[Erik Minty]

Chiming in on the fray here (with apologies for the length of this post — it started out short and just kept growing). I'd first of all like to say to Avery and the other parents who posted, I think your comments are right on. Parents are the first and last line of defence and we cannot back down from what we know our children need. 18 months ago I was a skeptic, but now I am a believer: ABA is the sine qua non of autism treatment.

Also, in response to Anon.EA (seems to be your name now!) who sparked this debate: thank you for starting this debate, I've learned a few things from it. Both from your side in trying to help parents / advocates to better understand their opponents' position, and from the heartfelt, passionate responses. For the record, and perhaps I am being naive, but that is how I read the intent of the Anon.EA: not advocating the other side, just trying to explain it. Hard to tell with email sometimes, as was recently pointed out by someone.

I also echo the concerns of those who questioned the credentials and experience of someone hired to setup an ABA program, although it was unclear from the original post exactly what that job entailed. Is it setting up infrastructure to allow ABA programs to be run in-school, or is it (yikes) setting up individual programs? Sounds like a big difference to me; perhaps Anon.EA wouldn't mind clearing that up to help allay (I hope) some fears?

Mr.C will be starting Kindergarten this year, and so far everyone at the school and board have been saying all the right things … of course we will reserve judgement until we see things in action. I know he's way cooled out about going to his new school; it's great to see.

Trying to find an effective balance between optimism and skepticism. Regardless, the viewpoints will no doubt be helpful.

Erik
Mr.C's dad

[Erik Minty]

In reply to the previous post, we've gone through the same worries and the best information I could get was that WCB is only an issue for employees, so you don't need to worry about it.

However, do check with your homeowner's insurer to see if there are any implications on your policy or premiums. There's a possibility that they could be worried about additional injury or damage claims or some other strange thing.

We didn't have to pay anything extra as it turned out, but I sure felt better for asking. A different insurer may feel differently. (Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you …)

Best of luck!

[Erik Minty]

I have no experience with the Gateway program, but we started our ABA program at about 15 hrs/week. After a few months, it was so successful that we doubled it to 30 hrs/week. (It definitely helped that IEII funding kicked in at that point too.)

From what I've seen on this discussion group, our experience (success-wise) is far from unique.

[Erik Minty]

Birgitta –

Thank you for taking the time to compile all the information you have sent, particularly over the past week. Your last post in particular raised a question for me.

With respect to applying for enforcement, it is my impression (I am not a legal expert of any kind) that the gov't was entitled to 30 days in which to decide whether they want to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. In this case, would a parent be able to apply for enforcement prior to that 30 days (with any hope of being successful)?

I would be concerned that if they did appeal, it would put everyone back to square one in terms of actually realizing proper funding. (Yikes, I hope I'm just being paranoid!)

If you (or anyone) could please clarify this, I'd really appreciate it.

[Erik Minty]

First of all, it seems the sentiment has been lost in the recent fray, so I would like to emphasize my own personal gratitude to everyone at FEAT who has worked so hard over many years to finally make ABA funding a reality. (Not to mention a government who, despite any other flaws, lived up to the promise of providing this funding.)

There is obviously still a long ways to go, and the battle is not yet over, as those who have or are about to lose their funding can attest. But it's definitely a start.

I think it's more than fair to say that ABA has become the cornerstone of our efforts to help our son through this disorder, but I believe I should point out that it has not been a magic bullet. If I've learned one thing about PDDs, it is that it takes on as many forms as there are children who have it. It is a complex puzzle, and while ABA has proven to be a very large piece of the solution, strict Lovaas-style discrete-trial teaching alone would not have gotten us to where we are today.

We all know ABA works; science tells us this. That's a great starting point. But what can we say to the parent who cannot afford the cost of an ABA program, and is not eligible for funding? FEAT can, and should, continue to fight for this funding as always.

But in the meantime, parents need alternatives; this is where I believe ASBC has an important role. It almost seems blasphemous to suggest such a thing in this forum, but there are indeed other things you can do for a child with ASD/PDD, either besides or (preferably) in addition to ABA.

FEAT is, as it should be, single-minded in the fight for funding of ABA programs. As a parent, I decided that I cannot allow myself the luxury of such single-mindedness. Therefore I look also to ASBC as one forum where I might find more answers, hints, tips, suggestions … anything. Perhaps ASBC could do more to support ABA, but I believe their mandate calls for support in alternative areas as well. For ASBC to take on such a single-minded approach would be greatly disappointing.

On another topic altogether, I would greatly appreciate any advice on a suitable dentist (preferably in Coquitlam/Tri-Cities, but not necessarily) to which we can take our 4-yo mildly autistic son. This is one thing I think that will need some serious preparatory work with our ABA team.

Finally, with respect to disillusioned Anonymous, I've participated in a number of discussion groups over the years, and nastiness creeps into the best of them from time to time. It generally is a passing thing, as passions flare.

Perhaps it's a result of the impersonal nature of the typewritten word, and the ease with which sentiments can be mistaken. I do try (though not always successfully) to look past the emotions to the message being communicated; emotions are fleeting, but ideas persist.

All the best
Erik

[Erik Minty]

This sounds like a separate issue to me. There was once concern about MMR vaccines, but I believe this has largely been discounted.

This issue as I read it seems to do with concern over mercury content in certain DPT vaccines (not the vaccine itself). The lawsuit targets a specific manufacturer for product made during a specific time period, and doesn't appear to raise any new concerns over vaccines in general causing autism.

Vaccines good. Mercury bad.

[Erik Minty]

Thank you to everyone who took the time to offer their opinions on Montessori; it was very valuable to hear both sides of the story.

There was also some mention of "Play-based" schools. Admittedly I've been out of the school system for quite some time, but I have never heard of these before. It sounds on the surface like an ideal setting for an autistic child who is high-functioning academically, and whose ABA program is focused on behaviour and socialization (does my personal-case bias begin to show?)

Are play-based schools integrated into the school system, are they private, or are they more like what we used to call "Special Ed" classes (although I don't think you're allowed to use that term any more)?

I've found some general (US-based) information about play-based programs, but I don't know how the information applies locally. I would really appreciate exploring this more if anyone has some further information to share.

Thanks again!
Erik

[Erik Minty]

I'm just starting to look into Montessori programs in my area (Coquitlam), and I'm trying to learn whether the program would be suitable for a high-functioning autistic child in an ABA program.

Does anyone have any experience with whether the Montessori method is complementary to an ABA program, or would the two methods run at odds with each other? Or does it (like many things) depend on the individual child? Do SEAs work well with Montessori?

I'd be very interested in hearing opinions from all sides.

[Erik Minty]

In response to Melodie, first of all I think there is value in taking your child to see a variety of pediatricians. Each one will give you a slightly different perspective, understanding, and set of options.

We took our son Cameron to see Dr. DeLevie for a second assessment. While we have limited experience in this area, he nonetheless seemed to be reasonably knowledgeable about the Autism landscape, and provided us with some helpful information and leads.

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