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.
