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[Rachel Russell]

Hi- I just wanted to add a few notes to the post re: video modeling for play scripts. I was involved in similar research at the Lovaas Institute in NJ replication site with Tricia Donahoe of LIFE who presented her findings at ABA in New Orleans last year. In her study- we presented the kids with a particular video script for a certain number of days and the kid simply watched it. We then presented the video and then gave the child a limited time period of access to the same toys independently. Eventually, we faded out the videos and simply gave access to the target toys. (the child never got open access to the target toys during the video stages- only at the end). What we saw was that the child I worked with appeared to love the videos and quickly learned to request them (but again- access was not permitted unless we were running specific research trials)We found that he quickly learned (within a few days) to act out the script with the toys in the home. He acted out the script with specific detail and precision- never varying from the exact video script. The child I worked with created rituals out of the videos and tried to re-enact them all day long, with or without the toys in sight. If an instructor attempted to interact with the child and the toys- the child would scream and abandon the play. If the instructor attempted to change the words in the script, add a new idea, or simply take a role in the scripted dialogue- the child would scream. We had created a long and complicated video stim and could not get rid of it or break it! And he now knew 5 of them! A year later when I left New Jersey- the child would still mutter the scripts under his breath when unsupervised. That said- I still feel video modeling has huge potential. Our mistake was not to build in major variability from the first video showing. We did not build in interaction, novelty and unpredictability. I have not read the studies from Dr. Eric Larsson who is very amazing and I am sure he has done some amazing things to fix the problems that we had 2 years ago! I would love to read the study he presented at ABA in Toronto of Michelle has the journal and date! Thanks for the great info- Rachel

[Deleted User]

IEII funding has nothing to do with how you do
your taxes, whether or not you have WCB or
whether you pay contractors or employees.

Canada Revenue is a whole different
department from B.C.'s Ministry of Children
and Family Development (where IEII comes
from).
So you won't lose IEII funding if you didn't get
your tax/employment situation right. You will
just have to pay back taxes or EI
underpayments etc, if you end
up getting audited by Canada Revenue. I
repeat, IF you end up getting audited.

[Deleted User]

I am wondering if anyone has heard of this Online Canadian/US Autism Research project at this address http://www.autismresearch.ca/index.html This is the first I have heard of it.

Thanks a mom.

P.S. I am only asking to see if anyone is particpating in it.

[Deleted User]

Now we're getting somewhere… Many thanks to all the helpful and positive responses to the tax questions. I look forward to Anon (Oct. 7, 3:38) and other's valuable info come tax time.

[Deleted User]

Just to add to the discussion…

When I was first working as an ABA therapist, it was part time and I had another job or two that provided me with T4's each year. When I declared my income from the therapy work, I put it as 'Other Income'; it wasn't much at all, and nobody got ofter me. I did that for 1999, 2000, and 2001. This year, I'm working full-time as an ABA therapist, so I'm going to have to do the whole self-employed deal. I'm getting information on how to do that from my Mom, who is a piano teacher and has to claim that income every year, too. When tax season rolls around, I'll let all the therapists on this board know just exactly what I do.

[Louise Watson]

To Anon regarding the employers, im really freaked out know. i thought i had to become an employer to get the funding. could you email me personally and share your advice. iam afraid now if we stop i will lose my funding. Louise(liams mum)ruewatson@hotmail.com

[Nancy Walton]

Just a reminder that there is a Surrey ASBC
group meeting at Tuesday night, at Victory
Christian Center 7-9 pm. The address is
6788 152nd street, Surrey.

All are welcome. No need to be an ASBC
member or a Surreyite.

Hope to see you there.

Nancy Walton

[Deleted User]

Hats off to all those helpful and informative bits of information regarding therapists and taxes, etc. Everything is clearer now including the fact the government has neglected to properly address the issue and provide the appropriate infrastucture for parents and therapists alike. Lets hope this will not always be the case.

[Deleted User]

Re: taxes

Just another post, hopefully to clear up some issues for therapists and parents and I promise not to insult :-) *sigh*

parents do not need to and should not declare themselves as employers. You open yourself up to a lot of problems this way.

The IEII agreement is worded in such a way that it sounds like you have to become an employer and pay taxes etc. You do not. I repeat you do not. we looked into this extesively. You do not.

Therapists are considered self-employed / contracters providing they work less than 15 hours a week with your child. If you have two children, your therapist can work more than 15 hours a week with your family but should only work 15 hours a week or less with each child.

Your therapist is a contractor by nature because of the minimum amount of hours they do and because frequently they work other places as well. In addition your therapist technically schedules their own shifts. You tell them when you are available, they choose their shifts based on their availability.

For those of you paying WCB, that is your choice but I will say you are treading in dangerous water and I don't feel comfortable saying more than beware of opening yourself up to having WCB come into your house (or the risk of having this) and deciding for you what working conditions should occur. Another option to protect your therapists in caseof injury etc is increasing your house insurance. therapists can also, for a small amount of money, take out life insurance.

wow that sounds so life and death ;-)

as for paying your taxes: its great if parents can provide their therapists with a total amount paid at the end of the year. But therapists, technically this is your responsiblity. When it comes to paying your taxes you simply enter in the amount or money you made and do the usual math on the form. If you owe the government, the calculations should tell you or the govt will let you know. If you want to avoid this possiblity you can arrange with revenue canada to make tax "payments" yourself but I not sure of excatly how that works.

Usually for students (non career therapists) you don't make enough to pay taxes but if this is your job, revenue canada has information for the self-employed on declaring income and paying taxes.

The good news about being self employed is you get to write off your mileage, your toys you buy, any food items you buy for therapy purposes, if you use a portion of your house as some sort of office (sr therapists who do paper work from home for example) you can write off a portion of you household bills, cellphones I think etc etc.

You can actually whittle down your income so that you will likely not have to pay taxes or very little

HOpe this helps

[Deleted User]

In agreence with Anonymous on Friday, October 4, 2002 – 02:05 pm.

Unfortunately, Anonymous on Thursday, October 3, 2002 – 03:48 pm the statement that the tax issues around ABA are simple is not true. Otherwise, there would have been no conflicting responses from parents.

As a therapist who cares greatly for the families I work with, the tax issue is a complicated problem. In many jobs, you are given a T4 slip at the end of the year, and that is used a validation of your earnings. This is not the case here, and in some cases, therapists may not even get a statement of earnings. For an ABA therapist who works for only a few hours a week, (less than 10), setting up a company to deal with WCB Claims, etc. is out of the question. If you are doing this as a full-time job, then there is a need to further organize yourself. Problems with taxes may be one of the reasons why parents have difficulty retaining therapists – the therapists simply have no idea, and there seems to be very little real information to help them.

Many therapists are students, who have less experience dealing with Revenue Canada, and finding real information about the necessity of WCB payments is very difficult.

Please understand that most people wish to do what's right, IE paying taxes. However, posts that seems like they are attacking therapists asking valid question will not help your cause. I don't believe that parents should be soley responsible for setting up a company, nor do I believe it should be the responsibility of a full-time student. A transfer of information and understanding is important to you, your child, and your therapists.

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