[Deleted User]

Hi Keith,
I am not very aware of the situation in Japan, however at the recent ABA convention in Chicago there were numerous academics presenting their research who are based in Korea. Unfortunately I didn't attend any of their presentations so I am not familiar with what areas they are researching or what options are there for home programming. But thought this might be a viable option to explore, cheaper than importing from North America.

Also check out Hawaii. There is a chapter of the association for behavior analysts in Hawaii and I know that there are at least 2 consulting groups that operate in Hawaii as well as others who do come over from North America to Hawaii. Again I know nothing of their qualifications or calibre but I do know that one consulting group has posted job opportunities on the employment website set up by the association for behavior analysts and that they required applicants have a masters in ABA and to be board certified. Board certification is by no means a measure of absolute quality but it is one of many demonstrations of quality that a consumer can look for.

I have also heard through the grapevine that there are some ABA schools and consultants in Hong Kong so you may want to explore this as well.

Hopefully you can find services that are somewhat closer to home for you. Remote style consulting is less than ideal so look for someone who can remain in close contact with your team/your family via video conference, video overlaps and online data sharing options.

Hope this helps!

[Deleted User]

NEW LIBRARY RESOURCE

Wow! TD Social skills (http://www.tdsocialskills.com) just donated a review copy of their 30 minute Social Skills training videos “Fitting In & Having Fun, Vol 1” and “Fitting In & Having Fun, Vol 2: Moving on to Middle School”. These videos tackle tricky subjects like taking a joke too far and what’s unique is their use of inset video to depict the “inner thought bubble” of what peers are thinking … providing important, and often unspoken, context and insight into peer reactions.

If you have a school-aged child, and are using video-modeling in your home program, this is the resource for you! Email or call and put your name on our waitlist.

Special thanks to ABA Mom Praveena Geider and Consultant Rachel Russell for the hot tip on this top-notch resource!

tleger@autismbc.ca
604-434-0880

NOTE: This resource is copy protected, so it is useful for review prior to purchase only.

[Deleted User]

A great THANKS to Tamara Ledger for coming to the Island and sharing her knowledge on using videotaping techniques. I found the presentation very informative and it gave me another tool to teach my daughter those "challeging" social skills…

Also, I want to thank Diane Therriault
and Barbara McLeod for organizing this presentation – I am eagerly wating for the next one!

Franca

[Deleted User]

Greetings –

If you are wanting to have access to great lectures in your area and are willing to start up a Community Group now is the time, as funding may now be available to you to bring in great topics, lectures and presenters.

Email: tleger@autismbc.ca ASAP; deadline for application is June 17, 2005.

[Deleted User]

To all those Islanders and non-lower mainlander people interested in having the ASBC|North Shore Lecture Series expand to your area:

I am working to fundraise to cover the speakers travel and accommodation expenses. Interested in having such lectures come to your community? Please email tleger@autismbc.ca and let’s work together to make it happen!

[Deleted User]

Hello Featers of the Mainland,

How can we, Featers of the Island, get access to your valuable discussion group meetings? They sound great! We would love to attend, but the transportation logistics make it difficult for us to do so. Any ideas? Videotaping?

Cheers,

Franca from Victoria

[Deleted User]

Summer School Tutor

Looking for Line Therapists to help with school related programming for 8-year-old Asperger boy in end-stage programming over Spring-Summer + possibility to train as potential 2005-2006 SEA candidates in West Vancouver District.

Extensive overlap and training provided. Consultant is San Francisco Bay Area Treatment Centre Director Shawn Condon from LIFE (Lovaas Institute), who is supervised by Scott Cross and Scott Wright. Seasoned and stable Home Team has been together for over 2 years. Team work-style is extremely open and collaborative, while paying great attention to detail.

Ideal candidate will have strong interest in psychology, Lovaas-ABA, and consider this an amazing opportunity for paid professional development. They will also be fun, of inquiring mind, and willing **and able** to invest themselves in this child’s home/school program. We really need someone who will enjoy the journey of end-stage programming and recovery.

To apply in confidence please email taml@telus.net, subject line: Summer School Tutor.

[Deleted User]

Going to ABA in Chicago in May?

I've connected with a few people who are planning to attend and one person suggested that if there was a larger group of us, we might be able to get a deal on our flight. If you are planning to attend and would be interested in perhaps an additional 10% off or so, please email me at Michelle_Karren@hotmail.com

[Deleted User]

First of all I want to share this information and also if anyone knows of a similar programme nearer to where we live, which is in New Westminster.

My friend told me about a new program at Kerrisdale Community Centre called "PlayMates Playgroup" for 2-5 year old autistic children, their families and their friends. The description reads:

"This improvisational, parent-participation playgroup supports natural learning and sensory needs for autistic children. Preschoolers will develop their communication and play skills; expand their repertoire of different experiences, people and places; and make friends, be understood and have fun. Parents will learn effective strategies for better understanding their children's behaviour and communication, supporting their children's development, teaching others how to better relate to their children and will develop a network of mutual support and understanding."

There are 3 different 4-week sessions to choose from — running Wed. & Fri from 10-11 a.m. at a cost of $104 for each session. Sessions run April 6-29, May 4-27 or June 1-24. Instructor's name is Jodi Gilmore.

Meeting other parents who are facing similar challenges would probably make my 22 year old daughter feel better and learn new ways to cope, etc.

Aileen
Riley's grandma
aileen.havard@telus.com – 604-521-1822

[Deleted User]

Full ABA coverage is required by law in only 17 states.

Exerpt Baltimore Sun:

But costs continue to prohibit many, if not most, from getting the treatment they need. Proper autistic treatments are largely the province of the well-to-do. How many working families can afford $25,000 or more a year in unreimbursed costs, especially when families often find that one parent of an affected child must stop working to manage the child's treatment regimen? A diagnosis of autism is, in effect, a catastrophic medical event for which neither the health nor educational systems of this country make provision.

Exerpt: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7012824/

And most often, the fees are not covered by health insurance.Most insurance companies have been reluctant to cover ABA therapy, calling it experimental, investigational and not medically necessary.

"'Medically unnecessary' is a difficult thing to deal with," says Lynn Hiltajczuk. "Does that mean he'll die if he doesn't have ABA? No. But it does mean he won't have a fulfilling life and be part of society. And 'experimental'? There are 30 years of studies that show it's the best thing to do."

That's why the Hiltajczuks started their national campaign to get ABA covered by insurance. Jurie is a federal employee and the group has begun their effort by targeting the federal employees health plan.

"Insurance companies love to avoid their responsibility," says Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., chair of the Congressional Autism Caucus. Smith is pushing insurance companies within the federal employees system to cover ABA therapy.

"We can be trend setters as to what a minimum benefit should include, and then there's the peer pressure that if federal programs covers it then why isn'•••• a benefit for everyone in corporate America?" says Smith.

After dozens of phone calls, CNBC was unable to find an insurance industry representative willing to speak on camera about ABA coverage. However, the American Managed Behavioral Health Care Association, a trade organization for mental health care coverage, said member companies have reviewed ABA and have determined that the treatment has not yet been proven to be effective.

"It's bad enough you have the emotional part, but then when you start dealing with the financial, and the fights, and the just trying to get the care for your child, it just wears you down in a way that was unimaginable before his diagnosis," says Lynn Hiltajczuk.

Exerpt:

Yet most private insurance companies claim that there is no scientific consensus about how to treat autistic disorders and, therefore, that they have no obligation to pay for treatments. Since all major treatments aim for 25 to 40 hours a week of largely one-on-one therapy, annual costs are typically $25,000 to $100,000.

Further clouding who should pay, autism and related neurological problems – pervasive development disorder (PDD) and Asperger's Syndrome – are essentially medical problems requiring educational treatment. Anecdotal evidence suggests that dietary interventions may help many children. But they are generally secondary to the drills, play sessions and other techniques used to draw out individuals emotionally, linguistically and cognitively.

[http://www.abatcc.solvethepuzzle.org/newsmanager/news_article.cgi?news_id=7

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