[Anna Aquino]

I watched the special as well and I'm glad that they showed
the different approaches. We are doing ABA with EAP too so
it was nice to see the Leger family and the progress
they are making. It is very hopeful…truly an inspiration for
teams like ours.

[Anna Aquino]

Hi Kerry,
Before choosing a consultant and eventually putting a team
together to do ABA therapy, I made sure to visit some
families who were already up and running or at least spoke
to them on the phone regarding their experiences. I was
lucky enough to visit another family during their team
meeting and actually sat in on one of the therapy sessions.
It solidified my views on therapy and gave me a clearer
picture of what it is I am getting myself involved in. It can
be very overwhelming and that feeling actually never really
goes away. Aside from the financial aspect of it, home
therapy is quite demanding since it requires a lot of your
time and constant effort. I feel there is no choice but to be
truly involved. Its a lot like starting a business wherein the
investment is on your child's future. :-)
So, get ready for the ride of your life and know that you
have other parents who are willing to give support and
encouragement. Frequent these boards because you see a
lot of postings from families who have blazed the trail and
truly shed wisdom and much needed inspiration in this
long hard battle to "recovery".
We've been in therapy for a year now and my son is making
good progress. Contact Jenny Obando, who is such a great
resource (best move I've ever made towards starting an ABA
program).

Good luck and congrats on your decision to do therapy for
your son.

Warmly,
ANNA
anna_aquino@mac.com

[Anna Aquino]

Hi Kerry,
Before choosing a consultant and eventually putting a team
together to do ABA therapy, I made sure to visit some
families who were already up and running or at least spoke
to them on the phone regarding their experiences. I was
lucky enough to visit another family during their team
meeting and actually sat in on one of the therapy sessions.
It solidified my views on therapy and gave me a clearer
picture of what it is I am getting myself involved in. It can
be very overwhelming and that feeling actually never really
goes away. Aside from the financial aspect of it, home
therapy is quite demanding since it requires a lot of your
time and constant effort. I feel there is no choice but to be
truly involved. Its a lot like starting a business wherein the
investment is on your child's future. :-)
So, get ready for the ride of your life and know that you
have other parents who are willing to give support and
encouragement. Frequent these boards because you see a
lot of postings from families who have blazed the trail and
truly shed wisdom and much needed inspiration in this
long hard battle to "recovery".
We've been in therapy for a year now and my son is making
good progress. Contact Jenny Obando, who is such a great
resource (best move I've ever made towards starting an ABA
program).

Good luck and congrats on your decision to do therapy for
your son.

Warmly,
ANNA
anna_aquino@mac.com

[Anna Aquino]

You can go to the station's website and go to their "audio
vault" and click on today's date plus the 9 am hour and you
can forward 26 minutes to hear what Premier Gordon
Campbell has to say on the autism lawsuits.

http://
http://www.cknw.com/station/audio.cfm

It was a short segment and if you want to listen on, there is
a Q&A section…I am not sure if anyone called in to ask
regarding autism funding.

[Anna Aquino]

Awesome links and tips for saving on therapy materials.
Thanks!
Now anyone has some neat ideas on organization without
busting one's budget? I'd love to hear what other families
have done to sort and organize the ever growing supply of
materials…what sort of systems do you have in place? What
works and what doesn't?
I want to fix up my son's room and don't know how to
make it more efficient for therapists while still making it
look like an inviting work room for my son. Help ;-)

[Anna Aquino]

Yes! There is support available. ;-) I would contact Jenny Obando. I believe she has a group going in your area. Her email is divedoc@telus.net

She has been a tremendous resource and the generous giver of support and information for my family not only in the start but up until now.

Good luck!

Warmly,
ANNA

[Anna Aquino]

Another good place for wooden puzzles…WINNERS and WALMART. They sell them a lot cheaper than Scholar's Choice. But nothing beats consignment stores and garage sales, of course ;-)

ANNA

[Anna Aquino]

Thanks, Dave!

I'm all for clearer documentation. I'm just wondering if the "kind" of account ("in trust" vs. normal chequing) matters? There are so many detailed requirements which could be "hurdles" so to speak. LOL!

Also, at least now I know how to approach the hiring of my therapists. I will do the "contractual" route…unless there are other benefits doing otherwise.

Again, thanks for your reponse.

[Anna Aquino]

Just some questions regarding the interim funding:
It says to open a bank account "in trust" and in your child's name. And it should also be a chequing account with no bank card. (do they still do that? If so, which bank?)
Now the confusing part is this:
Most "in trust" bank accounts are saving accounts because the nature of this type of account (or so I was told by my banker) is to invest money that will be later on passed along to your child when they reach a certain age. Now, the money through the funding will certainly not be dormant and will be used in a regular basis and not as a "gift" for the future (literally, if you KWIM?)….so I don't see the point why it has to be "in trust". Would I be meeting their requirement by using an exisiting chequing account of mine, clearing it out and simply being disciplined about the funds? ***How are the others doing it?*** (*The question in every bewildered parents' mind*)
Second, they want a checking account. Great, makes sense. But in the child's name? Does this mean the cheques are written to the child? How come? When the contract is between one parent and the Ministry?

Another question is about hiring therapists…I am a bit confused about the hiring process. In the Parent Kit, there is a section about "Parents as Employers" and talk of filing for the usual legal stuff and when I asked HRDC regarding the hiring of students and minimum wages, I also happened to find out that you cannot hire anyone less than 4 hours a day. Even if you use them for only 2.5, their daily wage will be equivalent to 4 hours of work — no less. So are we hiring on a "contractual basis"? Is this what that means?This is all so new to me :)

So certainly, there is some confusion for me there…again, how do others do it? I guess with all this funding comes with a lot of resposibilities. Rightfully so BUT, I would appreciate enlightenment of some kind. Becasue as most of you know, its hard enough to manage a household and now a whole new endeavor….The Autism Society has made a great job simplifying the steps for us but the terms of funding raises a lot of questions from a simple mom like me :-)

Warmly,
ANNA

p.s. Sorry for the lengthy post or if the questions seem trivial. (the only stupid questions are these left unasked, eh?)

[Anna Aquino]

Hi Graham!

It's the right web address and when I click on the exact link from your message, I get Autism BC's site. Maybe try hitting the refresh button or something? ;-)

For those interested, I have "the list" of service providers with me. Its about 10 pages long and should be up in Autism BC's site in a few days. If there is a particular service provider that you wish to check up on, you can email me at blissfortwo@shaw.ca and I can let you know is they are in the list.

Warmly,
ANNA

[Author]

Posts