[Deleted User]

‘Lovaas ABA’ the hijacking of a protocol by unqualified paraprofessionals or best opportunity for recovery for young children with Autism? Or both?

WARNING: THIS IS LONG AND VERY THOUGHT PROVOKING

I have often seen ‘Lovaas ABA’ reffered to by many on these chat boards as a very small area of the very large field of Applied Behavior Analysis and the only area of Applied Behavior Analysis that is pertinent to treating children with Autism. People who describe ‘Lovaas ABA’ in this manner also tend to refer to all other ABA and its practitioners as ‘Generic’ and not being useful to treating children with Autism. This is a dangerous misconception to entertain. ABA is the science of behaviour. Every single one of its basic principles directly apply to the field of Autism treatment for children as well as any other application of the science such as; safety in industry or training animals. ‘Lovaas ABA’ is a protocol or template that has been proven successful for treating young children with Autism when employed by people who are qualified in Applied Behavior Analysis. Without people who are qualified in Applied Behavior Analysis ‘Lovaas ABA’ becomes a cookie cutter template without merit. It can be dangerous to the child to have unqualified people who lack understanding of the science administer such an extensive and exhaustive protocol without the tools necessary to manage it. I suspect the majority of people engaging providers for ‘Lovaas ABA’ do not understand how to properly credential them. As a result there may be many parents being duped into thinking they are getting the gold standard of Autism treatment for their child when in reality they may not. This situation is most likely to be found in home based programs. As more and more parents are fighting to have Lovaas ABA trained therapists within the school system there is the danger of losing even if you succeed – is your therapist really trained in ABA or does your therapist only have an understanding of the basic mechanics of the Lovaas protocol? There is a huge difference. Many parents may believe their therapists are adequately trained and directed when the opposite may be true. This could prove damaging to your child when behavioural procedures are mismanaged and also be a waste of limited parental resources.

I will demonstrate by giving some quality ABA indicators;

Lovaas ABA providers – program supervisor or consultant
A quality ‘Lovaas ABA’ should be managed at some level by a person with Board certification; either a BCABA or a BCBA or equivalent standard of experience and training AND understand how to implement Lovaas protocol. A Board to credential those practicing ABA was created because people were taking advantage of the demand for Lovaas ABA for children with Autism and calling themselves providers and were not qualified. What is qualified? Look: http://www.bacb.com/
Below are the standards for BCBA and a BCABA certification. Your childs program should have someone with these qualifications actively involved in managing the program not just a token look a few times a year.
Below this extensive info I will also post quality indicators for a quality Lovaas ABA program please look at these also.

Revised Standards for
Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst™ (BCABA®)

CHANGES IN THE STANDARDS
The current BACB Standards will be posted on the BACB website. The BACB Standards are subject to revision in the sole discretion of the BACB Board of Directors. Whenever possible, advance notice of any substantial standard changes will also be posted at this website.
Eligibility to sit for the BCABA certification examination requires completion of Sections A, and B below and compliance with all other rules and requirements of the BACB.

A. Degree Requirement: Possession of a minimum of a bachelor's degree from any of the following:
1. United States or Canadian institution of higher education fully or provisionally accredited by a regional, state, provincial or national accrediting body; or
2. An institution of higher education located outside the United States or Canada that, at the time the applicant was enrolled and at the time the applicant graduated, maintained a standard of training equivalent to the standards of training of those institutions accredited in the United States.

B. Coursework and Experience Requirements
1. COURSEWORK REQUIREMENT: Acceptable Classroom Instruction and Content. Completion of 90 hours of classroom instruction covering, basic principles of behavior analysis, the application of these basic principles, and ethical issues related to the delivery of behavior analysis programs (See definition of acceptable instruction in Definition of Terms below).
2. EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT: Completion of the experience requirements specified in either a. or b. below, in a business, educational, health, or human services setting.
a. Completion of no less than 12 months of mentored experience with at least 20 hours per week, 80 hours per month in behavior analysis (See definition of mentored experience in Definition of terms below); or
b. Completion of no less than 6 months of supervised experience with at least 20 hours per week, 80 hours per month in behavior analysis (See definition of mentored experience in Definition of terms below); or
c. A combination of a and b above.

Definitions of Terms

ACCEPTABLE COURSEWORK: Instruction of the type(s) specified in either a, b, or c, below, will be accepted toward the coursework requirement.
a. College or university courses in behavior analysis, that are taken from an institution that meets the requirements specified in Section A.
b. Non-college or university courses approved for this purpose by the State of Florida.
c. A combination of college or university courses and approved courses.
One semester credit is equivalent to 15 hours of instruction and one quarter credit is equivalent to 10 hours of instruction.

MENTORED EXPERIENCE: Acceptable mentored experience must meet all of the following conditions:
a. The applicant’s primary duties during the mentored experience are:
§ Designing, implementing and monitoring behavior analysis programs for persons and/or,
§ Overseeing the implementation of behavior analysis programs by others.
§ Mentored experience includes monthly contacts between the applicant and a mentor who either is a BCBA, or can meet the degree requirements and one of the coursework options for taking the BCBA examination. During the monthly contacts, the mentor discusses and evaluates the behavior analysis programs designed by the applicant.
§ The mentor is not the applicant's subordinate or employee during the mentored experience period. The mentor will not be considered an employee of the applicant if the only compensation received by the mentor consists of payment for mentoring.

SUPERVISED EXPERIENCE: Supervised Experience that meets the following criteria may be substituted for mentored experience on a 2 to one basis. One month of acceptable supervised experience is equivalent to 2 months of acceptable mentored experience, subject to the following conditions:
a. The applicant’s primary duties during the supervised experience are:
§ Designing, implementing and monitoring behavior analysis programs for persons and/or,
§ Overseeing the implementation of behavior analysis programs by others.
b. Supervised experience includes face-to-face meetings for at least two hours every two weeks between the applicant and a supervisor who either is a BCBA, or can meet the degree requirements and one of the coursework options for taking the BCBA examination. During supervision meetings, the supervisor discusses and evaluates the behavior analysis programs designed by the applicant.
c. The supervisor is not the applicant's subordinate or employee during the supervised experience period. The mentor will not be considered an employee of the applicant if the only compensation received by the supervisor consists of payment for supervision.

AND

Revised Standards for Board Certified Behavior Analyst™ (BCBA®)

CHANGES IN THE STANDARDS
The current BACB Standards will be posted on the BACB website. The BACB Standards are subject to revision in the sole discretion of the BACB Board of Directors. Whenever possible, advance notice of any substantial standard changes will also be posted at this website.
Eligibility to sit for the BCBA certification examination requires completion of Sections A and B below and compliance with all other rules and requirements of the BACB.

A. Degree Requirement: Possession of a minimum of a master's degree from any of the following:
1. United States or Canadian institution of higher education fully or provisionally accredited by a regional, state, provincial or national accrediting body; or
2. An institution of higher education located outside the United States or Canada that, at the time the applicant was enrolled and at the time the applicant graduated, maintained a standard of training equivalent to the standards of training of those institutions accredited in the United States.

B. Training and Experience Requirements

OPTION 1: Coursework/Experience
1. Coursework: The applicant must complete 180 classroom hours of graduate level instruction (see Definition of Terms below) in the following content areas and for the number of hours specified:
a. Basic behavior analytic principles – 45 hours
b. The application of behavior analytic principles and methods in applied settings – 45 hours
c. Single-subject research methods – 20 hours
d. Ethical and professional standards issues relevant to the practice of behavior analysis – 10 hours
e. Any other behavior analysis content area – 60 hours
2. Experience: The applicant must complete
a. 18 months of Mentored Experience, or
b. 9 months of Supervised Experience, or
c. A combination of a and b above.
Experience must include at least 20 hours per week, 80 hours per month, in behavior analysis.

See definitions of Mentored and Supervised Experience in the Definition of Terms below. Possession of a doctorate degree from an institution that meets the requirements specified in Section A., with a dissertation that had behavior analysis as its central focus, may be substituted for 9 months of mentored experience.

OPTION 2: Coursework/Experience/Portfolio – Expires 12/31/2003
1. Coursework: The applicant must complete a total of 90 hours of acceptable graduate level instruction in behavior analysis consisting of the following:
a. 60 hours in basic behavior analytic principles and the application of these principles in an applied setting;
b. 20 hours in single-subject research methods; and
c. 10 hours in ethical and professional standards issues relevant to the practice of applied behavior analysis
2. Experience: The applicant must complete
a. 30 months of Mentored Experience, or
b. 15 months of Supervised Experience, or
c. a combination of a and b above.
Experience must include at least 20 hours per week, 80 hours per month, in behavior analysis. See definitions of Mentored and Supervised Experience in the Definition of Terms below.
Possession of a doctorate degree from an institution that meets the requirements specified in Section A., with a dissertation that had behavior analysis as its central focus, may be substituted for 9 months of mentored experience.
3. Portfolio: The applicant must submit a documentation portfolio (see Definition of Terms below) of one case study completed during the experience.

OPTION 3: College Teaching/Experience – Expired 6/30/2002; Reinstated 6/30/2003
1. College Teaching: The applicant must complete a one-year, full-time faculty appointment in a tenure track position at a college or university (as described in Section A above) during which the applicant:
o Teaches classes on basic principles of behavior, single-subject research methods, applications of basic principles of behavior in applied settings, and ethical issues; and
o conducts and publishes research in behavior analysis.
2. Experience: The applicant must complete
a. 18 months of Mentored Experience, or
b. 9 months of Supervised Experience, or
c. A combination of a and b above. Experience must include at least 20 hours per week, 80 hours per month, in behavior analysis.
See definitions of Mentored and Supervised Experience in the Definition of Terms below. Possession of a doctorate degree from an institution that meets the requirements specified in Section A., with a dissertation that had behavior analysis as its central focus, may be substituted for 9 months of mentored experience.

OPTION 4: Instructor/Experience/Portfolio – Expired 12/31/2001.
1. Instructor: The applicant must be the primary instructor of a class covering basic principles of behavior, and the application of these basic principles in applied settings.
2. Experience: The applicant must complete
a. 36 months of Mentored Experience, or
b. 18 months of Supervised Experience, or
c. A combination of a and b above.
Experience must include at least 20 hours per week, 80 hours per month, in behavior analysis. See definitions of Mentored and Supervised Experience in the Definition of Terms below. Possession of a doctorate degree from an institution that meets the requirements specified in Section A., with a dissertation that had behavior analysis as its central focus, may be substituted for 9 months of mentored experience.
3. Portfolio: The applicant must submit a documentation portfolio (see Definition of Terms below) of three case studies completed during the experience.

Definitions of Terms

ACCEPTABLE COURSEWORK: Instruction of the type(s) specified in either a, b, or c, below, will be accepted toward the coursework requirement.
a. College or university courses in behavior analysis, that are taken from an institution that meets the requirements specified in Section A.
b. Non-college or university courses approved for this purpose by the State of Florida.
c. A combination of college or university courses and approved courses.
One semester credit is equivalent to 15 hours of instruction and one quarter credit is equivalent to 10 hours of instruction.

MENTORED EXPERIENCE: Acceptable mentored experience must meet all of the following conditions:
a. The applicant’s primary duties during the mentored experience are:
o Designing, implementing and monitoring behavior analysis programs for persons and/or,
o Overseeing the implementation of behavior analysis programs by others.
b. Mentored experience includes monthly contacts between the applicant and a mentor who either is a BCBA, or can meet the degree requirements and one of the coursework options for taking the BCBA examination. During the monthly contacts, the mentor discusses and evaluates the behavior analysis programs designed by the applicant.
c. The mentor is not the applicant's subordinate or employee during the mentored experience period. The mentor will not be considered an employee of the applicant if the only compensation received by the mentor consists of payment for mentoring.

SUPERVISED EXPERIENCE: Supervised Experience that meets the following criteria may be substituted for mentored experience on a 2 to one basis. One month of acceptable supervised experience is equivalent to 2 months of acceptable mentored experience, subject to the following conditions:
a. The applicant’s primary duties during the supervised experience are:
o Designing, implementing and monitoring behavior analysis programs for persons and/or,
o Overseeing the implementation of behavior analysis programs by others.
b. Supervised experience includes face-to-face meetings for at least two hours every two weeks between the applicant and a supervisor who either is a BCBA, or can meet the degree requirements and one of the coursework options for taking the BCBA examination. During supervision meetings, the supervisor discusses and evaluates the behavior analysis programs designed by the applicant.
c. The supervisor is not the applicant's subordinate or employee during the supervised experience period. The mentor will not be considered an employee of the applicant if the only compensation received by the supervisor consists of payment for supervision.

PORTFOLIO DOCUMENTATION: The applicant must document that the behavior analysis programs designed by the applicant were applied, behavioral, analytic, technological, conceptually systematic, generalized and effective relative to the definitions of these terms found in "Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis" by D. M. Baer, M. M. Wolf, and T. R. Risley (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Volume 1, 1968).
If the applicant must submit a documentation portfolio, the portfolio should provide case studies completed during the experience period that includes:
a. Behavioral assessments that contain a functional assessment.
b. Behavior analysis programs based on these assessments.
c. Data displays related to these programs.
d. Behavior analysis program monitoring reports for these programs.

Some will respond to this by saying “but if you are not doing Lovaas the qualifications are without merit for treating a child with Autism.“ This is a separate argument, again we don’t want people doing ‘Lovaas’ who aren’t competent or are not willing to be certified competent directing our childs “Lovaas protocol ABA program”. It is dangerous and decidedly unprofessional. The therapists trained by uncertified practitioners are an even greater potential hazard to our children and to our children’s right to be supported within a school setting by an individual trained and directed by a certified ABA provider.

IN ADDITION TO THIS YOU CAN ALSO LOOK TO QUALITY INDICATORS WITHIN YOUR PROGRAM;

The Association for Behavior Analysis believes that all children and adults with autism and related disorders have the right to effective education and treatment based on the best available scientific evidence. Research has clearly documented the effectiveness of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) methods in the education and treatment of people with autism. Planning, directing, and supervising effective ABA programs for people with autism requires specific competencies. Individuals with autism, their families, and other consumers have the right to know whether persons who claim to be qualified to direct ABA programs actually have the necessary competencies. Consumers also have the right to hold those individuals accountable for providing quality services, i.e., to ask them to show how they use objective data to plan, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions they use.
Formal credentialing of professional behavior analysts (i.e., registration, certification, or licensure) can provide safeguards for consumers, including means of screening potential providers and some recourse if incompetent or unethical practices are encountered.

Formal training

o Master's or doctorate in behavior analysis, or in psychology, special education, or another human service discipline with an emphasis in behavior analysis
o Coursework in principles of learning, principles of behavior, or basic behavior analysis; experimental analysis of behavior; behavioral assessment or methods of direct observation of behavior; applied behavior analysis; single-subject research designs; legal and ethical issues
o Supervised practicum, internship, or employment experiences in applied behavior analysis

Competencies

o Ethical considerations
o Definition and characteristics of applied behavior analysis
o Basic principles of behavior
o Behavioral assessment
o Descriptive analysis
o Demonstrating functional relations
o Measurement of behavior
o Data display and interpretation
o Selection of target behaviors and goals
o Behavior change procedures
o Generalization and maintenance of behavior change
o Managing emergencies

(For details, see "Identifying qualified professionals in behavior analysis" by G.L. Shook & J.E. Favell in Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism, edited by C. Maurice, G. Green, & S.C. Luce; Austin, TX: PRO-ED, 1996; and "Essential content for training behavior analysis practitioners," by G. L. Shook, F. Hartsfield, & M. Hemingway, The Behavior Analyst, 1996, Vol. 18, pp. 83-91).
Additional training and experience in directing and supervising ABA programs for individuals with autism:
· Formal training and knowledge of the best available scientific evidence about the characteristics of autism and related disorders, and implications of those characteristics for designing and implementing educational and treatment programs, including their impact on family and community life.
Formal training and/or self-study to develop knowledge of at least one curriculum (ie. lovaas) consisting of: (a) a scope and sequence of skills based on normal developmental milestones, broken down into component skills based on research on teaching individuals with autism and related disorders; (b) prototype programs for teaching each skill in the curriculum, using behavioral methods; (c) data recording and tracking systems; and (c) accompanying materials.
· At least one full calendar year (full time equivalent or 1000 clock hours [@ 25 hrs/wk for 40 weeks]) of hands-on training in providing ABA services directly to children and/or adults with autism under the supervision of a behavior analyst with a master's or doctorate and at least 5 years' experience in ABA programming for individuals with autism. The training experience should include at a minimum:
a.Provision of ABA programming to at least 5 individuals with autism.
b.Designing and implementing individualized programs to build skills in each of the following areas: "learning to learn" (e.g., observing, listening, following instructions, imitating); communication (vocal and non-vocal); social interaction; self-care; academics; school readiness; self-preservation; motor; play and leisure; community living; work.
c.Using both discrete-trial and incidental or "naturalistic" teaching methods to promote skill acquisition and generalization.
d.Incorporating the following into skill-building programs: prompting; error correction; discrimination training; reinforcement strategies; strategies for enhancing generalization.
e.Modifying instructional programs based on frequent, systematic evaluation of direct observational data.
f.Designing and implementing programs to reduce stereotypic, disruptive, and destructive behavior based on systematic analysis of the variables that cause and maintain the behavior.
g.Incorporating differential reinforcement of appropriate alternative responses into behavior reduction programs, based on the best available research evidence.
h.Modifying behavior reduction programs based on frequent, systematic evaluation of direct observational data.
i. Provision of training in ABA methods and other support services to the families of at least 5 individuals with autism.
j.Provision of training and supervision (at least 1 hour of supervision per 10 hours of client contact for at least one-half of the training period) to at least 5 professionals, paraprofessionals, or college students providing ABA services to individuals with autism.

Consumers should ask prospective directors or supervisors of ABA services to provide documentation of their qualifications in the form of: membership in the Association for Behavior Analysis;BCBA or BCABA; degrees; letters of reference from employment supervisors and/or families for whom they have directed ABA programming for similar individuals with autism (with appropriate safeguards for privacy and confidentiality); any registration, certificate, or license in Applied Behavior Analysis per se (i.e., not psychology, special education, education, or another discipline with no emphasis in behavior analysis); results of any competency exams they may have taken in Applied Behavior Analysis; participation in professional meetings and conferences in behavior analysis; publications of behavior analytic research in professional journals. A few workshops, courses, or brief hands-on experiences do not qualify one to practice Applied Behavior Analysis effectively and ethically especially pertinent when considering therapist training.

Unfortunately we are all now parents of children with Autism forced to be consumers of effective treatment in a buyer beware market. Our children have urgent treatment needs and some of the available providers may be unqualified and incompetent but also may truly believe they are doing a good job. It is unfortunate our government is not showing leadership in ensuring each child can have access to the gold standard of treatment ie: they are not recruiting people of the necessary qualifications to work within BC nor are they setting up the educational infrastructure to produce professionals of the necessary qualifications. They are somewhat more determined to invest in acquiring the right to discriminate against our children within a universal health care system. This leaves many parents with their best choice of provider possibly being unqualified and incompetent and providing a protocol without the guidance of scientific training so necessary to its efficacy. For example;
if your consultant has been recommending interventions for behaviors (time out, cost response, extinction, etc..) without first collecting data (frequency, rate, duration, etc..) in a scientific manner over a period of time on the behaviour and then and only then putting in place a plan that also collects detailed data on the child’s response to that intervention and if in all this your therapist has not received strict instructions regarding the data collection and the implementation of that intervention plan and what to do specifically regarding the childs positive or negative response to that intervention then you are not getting ABA you are getting someones subjective ideas and opinions and this is potentially dangerous to your child. If all your consultant has on file for your child’s program is his or hers anecdotal reports and clinical notes and there are not extensive data charting behaviors, interventions, response to intervention, etc.. and graded performance and training records documenting the therapists proficiency in delivery, data collection, and implementation of behavioural plans then you do not have a science based program and you do not have ABA.

Buyer Beware

[Deleted User]

To Mr. Po's Mom and all:

In response to your post, let me clarify my "moderate success" statement.

For me the ultimate success would have been to place a member of my child's ABA team therapists in the classroom as a "SEA" , I was unable to acheive this to this point.

The second level goal was to have an ABA experienced board supplied (ie from the teachers union) SEA. This I accomplished.

So the result was to my mind "moderate" success. The assigned SEA turned out to be very good. The problem now is that this SEA will work elsewhere in coming year and so the process has started again to locate qualified SEA for Sept.

There remains a dearth of available ABA trained AND experienced staff on the Vancouver board union list (less than 10). I have been advised that several interested staff are attending ABA "training" this summer, and though not confirmed I suspect this "training" is a Gateway or similar outfit type session, which I do not consider effective ABA training as they are not Lovaas based. This creates problems as the Board in it's ignorance of autism and it's effective treatment then presents these staff as ABA "qualified", which of course they are not. Further without experience with autistic children as a member of a home team, even Lovaas based training alone would not, in my mind; make these persons qualified.

I hope this clears up any question as to my "moderate" statement. Rest assurred I have no intention of settling for less than my child requires and fully agree with Mr. Po's Mom on that point. Your child's proper support within the public system is not a nice to have – it is your child's RIGHT under law and funded through your tax dollars.

[Deleted User]

Would the CUPE contract be the same for all BC school districts, do you think? (Just wondered if one read it, would you find any loopholes that were usable in individual cases….. )

[Deleted User]

Would each local CUPE not have there own collective agreement. What information from the collective agreement are you looking for?

[Deleted User]

Has anyone been able to obtain a copy of the CUPE Collective agreement?
Bev

[Deleted User]

Wow, for a long time I thought I was the only person interested in obtaining ABA facilitation in the classroom. From the past weeks I can see others too are. As a parent who has a child that required (and still requires) ABA facilitation within the school setting and as a parent that after much stressful effort has obtained "moderate" success in obtaining ABA facilitation for my child within the school setting and as a parent that is continuing to attempt to improve the moderate success so far acheived; I offer the following benefits of my experience.

First- Brace yourself and all your family once you decide to emabrk on the quest of obtaining ABA facilitation within the classroom. The experience of dealing with the school, the board, the union, the doctor's and the government will in turn have you laughing, crying, screaming take hours and days of your time and alienante the rest of your family. However, you know it is worth it.

Second- It is never, I repeat never too early to start at it. You know how we all joke about people putting their children on waiting lists for university the day they are born? Well that is a bit of an exageration but I strongly recommend you start at least 18 months before kindergarten and 24 months before would be much better. Why? Because anything to do with any of the players involved takes time. Sometimes lot's and lot's of time. Governments and school boards operate in a different time zone than we do, tomorrow is always ok with them. You on the other hand can not afford to wait – your child is ageing by the second and the most effective treatment is the younger the better. Another reason to start early – after you have started your research etc. you may find you have to send your child "across boundry" another time consuming process. Alternatively, you may decide to move! Don't laugh it happens often.

Third -Understand "THE SYSTEM" because no matter what you think of IT you have to work within it. Most of the players you will encouter are akin to deers in the headlight when it comes to this issue. You have to understand the set-up of government, school boards, teachers union etc. You need to know what button to push, who reports to whom, who you should talk to, who you should avoid like the plague. Otherwise like Alice, you will be lost in that wonderland gov't and boards(especially) live in. Start a file or copybook or other note setup and keep notes of everything, including when you contacted them, contact info, titles and positions,what they said, the date they are to respond back etc. This is very iimportant and you'll find yourself referring back to your notes often.

Fourth -Do your research. Find out all the schools in your area. Talk to other parents with children already there wether autistic or not. Go see the facilities. Watch the children at recess. Review the safety features of the school and school yard/play areas. Check out the classroom for safety issues related to your childs behaviour. Find out who the teacher will be, who the principal will be (not as easy as it sounds) Who is on the school resource team? What is attitude of administrator and teacher towards ABA? What is their experience with autistic children? etc etc you get the picture

Prepare -Before you approach the school and after you've researched you must prepare your request. This is so important because if not strictly adhered to you will again be sucked into the educational systems LaLa land. Simply stated you want ONE thing and ONE thing only from the system. That is "Provision of medically required in class treatment for your child" That's it. Confusing the issue or reshaping it at all will not get you what your child requires. Once you obtain agreement on this point the other items (IEP involvement etc. follow much easier, though not a piece of cake either). Why this approach? Because, A) Your child by law has the right to an education within the public system and B) Your child also has the right under law to required medical treatment and freedom from discrimination. So your request is nothing more than what your child is already entitled to by law. (Though obtaining it is still a hellish adventure)
Next in preparation obtain diagnosis of your child's autism. Better yet obtain 2 diagnosis. Also be aware that the school board will asses your child and determine a rating class for the child. This rating is important because it determines what the board thinks your child requires as far as assistance, safety issues etc.

Involve your child's lead doctor. Obtain a statement from them outlining the medical requirements for your child within the classroom setting.

Next develop your contact list. Government names,positions, phone numbers, email addresses etc. Set up same for schools, school boards etc.

Next understand that the school board has few if any properly trained, experienced ABA SEA's to provide you. These are not teachers, they are SEA's and though in the union, are not really part of the unions mandate and as such their is no real effort by the union to turn out and have available for hireing any real quantity of ABA facilitators. They kind of pick up SEA's by default as no one knows where else to slot them. This being the case you are fighting for a very scarce resource. Further if you obtain a good one there is no guarantee your child will have them the following year. In fact you will probably have to go through the same process again and again as your child progresses through the grades. Also be aware that you will have to do a lot of education. The Vancouver board really knows very little about autism or ABA, let alone what type of assistance your child may require. Do not let all the fancy titles the board persons have fool you, it is littered with special assistants, regional resource bla bla's etc. rest assurred you are more knowledgeable than 99.9% of them even if your title is simply parent. Do not let the system pass off speech therapists etc as ABA trained assistance.

OK, your ready to start. First approach the school administrator (principal) and request initial meeting to discuss your childs situation. You've begun, from there on it will change person by person, child by child.

Keep at it no matter what – your child's life experience totally depends on your efforts.

As myself and my child are still involved with the school system this is anon. Also before anyone starts, I am a busy senior executive and I have contributed the above to assist those that are involved, but I am multi-tasking as I do so and am aware of spelling and grammar error's in my hen pecking.

[Deleted User]

This link is for an article about autism on http://www.cnn.com

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/conditions/07/15/autism.ap/index.html

If it can't be acdessed thru the link go to the web site and look for the article in the Health section. Interesting.

DeeDee

[Deleted User]

I have extensive experience teaching Instructor Therapist the principles ABA Intensive
Behaviour Intervention. for children with Autism I want to ensure you that a well executed program is designed to fade prompts and thin reinfrorcement schedules. In conjunction with taking skills taught in a direct teaching format to an activity embedded program and incidental teaching opportunities. If you need added information contact me at henpenney@yahoo.com.

FeatBC Discussion Board wrote:

————————————————————
FeatBC Discussion Board: Room One: General Topics Discussion
————————————————————

By Jack Malli (Malli) on Friday, July 11, 2003 – 12:56 pm:

Hi. Our 4 year old daughter Bronte has been diagnosed
Autistic Spectrum Disorder only a few weeks ago. We are
exploring all options in terms of intervention. I have heard
many promising comments about Dr. Lovaas and the ABA
approach. However, I have also heard some criticism. The
very pragmatic, skill-building approach appeals to me very
much (I am not a touchy-feely type). Yet one concern I have
is that in order for the ABA to continue to work throughout
my daughter's life, she will continually need to be
positively reinforced by a therapist or parent. My wife and
I would like to see Bronte eventually live her life as
independently as possible and to integrate learned skills
into her everyday living. That is, to become a problem
solver using her own reasoning abilities and intuition to
respond creatively to life's challenges. The criticism I
have heard is that if the Lovaas method is not applied
continually by another person, Bronte could in fact regress
and lose the skills she may have learned.
Would anyone like to comment on this? Thank you.

[Deleted User]

Just to explain "fading reinforcements" a little bit more (because the term may be contentious or unfamiliar) – and anyone more educated/experienced please feel free to correct me on any point – we don't completely stop reinforcing appropriate responses.

Yes, at first we may begin with things like candy, and cool toys, or 'stimmy' objects, or tickles – whatever the child most enjoys. Over time (and this could be a short time, or it could be a long time) we try to 'fade' the reinforcement so that the child will continue to perform the tasks and responses for lesser reinforcement – and, eventually, just because it feels good inside to know you "did it right". Of course, throughout this time, we try to keep using strong reinforcement for difficult tasks, but by and large the reinforcement may look like a simple "hi 5" or a "Good job!" in a typical voice.

Particularly as children get older, this is important. The 8 year olds I work with don't much appreciate tickles (though one loves to be squeezed), but a "Wow, you did SUCH a good job!" or a "hi 5" can make that smile come out SO FAST sometimes. Meanwhile, the 3 year old I work with loves it when I yell really loudly and clap ("Yay! Hooray! You did it!), let a balloon fly around the room, or do my "tickle song" (you'd have to see it to know what I mean). None of those three types of reinforcement are appropriate for the 8 year olds, and I don't think either of them would even be interested.

It's all so dependent on the individual child, but people have to be good at figuring out what kinds of "lesser" reinforcement are going to work as you move towards the fading.

I hope this is informative, and I hope it's mostly correct!

-Janna Hoskin, ABA Therapist

[Deleted User]

Froc:

If you manage do it without getting lynched, you can point
out that for an aide of a child with ASD receiving proper
medically necessary treatment, the primary condition of
employment must be the knowledge and expertise of that
child's medical program as determined by the medical
experts running the program, and that no union
regulations can trump those medical needs. Ergo, unless
the union is willing to set aside bumping and posting and
training and other so-called rules for these SEAs for our
children, perhaps it would be better for the category to
become exempt staff.

And good luck — you'll need it.

[Author]

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