[FEAT BC Admin]

This area is for discussions in general topics.

Topic

[Sabrina Freeman]

Hello Chat Board Members:

It’s necessary to address the points Alex Barclay brought up in his recent post; there appears to be some ambiguity that must be addressed.

1. Board Certification

Board Certification is not a bad thing to have. That said, there are many talented Lovaas-type consultants who are not Board certified but are very skilled in saving children. Board certification would make no difference to the quality of programming developed by these highly qualified, talented and coveted (you know who you are) autism treatment practitioners; however, many in the field who have no qualifications or business doing ABA with disabled children would definitely benefit from Board certification since this would help ameliorate at least some of the terrible autism treatment incompetence B.C. is suffering with now.

What we need in British Columbia is not "generic" Board Certification, but a special type of certification that is beyond the scope of this discussion.

2. Fluency

I addressed the topic of Fluency in a recent post but it’s important to revisit and clarify those thoughts.

Parents using the Fluency protocol who would like to discuss issues unique to Fluency, or would like to hire and share therapists who have chosen to do Fluency, need to "get a room" — a Chat Room that is, on the ASBC discussion forum. I'm sure the ASBC will be glad to oblige since their mandate is to support parents in their choice of a variety of treatments. It’s important to emphasize again that this FEAT BC sponsored forum IS NOT a Fluency-ABA discussion board. This membership has come together to discuss topics relevant to science based autism treatment, which at this time is uniquely based in the Lovaas-type behavioral autism treatment protocol. If and when Fluency is considered "best practice" treatment, based on peer reviewed journal articles with compelling data, then the FEAT Board of Directors will include this treatment protocol in its mandate. For now, however, the Fluency protocol is experimental and discussions on Fluency are neither appropriate nor permissible on this board.

I respectfully ask that there be no further discussion on Fluency in the FEAT BC Internet forum. Disregarding this forum rule will regrettably result in termination of posting privilege.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Sincerely,

Sabrina Freeman, Ph.D.
Executive Director
FEATBC

[FEAT BC Admin]

To: FEAT BC Discussion Members
FROM: Board Admin.
RE: Forum rules
**********************************************

Hello FEAT BC,

In response to recent posts to the forum and membership requests, the FEAT BC Discussion Board rules have been revised to explicitly prohibit advertising by professionals. We ask everyone to please review and cooperate with this important rule (reproduced below).

3) Professionals such as lawyers, autism consultants, advocates, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, physiotherapists etc., are not allowed to advertise directly or indirectly using their professional designation or business contact information on this website. Existing autism therapists advising of their capacity to add families or those seeking employment as therapists i.e., paraprofessionals, are the only exceptions to this rule. The Board Administrator of the FEAT of BC discussion forum will make the final determination.

[Mike & Jean]

This post is in response to several queries I have had from parents with respect to legal information being dispensed on the FEAT website.

To clarify:

. The FEAT of B.C. organization has no lawyer on
retainer.

It should be understood that there are many parents of children with autism who are lawyers and have their own very definite and very individual opinions regarding the Auton/Anderson litigation. Several are directly involved with the Auton/Anderson litigation because they sit on the legal steering committee. All of these parents/lawyers have chosen not to disclose their professional or private views, or give legal advice regarding these cases on the FEAT website or any other public chat room for the following very important reason:

This matter is still before the courts. It is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada in March, 2004. In addition, a new development has occurred as of Sept. 18/03, the B.C. Government filed a notice of appeal for the Anderson decision of Aug. 22/03.

We all have a long road ahead of us in the courts. It has already been a long road for all of us involved in the Auton/Anderson cases, but the road will lead to success for all our children. Commentary on the possible consequences to our children by the Supreme Court of Canada and now, the B.C. Court of Appeal is purely speculative. How this will all play out is unknown until the Supreme Court of Canada makes its decision. Further speculation on the possible outcomes of these cases while they are still before the courts are not helpful in my opinion.

If you would like to know who is acting for the Auton/Anderson families and would like further clarification regarding these cases, please contact me directly.

Hopefully common sense, discretion and respect for the Auton/Anderson familes who have already paved a long, hard road on behalf of all of your children will prevail here.

I will not engage in any on-line anonymous or otherwise debate regarding this post. All of our children's futures are at stake.

Thankyou for your attention.

Jean Lewis – Director, FEAT of B.C
jean.lewis@telus.net

[Deleted User]

I've been sitting back here reading this giant pile of claptrap for the last few days now and if you all will excuse my plain speaking, I am not so well versed in all this politicking and double speak you are so good at. What I see is a group of people doing some kind of new thing or other who want to hijack this group and the work that the people in the law case have been doing for some years now. Frankly that just pisses me off. You want to sell your fluincy thing or your sensory intigration thing or any old other thing, you go right ahead and form your own group wherever you damn well like. But no, as I understand it FEAT is not about supporting the giant pie in the sky wishes of every person who comes up the pike with a new way to slice the same roast. This is supposed to be about people who are doing the scientifically proven thing supporting each other and fighting the good fight to see our children are no longer prejudiuced by these bloody fools we elect every five years or whatever. And I don't care to be reading any more messages from people splitting hairs about what the published rules of FEAT BC are. You know what, as far as I am concerned the rules are whatever Sabrina and the directors want them to be. She's steered me right so far and I'll trust her over some bunch of twits in the United States selling the latest snake oil. Hell, Ivar Lovaas isn't on that certification board list either. And neither are any of the local consultants I can see. I'm tired of this. I'm turning off my email notification so I don't have to read this bull anymore. Put that in your stopwatch and smoke it. I'd say more about what I think of you but I don't want to be breaking that rule about personal attacks.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Laurie,
you wrote; "THIS discussion forum is specific to Lovaas-ABA"

from the featbc website on chat forum;

"The FEAT BC discussion FORUM is your meeting place with other parents of children with autism, and an information resource for the behavioural autism treatment program of your child."

Seems pretty open to me. But it does the go on to say:

"The FEAT BC Discussion Group is the place to discuss ALL topics relevant to home-based Lovaas behavioural autism treatment programs (including Government funding and school issues). When we use the term Lovaas autism treatment, we mean discrete-trial-based interventions for autism and related disorders.
So…come on in and post your messages

…let your voice be heard!"

There seems to be some grey area here on what is appropriate looking at these two vision statements.

You should state then that this GROUP is for Lovaas-ABA, however the FORUM is for parents of children with Autism.

I know that my child and many others have had consultants who used Lovaas protocol and benefitted. I also know that my child and many others have programs that have advanced and grown to reflect their specific needs. Just because our current consultant doesn't follow a strict Lovaas protocol doesn't mean that our childs program isn't managed with good science and ethics.
I wasn't saying Sabrina said something that contradicts her role as director I was saying that she is saying something is an irrelevant topic when it is not and she knows it. You could say I am accusing her of duplicity to forward her own viewpoint and that would be much more accurate.

How can a Certification Board created to ensure autistic kids get science based autism treatment be irrelevant to the discussion here? After all There is a Lovaas consultant practicing within the province who has a level of board certification. I am sure she got certified to be a more competent consultant and have no doubt that the local organization she is with is also proud of her level of certification.

A very pro Lovaas individual stated on this chat forum that the government contractor(s) are certified (which NONE of them are or they would be listed as such on the certification board website) and inferred that we should discredit anyone certified as being so lacking in skill that they need certification to pass themselves off.
Is it ok for this misinformed individual to spread disinformation about certification because he is all for Lovaas ABA but others are off topic if they are instead stating truths and facts about certification?

I am just wondering if this forum is as open to discussion for parents of autistic children as it says or just to what the directors accept as helpful to their personal agendas and interests.

Laurie, The courts recognized that Applied Behavior Analysis, also called Intensive Behavioral intervention is the most effective form of science based treatment for Autistic children.
The courts refused to order any specific brand of behavioural therapy as scientific evidence does NOT show Lovaas as the only protocol with merit. That assertion however is an opinion widely forwarded on this board. For people of that opinion to forward it as an undisputable fact is misleading.

With the utmost respect for you and all other parents and your choices in treatment and views presented in this forum.

Alex Barclay

[Laurie Guerra]

Alex,

You seem to be saying that Sabrina and FEAT are one in the same. On your last post you referenced a phone conversation that you seem to feel contradicts Sabrina's role as FEAT's Executive Director.

I don't see it that way.

I too was at the "fluency-based" wkshp by Michael Fabrizzio and thought some of the info. he had was very impressive. Some of it, I thought might even benefit my child currently on a Lovaas-ABA program. Whether or not I choose to switch would be completely my business. As would it be for me to go to a SI approach or any other let's call them "non-science based treatments".

However, that wouldn't change the fact that THIS discussion forum is specific to Lovaas-ABA (until such time as any other treatment forms can match the criteria to be "science-based")

I have had many conversations with Sabrina about all of the above, but that doesn't change the fact that this chat forum is for the dicussion of Lovaas-ABA. I too wish that all consultants were "certified" but once again that doesn't change the parameters of this discussion forum.

Respectfully,

Laurie Romey

ASBC Director, Chair-Community Networking Committee, Lovaas-ABA user, but most importantly "MOM" to Wesley

[Mike & Jean]

Come one, Come all!

To the behavioural therapist workshop at SFU on Sept 27th.

This is a must attend for:

Therapists, new and old – great for
"new" – great brush-up and new ideas for "old" therapists.

Parents – go see what good therapy should look like.

Space is limited so register soon. This is a fabulous opportunity so don't miss out. I cannot think of one of these workshops where I did not learn something new or find a new and exciting way to get from where we were to where we needed to be.

The registration form is downloadable from the FEAT Events section of the website.

Jean

[Deleted User]

Sabrina, I will remind you in a phone conversation several weeks ago that you said to me:

" There is nothing more that I would like to see than to have all the consultants in BC be Board Certified ".

Sabrina posted Friday, September 19, 2003 – 11:05 pm: "The FEAT BC board is not the appropriate forum to discuss the fluency topic and therefore, neither is the recent thread on the importance of Board Certification."

Now I see you posting that certification is not an issue of consequence and that it is not an appropriate thread for this forum.

However there are many Board Certified consultants in Canada and the US using Lovaas protocol who are certified.

If you are only there for people using Lovaas protocol and the rest of us can go away just come out and say it loud and clear.

Alex Barclay

[Jenny Obando]

I like many of you have benefited and continue to benefit from what the members of this board have done and continue to do. And let’s face it, if it wasn't for this group of highly "emotional” and courageous group who have taken the government to court on several occasions and refuses to give up, none of us would be receiving a penny.
So why should anyone be telling FEAT parents or any other parent of a child with autism to be more courteous or to control their emotions while the government continues to waste our children’s time for proper intervention and denies them medically necessary treatment.

I too get angry beyond words when I have to fight every step of the way for therapy that should be fully funded. My question to the anon who is defending Gateway so much is : If Gateway wants to support parents as you say and I agree that some parents need support, why do they continued to help the government fight in court the very families Gateway suppose to support.
I think actions speak laughter than words or anything that you could write here. And Gateway's actions have spoken.

I also want to comment on the Behavioral Analyst Certification. I can tell you this certification does not make a good consultant, even tough I admit I do not know everything about the certification, I know that my consultant like many others that work with families in BC do not have that certification. Yet they are some of the best in the field of ABA Lovaas type therapy, many of them have worked directly under Dr Lovaas himself.

You are asking yourself why the consultants could not be bothered to be certified. Are they sooo busy that could not take the time to do this certification?
Perhaps they are more interested in treating the children who are running out of time, who have many behaviors that need to be addressed or perhaps they are more interested in the hundreds of families waiting for a consultant to take them on, or perhaps is the endless amount of time this consultants spend writing behavioral plans and programming for our children’s therapy.
You said you have worked with many children and people with autism; do you have a Behavioral Analyst Certificate?

Please no grammar corrections.

Jenny (Tristen’s mom)

[Deleted User]

I was able to locate on the FEAT of Northern California web site a four page document setting out Guideline for Choosing an ABA provider. It contains direct questions that you should ask services providers before retaining their services.

http://www.php.com/sigsupplements/feat/Provider_Guidelines.pdf

Joyce Dassonville GN LLB
Family Law and Health & Disability Law

Address: # 114 – 8532 120th Street
Surrey, British Columbia,
V3W 3N5
Phone: (604) 598-8623
Fax: (604) 598-8624
Email: joyce@dassonvillelaw.ca
Web Page: http://www.dassonvillelaw.ca

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