stories to pass along about getting some things covered through insurance? What companies are good, which need to be avoided etc.

Please email privately to himright@telus.net

Thanks,
Justin

[Valisa Kay]

I am looking to be trained in ABA, and would like to provide therapy in the Abbotsford / Aldergrove area. I'm available MWF evenings, and perhaps Sundays.
I have lots of experience working with children with Autism, and various disabilities.
Great references, reliable, and passionate about supporting children and families.
corkykay@hotmail.com

[Deleted User]

FEAT of BC workshop November 13 at Douglas College almost FULL:

Thank you to all who have registered for the workshop this saturday. There are a limited number of spaces still available. If you are interested in attending the workshop this saturday, please download the registration form and fax in your information. You will need to pay at the workshop with cash or cheque made out to FEAT of BC.

The spaces available will be first come first serve so please do not delay in faxing in your information.

At this point in time I can not guarantee that registration at the door will be available as it will depend on the number of faxes received over the next 3 days.

And yes, there will be an intermediate workshop in vancouver in the near future (January 8) so please plan on attending the basic workshop if you plan on attending the intermediate workhsop in January.

[Mayfawny Goertzen]

EDUCATIONAL TOY COMPANY

I'm here today to recommend a toy company that has many different educational toys that would be very beneficial to an ABA program.

I wish I was aware of this company when my daughter was in a Full Time ABA program. Although even now that she is 8 years old, I have found many helpful toys to benefit her academic skills.

Some of you may be aware of this company but if I only reach one person I will be pleased to help another.

So check out Jocus at http://www.jocus.com.

Mayfawny

[Mayfawny Goertzen]

EDUCATIONAL TOY COMPANY

I'm here today to recommend a toy company that has many different educational toys that would be very beneficial to an ABA program.

I wish I was aware of this company when my daughter was in a Full Time ABA program. Although even now that she is 8 years old, I have found many helpful toys to benefit her academic skills.

Some of you may be aware of this company but if I only reach one person I will be pleased to help another.

So check out Jocus on-line.

Mayfawny

[David & Lori DiSanto]

I suppose it should come as no surprise that children who have been abused in the guise of "treatment" resent and fear the ABA that is so effective for our children.

I've known many people who have had abusive fathers and have resented male authority figures for the rest of their lives. They would have probably been better off without their fathers. I guess the viewpoint of people with autism who had been mistreated is the same. However, for someone to take their own abuse and assume it applies to everyone with a father is completely absurd.

ABA has done wonders for our son. He has learned things, can do things, can experience things way beyond a level he would have achieved without ABA.
By the way, the mentality of training our children is a pretty typical parental mindset. This applies to our NT children too. My child can't read… we'll teach her. My other child can't ride a bike… we'll teach him. My child can't respond to a question… we'll teach him.

This constant cycle of examination and teaching continues all through childhood. We would consider a parent who took no interest in the development of their typical child to be negligent. How then is it cruel to teach a child with autism these same skills?

It seems crazy that someone would suggest we abandon teaching a child because they have autism. If a child can acquire a given life skill, the parent has the responsibility to ensure they achieve it.

It is true that there comes a point where a parent needs to see that their role as a teacher is largely done and accept their children for what they've become. Nobody wants a parent who's always pushing them to change for their entire life. At every age, I will cherish who my children are and enjoy the moment. But that doesn't mean I don't have a lot to teach them. For my family, we'll slowly step out as ambitious teachers as my children age and grow in maturity.
This is true for all my children, with or without autism.

Those of you who have been abused in the past… I wish it never happened. However, it's no reason to suggest we are denying who our children are by teaching them useful skills (and they're having a ton of fun while doing it). On the contrary, it would be negligent keep from them any useful life-skills that they can acquire.

[Justin Himmelright]

The bottom line here is that we want recognition of autism as a medical issue and scientifically validated treatment. The fact that ABA is the only scientifically validated treatment option is tangential to the whole issue. This case is about discrimination against people living with autism. My understanding of Michelle Dawson et. al. that they want autistic people to be recognized and treated as equals in this society, not second class citizens.

We are fighting for the same thing. Citizens in Canada receive medical treatment for their medical needs if they choose to accept it. Adult autistics should not be required to accept ABA treatment if they do not want it. Children, as minors, will have that decision made for them by their guardians. But at the very least, like every other citizen in this country, we deserve the right to have that option and make that choice.

The chat board debates, petition vandalism, and Ms. Dawson's intervention in the Auton Supreme Court hearings demonstrate to me that the bureaucrats and lawyers have been sucessful in clouding the real issue and implimenting a divide and conquer strategy. I would suggest that we all need to think about this the next time we launch a salvo against one of the factions here in the autism wars. Whose side are they really on? Save your energy for the real enemy, the governments and their barbaric hords of bureaucrats and lawyer commanders.

[Marie and Dwight Anglehart]

To add to Erik Minty's post: I agree that we can help our children manage their autism and still accept and respect them fully for who they are. My son is two and a half, has been in ABA for less than two months, and is responding well. He is much happier these days, and he loves playing with his therapists.

More to the point, I don't see my son's autism as any part of his personality. My son has personality traits that make him unique; his autism, on the other hand, plays no part in this individuality. On the contrary, his autistic behaviours cloak his individuality and render him more like most other people with autism.

I'm not a psychologist either, but from what I can see the characteristics of autism do not qualify as personality traits. Personality traits invariably have a positive and negative side. For example, someone who is stubborn may, on the negative side, at times exercise poor judgment. On the positive side, stubborn people have done wonderful things in this world, thanks largely to their stubbornness. But I don't see the same equal division of positive/negative in my son's autistic behaviours. In fact, as stated earlier, now that he is in control with some of his behaviours, he is a much happier person.

[Author]

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