ABA therapy----school or no school
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Hi all, I am new here...this is my first post. My son was just diagnosed with autism a couple of weeks ago and the Dr had a county worker contact me about in home therapy. The social worker told me there are 2 different programs in our area...one provides therapy after school and one in place of school...I'm not sure which way to go. A little bit of background about my son...he just turned 6 years old in March. He has some brain damage on the left side of his brain from being born premature and also has epilepsy. The Dr.s that have been treating my son kept telling me that they were hesitant about diagnosing him with autism because of the brain trama. That it might actually be that causing the autistic like behaviors rather than actual autism...in the end they diagnosed him with autism...now they want him to start the ABA therapy. My son is in kindergarten now and has had 2 years of early childhood education all in our public school system. The school is great and works really hard with my husband and I to give Mason the best services they can. But he continues to struggle a lot. Mostly with his behavior. He has very bad mood swings and agressive behavior. He actually had to be suspended for a day because he punched his teacher in the face. I know my son understands right from wrong but struggles everyday on how to handle himself emotionally, and I honestly don't think he can control his agression most of the time...we are in the process of trying different medications but none have been successful yet, plus we have to be careful that these meds don't conflict with his seizure meds. I worry about my son everyday at school, but he is doing okay academically...not exactly where he should be but does show good progress, with his special education classes, speech and OT. I would just like to hear from different parents from both sides and see what they like and don't like about it. Part of me wants him home so I don't have to worry about him struggling everyday and plus I worry that if he goes to school full-time and does this therapy he will be so overwhelmed and not have a chance to be a kid...he loves the computer and video games, jumping on his trampoline and swinging on his swingset...I wonder if doing both is going to drain him and he isn't going to enjoy or have time for those things anymore....but then the other part of me says he needs to be in school...I worry that he won't learn proper behavior if he isn't in the right environment for that...also how does he learn peer interaction if he isn't around his peers? Any comments at all would be soooo helpful! I'm sorry this is so long and so abrupt, being my first post...but I'm supposed to call the social worker tomorrow and tell her what I have decided. Thank you so much, and I look forward to getting to know all of you! Niki-mom of 4 beautiful children! Welcome Niki!That's a hard call to make, some o the kids I work with have a very hard time dealing with therapy and school, but the socialization they get while in the classroom more than makes up for it. If you choose to go with both I'm sure the provider has had enough experience with kids doing both so they should have ways of helping the kids cope with the experience of eing in both at once. Where are you from? Good luck! Jess HI Niki! Glad to have you with us. My son Cole was premature, too - a 26 weeker - so I DO identify with the docs' reluctance to call their situation autism. Cole (6 1/2) didn't have any IVHs/bleeds (how scary that time must've been for you!) but did get fungal sepsis. The preemie thing was stinkola, huh? Anyway, my gut reaction is to do after-school ABA if the only other way you can get it is to withdraw Mason from school. If you can sneak ABA into his school situation, that would be ideal! If nothing else, you could give copies of his program to the school teachers. Mason is going to be expected to live in the real world and adapt his behaviors accordingly. My basic stance is "start as you mean to go"...I read that in a baby book and think it applies well to all kids, regardless of age. There are home-schoolers out there galore that will certainly disagree, but that's my opinion. We live in Louisiana and do not get ABA from the school system, so I am green with envy! Sorry for the diagnosis, but glad you're getting ABA. LeAnne Thanks for the posts Jess and LeAnne...I still don't know what I want to do Mason was born at 32 weeks....wow LeAnne 26 weeks your son is a true miracle and what a fighter!!!! The whole NICU experience was I think the worst thing I have ever had to go through! I swear my arms physically ached because I wanted to hold Mason soooo bad! Your mind and emotions just play with you over and over!! The only positive is that they are too young to have to remember everything they had to go through! Thanks again!! And I will post and let you know what I decide! This is a great place, I'm glad I found it!! |
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! I think I need to talk with the social worker some more tomorrow before I make my actual desicion! I have a list of questions a mile long, but so far I think I'm leaning towards school and therapy...I think it will be a hard adjustment for him but I keep thinking in the long run this will help him sooooo much! And what a great point LeAnne about "start as you mean to go." If I pull him out of school now eventually he will have to go back and that could be harder on him than learning to adjust to some extra therapy!