[FEAT BC Admin]

In this topic area, discussion is on all issues relating to setting up and running a home-based intervention program. Please feel free to bring up any problems or suggestions. Parents can help each other greatly by sharing information and giving suggestions.

In addition to parents helping parents, A.B.A. professionals on in the Discussion Group can also help provide insight and guidance.

Topic

[Laurie Guerra]

Here's another 2 cents and that could be all it's worth….
My husband found a way to make reactions to esp the coffee bean grinder, humorous. He would almost imitate what our son was doing and then make it funny by laughing at himself, almost making the whole thing an "on-purpose" reaction. We would then let our son do the grinding himself so he had control over when it was being done. When he grinded, by husband would put his hands over his ears and partially act like our son did (not as loudly though)and then laugh in between grinds. It seemed as though most "odd" behaviors were targeted that way by my husband prior to ABA and oddly enough as soon as my son realized he was doing the behaviors "on-purpose" to be funny, they quickly faded.
Don't take this to the bank but since being on an ABA program, we described this to our consultants and they thought it to be a good way to extinguish these behaviors. If you can find a way to get your child to see humor in things it is apparantly a hugh step in development.

Wesley's mom

[Deleted User]

Hi Lou and Barbara,

just wanted to throw my two cents in… we essentially did the same thing that Barbara mentioned with both our children when we encountered noise sensitivities (and a few other sensitivities such as touch etc).

Our approach, almost identical to Barbara's, was to satiate the child with the noise/item and apply appropriate behaviours. So we would stage it frequently and work through it, eventually working up to longer periods of time (duration). My son is still a bit fearful of the vacuum but he doesn't freak out he just likes to tell us that we "are all done vacuum… bye vacuum" in a cheery voice. If you are able to do this consistently a few times a day you will likely find the child will eventually get quite used to the event and be less and less scared by it.

In problem solving this situation you might also want to consider what consequence does your child get out of this? Is he truly fearful, could it be a rigidity ie: vacuum comes out, I always react, it could also be a stim or it could be due to the reaction he gets as a result of his actions… ie: the vacuum goes away when I scream. So as Barbara mentioned, it is key that the parents, caregivers not react to the screaming or upset behaviour but plug in appropriate behaviours instead. In other words the vacuum shouldn't go away because the child is screaming or tantrumming or whatever else.

And finally to add a positive spin to this, my son used to be oblivious to those kinds of noises that my daughter was fearful of and then suddenly he began to freak out over blenders, vacuums, loud clapping etc. WHen I called my consultant she mentioned that perhaps as he was making progress he was becoming more aware of the world around him and consequently noticing there were things to fear.

If that is true then this might be a sign of more progress and like everything esle with a child with autism its just another hurdle to overcome using the methods of ABA.

Michelle
Mother of Breanna and Griffen

[Barbara Rodrigues]

Hi Lou:

Jeremy has had some of the same issues, ie: hysterical over the vacuum cleaner, coffee grinder, blender. He still has some sensitivity to loud noises (when we go over the walking bridge over the damn – the loud water rushing and will cover his hears for that).

But what we did for the coffee grinder and blender was to give him little doses of the noise. Our consultant at the time said it was an ABA approach and I don't know if it will help your son or not but here's what we did.

Okay, for the coffee grinder/blender – we would get it all set up to go – then one of us (it was a mommy/daddy effort) would say ' Mommy's going to make a big noise' then Joe would take Jeremy into the livingroom but close enough for Jeremy to see and hear the blender/grinder. Then we would say again 'Mommy's going to make a big noise' and then count down 1,2,3 – here we go!! and start the blender. Joe would then just hold Jeremy and say it's a big noise! positive and sort of reinforcing. I would not blend or grind a long time at first just a little and Jeremy was farther away. We gradually increased the time of the blending and decreased the distance to the sound.
We also made sure to reward him for not freaking out and being able to tolerate the noise.

We did somewhat the same thing with the vacuum – bringing it out without it turned on, then telling him we were going to turn it on and make a big noise, etc. I should also mention that we stopped reacting to his screaming when he heard a loud sound and only reinforced him/paid attention when he would come out his room or was able to tolerate the sound.

As I said, we made this up our own so take it for it what it's worth.

Now Jeremy has no problem with the blender sounds, grinder or vacuum sounds. Even if we are out and standing at Orange Julius and they turn the blender on – he will be startled for a moment but there's no hysterics or running away.

Good luck.

Barbara
Jeremy's Mom

[Lou Arab]

My son is becoming increasingly sensitive to various noises. He runs out of the kitchen when we start the microwave, and becomes completely hysterical if we run the vacuum cleaner. Other noises lead him to cover his ears with his hands.

He has been in an ABA program since December, and making improvements in other areas.

Here is my question. I have never heard much of an explanation, from an ABA perspective, on sensory sensitivities. Nor have I really heard any approach taken to address this, again except from non-ABA approaches I don't find particularly credible.

I've tried raising this with my son's consultant, and I will really push it next time I see her, but what have other parents/teams done? Is there anything that can be done?

Lou

[Maureen St. Cyr]

David – you should collect these and publish a book of essays — they always make me grin. Thank you my friend.

[David Chan]

What do you call it when you see kids that
walk on their toes, spin around, and not talk; at
the same time they are flapping their arms
and wearing completely in appropriate items
of clothing?

hmmm, I would be calling that behaviour
consultant pretty darn quick, you think?

Well, hundreds of parents pay many hundreds
of dollars to have their children behave in this
exact way. And when they exhibit these
behaviours, they actually applaud.

How unnatural is that? Oh yes, they have to
practice these behaviours too, over, and over
again. It's down right rigid!

It's called dance class. The toe walking is
called ballet, and the arm waving and
spinning is called choreography. As for the
inappropriate clothing, it's called a costume.
Put music to it, and it's all good.

Sometimes we are questioned about why we
have ABA programs? We are also told that
what we teach these children to do is
unnatural and rigid. Some times we are told
The children should just be allowed to be
THEMSELEVES. Yes we pay many
many dollars too. There is one difference
between and ABA and dance class. Dance
class is optional.

Just something to think about when some one
questions the motivation behind an ABA
program.

Mr. P's and Miss V's Dad,

P.S.
Miss V is the one that has to practice to dance

[Debra Antifaev]

RE: Home schooling posting

Hi everybody,

I don't usually post, but I was a little concerned about the "Home-schooling" site set up on the chat. I noticed that there were a lot of references to unproven therapies and I just wanted to caution new parents to really do their research when confronted with such information.

As people who know me will tell you, I was convinced that Lovaas was "invasive and cruel" (after talking to a MCFD worker) when my son was diagnosed two years ago. I was going to try Chelation! My husband insisted that we read and research ALL approaches before starting anything. I am so grateful to be married to someone with common sense.

Many people, autistic and "normal", respond well to improved eating habits. My normal developing seven year old had an undiagnosed allergy to dust mites. When we took the added precautions to prevent dust mites, his concentration and demeanor improved. This was not because we had "cured" him of his allergy; it was because he was sleeping and eating better, thus more able to concentrate. I am also more able to concentrate and complete my studies if I am eating and sleeping well and getting regular exercise. It is common sense NOT A CURE FOR AUTISM!

I hate to harp on, but I really do believe that all the answers are in the one FEAT quote "follow the science". If there are nothing more than parent testimonials to back up a certain form of "therapy", steer clear. In some cases the treatment could be worse than the illness.

To quote Sabrina … "just my two cents"

Debra
Ben's Mom

[Michelle Auton]

As a long time reading member of this chat board I don't post often but have found useful information and somtimes even comfort from individual's stories posted here. It saddens me to see the personal attacks and defensive positions taken by some members of the chat . For those of you who do not know him Avery is a great resource and advocate for children with Autism and I for one will greatly miss his postings should he (if I understood his last message I apologize if I did not) decide not to help again.
A friend told me more than once the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I understand this web site to be a place to exchange information and to help one another .The greatest resource for support I have found over the years is other parents. I can't think of where my son would be if not for Sabrina and FEAT of BC and all this is somthing Sabrina did not have to do, her child was being help. I understand the frustrations when begining a program or working with a child who is aggressing and perhaps the comment that was missed in the posting was that this was a new behaviour and programing needs some time to work and to collect data. To all those who help thank you, and no matter what our strong feelings I hope we can come together and help one another without judgement and personal attacks. There are enough forces at work harming our children and oursleves lets refrain from hurting one another.
I for one have found the chat more and more difficult to read and I worry upon reading some of the infighting going on we may have turned a new family away from ABA and a child away from help. This is posted in the hope that people will support one another and not hurt one another and nothing else. Take what helps leave the rest behind.

Eternal thanks to Sabrina Freeman for all you have done for my family and for us all.

Michelle Auton
Connor's Mom

[Barbara Rodrigues]

To anonymous:

Re: the girl hitting, etc.

You mentioned in your post that the behavior seemed to start at school and then carry home. Is the girl's EA – ABA trained and is the school implementing the procedures the consultant put forth at home in the school setting? If not, then this may be a contributing factor. I know if we don't have complete consistency when dealing with behavior issues even within our home program this is what happens.

Just a thought.

Barbara
Jeremy's Mom

[Sabrina Freeman]

My turn.

I’d like to step back from this debate a moment and explain why passions run so high regarding the topic of therapists asking the group for suggestions regarding aggressive behavior. My assumption is that everyone in this discussion group — parents, therapists and consultants — want what is best for children with autism. Yet each of us brings different experiences to the debate. The Chat Board is an excellent forum to exchange those ideas. I encourage those in the debate to not personally attack each other when a topic evokes passion. Rather, listen to the message even if it is delivered strongly.

As a director of FEAT BC, I am aware of countless situations in which children with autism have failed to progress or even lost ground because the person who designed the treatment program is not qualified to do so. This still happens, with even greater frequency than prior to the B.C. Supreme Court win. Although I cannot speak for Avery, I do agree with the substance of his comments; therapists should not be in the business of programming (designing specific components of a Lovaas-style treatment program).

That said, I also understand the very uncomfortable predicament that many therapists find themselves in when an intervention is not working and the consultant is either not available, or is simply unable to correct the problem. Some children pose a particular challenge, even to very competent consultants. I thought the advice of former senior therapists, who are now getting advanced training to become experts in this field, was quite helpful. Particularly valuable is the detailed information on how to communicate to the consultant exactly what is happening prior to, during and after the behaviour. That is advice that I hope all therapists will incorporate in an effort to improve the implementation of the behaviour plans designed by the consultant. Detailed feedback from the therapist to the consultant will significantly increase the chances of successful behavioural intervention.

A word to those who post anonymously. It is your right to post this way if that is the only way you feel comfortable; however, when a parent such as Avery has the courage to post a strong position and sign his name, that should be respected rather than attacked. True, he is passionate about the issue, debating it strongly, but the critique is about the potential action of a therapist, not an attack on the character of a therapist.

Although some members may speak passionately on a given issue, I encourage you to look closely at the message, rather than reject that message simply because it was communicated strongly.

As discussed here before, within the parameters of the chat board rules i.e., no personal attacks, part of what makes us strong as a group is the ability to have a free exchange of ideas even if those messages are not necessarily pleasant to hear. Intimidation is counterproductive to that objective. We don’t all have to agree, but I would hope that we can still engage in lively, respectful debate.

Sabrina

[Author]

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