Kelly (ryans mom)
Some parents get trained to do the therapy at home and hire therapists or get college students to volunteer for school credit. Initally it costs thousands for a ABA consultant to come to your house and impliment a specific plan for your child. Most types of ABA recommend 30-40 hours a week. After the Consultant trains you and who ever else you will have to help you then you can impliment the plan and the consultant will keep in touch with you to change what needs to be changed as the program progresses. It is a very costly program so a lot of parents will do it themselves by getting trained. Aba has been proven to have good results but is not for everyone. My husband is military and our insurance (with only an autism diagnosis) will cover a portion of ABA therapy with a supplimental program called persons with disabilities program...like an offset to our regular insurance. I still haven't decided if I am going to persue this though being that my son just started full time pre-school and is adjusting to that first and then of course we have the baby comming very soon too. I was trained in a type of ABA by a friend of mine and I really didnt' like the type of ABA that she trained me in for my situation. I wasn't having the greatest effect with him but I don't know if it is because it was me being his therapist. If my son was non-verbal I would not have hesitated though. The type of ABA they offer here is a mixture of different types and is more appealing to me but like I said...He's already going through so many transitions right now that I don't want to overload him with something else.
Karrie
ABA is a method of teaching autisic individuals and is proven very effective, I didn't know anything about ABA until my son was dx'd and the Commitee for Special Education Preschool offered for him to be transported every day an hour away to a State University where they use the ABA method on children on the spectrum....at first I was totally against it I thought it was one of those places where they tie them down and do things to try to change their behaviors. So I went and visited the school and fell in love with it. It is the best thing that I could have done for my son, but we are VERY lucky that we have a place near us that is available and that our school district is paying for the transportation and tuition for him to go. It is a maximum two year program and by the end they have the child ready to be mainstreamed into public school. Basically what they do is take everything a child should know and teach it to them by breaking it down into small parts and repeating it over and over until the child succesfully does it on their own. They use alot of positive reinforcment and prompts, when I first started researching it I was very confused and thought it sounded difficult. Until I visited the school and watched them and what they do, and it is actually fairly simple but very time consuming and repetetive. But in a short period of time my son has learned alot!!! I do belive that if he did not get the ABA treatment he would not be doing as well as he is now. Every child is different and sometimes applied behavior annalysys does not work from what I have read the earlier the better I know they take kids as young as a year old at this school. Because they teach more than just accademic stuff they teach toileting and play skills also. I cannot say enough good about this method but this is just my opinion. But I do know if you have to pay out of pocket it is very expensive. Hope this helps some.
Nita
I have heard so many people say goog things about ABA therapy.
Just wondering if most insurance companies will cover the cost if not all of it some of it. We have Humana ins.
Do you need a doctor's perscription for it? Basically...how did you guys get started and where do you find a ABA therapist?
Kelly
what is ABA therapy?
I was looking at a riding stable that has therapy horses for handicapped and mentally retarded children and they also take Autistic kids. It is about 1,000 per session (six month once a week for an hour). Does anyone know about this and if it is considered a coverable therapy?
Anne
ABA is applied behavioral analysis. It is not covered by any insurance that I'm aware of. People usually pay for it out of pocket and it's expensive (thousands of dollars per year). Often the ABA clinic will independently assess your child to be sure that ABA will work for him/her, though they may require a letter from your child's doctor stating that the child requires behavioral therapy. Unless you have a large autism center in your area, perhaps the easiest way to find ABA therapists is onine. I suggest you fully research it so you know what you're in for and if it's right for your family. It's a very big commitment.