[Jenny Obando]

Hi Phemie

We went the private school route,we meet with the principal first and explain our situation, about my son's autism and ABA program and that why it was necessary for my son to have an SEA from his home team.
The school was very receptive, the principal presented our case to their board and they agree to accept us.The SEA ( therapist) did not have to have a SEA certificate, however she did have to sign a contract with the school and have a criminal record check. ( pretty standard) .

Then we had to summit some paper work to the school regarding my son's diagnosis in order for the school to apply for funding to the Ministry of Education on our behalf. The amount we got does not cover an SEA full time for the school year,as private school get less money than public schools, so you will have to pay the SEA out of your pocket if your child needs the SEA full time.
THe school pays the SEA directly,until the money runs out.

Then every year the SEA signs a contract and every year the school applies for the funding on your child's behalf.

I have to tell you it has worked great for us,our consultant was able to go and observe my son,we were able to work on the things my son needed and we faded our SEA as needed.

If your child is going to be in KIndergarden in September I strongly recommend that you contact the school and start working on things as it takes time for the paper work and the funding to be approved.

I hope this answers your question.Feel free to contact me or post any questions you still might have.

Good luck
Jenny Obando

[Jenny Obando]

I just wanted to say that I agree with you Avery, however as a parent who has been there before ( I mean fade my SEA)I was not sure when to do that at first, of course our consultant has been there every step of the way,buy it is nice to hear from people who have been there.

There are ways to slowly "fade" your SEA's interventions and level of prompts without completely fading the SEA out of the classroom.

As my son continued to make remarkable process due to his ABA program,we started to fade the SEA's interventions and prompts. She continued to be in the classroom and at home as part of his team, as you said observing to make sure my son could function on his own.
As his therapy at home move more towards tutoring, we also started to fade the SEA out gradually.

I am happy to say that as of January 4th my son is totally on his own at school under now the watchful eye of his incredible teacher to whom we speak daily. Also our consultant visits the school randomly as will the SEA, just to make sure he continues to do well on his own.

And yes my son has fully recover!

Jenny Obando

[Jenny Obando]

oops sorry here is the address;
http://rsaffran.tripod.com/consultants.htm

Jen

[Jenny Obando]

Hello again Tony, I have found a website with information on consultants and counsellors as well, I don't know if they are any good. They are here in BC for marriage consulling and the website also have info on ABA consultants.

Good luck
Jen

[Jenny Obando]

Hi tony,I feel your pain,well I should say I have lived your pain.

When my son was diagnosed my husband was not on board at all. I believe that when a diagnosis is giving people go through a grieving process some go through it faster than others, my way of dealing with it was attacking the problem at hand, while my husband's was attacking me.I made a decition early on, he either get on board or get out of the way because I was not going to sacrifice my child for his inability to coupe and as hard as that was, we manage to hold things together by attending counselling to help both of us get on the same page. Now he is one of my greatest supporters and allies, it took a lot of work,time and patience as well as some ultimatums.

what exactly do your family's perception of autism is ? I though I knew what autism was, I though an autistic person was someone with some sort of mental retardation, rocking and hand flapping in a corner and since my son did not do ALL of those things I immediately ruled autism out.

One thing you can try to do is set your boundaries. We finally had to do that this summer with a gradparent who was causing our son to regress and have problem behaviors; her excuse when confronted was: " I don't know anything about autism! Our son was diagnose 4 years ago,so her excuse was not acceptable for us

Although you can not force someone to learn about autism or the therapy you as a parent have chosen to do for your son you have every right to demand that they respect your choices and decisions, just like you would for any other choice in your life. I finally learned to exercise my right as a parent his past summer.

We decided to no longer let grandparents,affect the health and well being of our sons or threaten the integrity of our famly. We sat them down and presented a unified family front and some clear boundaries.If the grandparents do not respect these boundaries they are ask to leave our house immediately,believe me they got the point rather quickly.
Remember they don't have to agree,like or support your decisions however they have to respect them.

AS far as secrecy I agree with Michelle, is so much easier to offer a reason for an aid to be with your child, since my son is now pretty much finish his therapy and unditinguisable from his peers , we say that he has a speech and language delay,although earlier on we did talked to some parents and told them about my son's autism.

One way you might get you point across is by educating your family. There are videos from the autism society that might be of help.So that the information is coming from a neutral source other than yourself.

I hope this gives you hope and perhaps some ideas as to how to tackle your dilemma.

Most importantly, you are not alone.

Warmly

Jen

[Jenny Obando]

Is anyone from Maple Ridge going to the meeting tonight in West Vancouver ? Would you be willing to car pool ?

please give me a call Jen 604-460-9047

[Jenny Obando]

In regards to the changes in how the funding will be distributed you actually have a choice to have the ministry directly bill to your consultant(invoice Payment option) in which case you have no control and no responsability to do checks and so on, you don't have to hire your service provider or account for the money, however you still have the CHOICE to get the funding directly which means the ministry will send you montly checks or direct deposits, then you pay your therapist and consultant yourself. I personally like this option better because you manage the money the way you want under their guide lines, a bit more work but more control, which is worth it specially when dealing with government agencies money and your child.

If your social worker gives you trouble, ask him/her about the letter sent to parents in the summer regarding these changes, and if you get no where, don't hesitate to talk to her supervisor.

I hope this helps.
If you would like more info feel free to call me 604-460-9047

Jenny (Tristen's mom)

[Jenny Obando]

HI Caroline, we have visited a good eye Dr here in Maple Ridge and my son needed glasses, I am not sure how much experience he has with autistic children. My son is doing very well and I think It was very easy. I actually think my husband Todd (paramedic) help your child.

Anyways feel free to contact the Dr and ask questions his number is 604-460-0361 his name is Dr Strath, he is actually in Pitt Meadows.

I hope it helps,if not you can try and get a referral to an eye Dr at Children's Hospital, however I don't know what the wait would be.

Good luck

Jenny Obando

[Jenny Obando]

I just wanted to let everyone know, there is going to be a Special on Autism and the therapy the parents of threee autistic children are doing (ABA);on Primetime Thursday at 7pm tomorrow April 22,04.

Jenny Obando

[Jenny Obando]

I though I would share with you all this info on an autism conference coming up, not all of it is on ABA, and I did not list all the presenters, I hope it helps some one.

Autism Conference May 6,7,8 2004 in Kamloops at the University College of the Cariboo.

Early Bird registration before March 15,is $349 for all three days, lunch is included on the 7,8. Reduced rates are available for parents and students.

Speakers, Clara Claiborne author of The Siege,Linda Hodgdon SLP,author of Visual Strategies for Improving Communication and Solving Behavior Problems in Autism,DR Mcafee, author of Navigating the Social World , DR Glen Sallows president and founder of Wisconsin Early Autism Project( WEAP)Dr Sallows will be presenting on Replicating the UCLA Model of Behavioral Treatment of Young Autistic Children.

for more information contact 250-376-7506. or email: crtcforautism@telus.net

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