That's the thing...the youngest is not school age...he's two. :) My old services coordinator filled me in on the programs around here, and explained how they work, and they won't take my youngest.
Oh well, I'm pretty much used to it by now. :) I was just being a little whiny, LOL.
Respite programs around here INCLUDE school age siblings, even if they are outside programs in some cases. YOu might want to beat the bushes to see if there's one like that. No respite if the mom gets time off from only ONE child.
Thanks, tzoya. I've looked into respite, but it won't work for me, unfortunately. I would have to find another sitter for the two year old as well. :)
For now, I just drop him off at my SIL's when she's available, but I don't want to leave Jase there in case he has a meltdown...she's got her hands full with her three girls, another child she babysits, and of course, then she'd have my youngest. Bad ju-ju if Jason has a rough time, kwim?
I don't want to be a pain!
Thanks again for the links, too.
Well, I have been working on strategies for helping my son deal with his aggressive behaviors. Doing lots of research, and getting lots of helpful advice from OT's, his SPL, and of course, all you lovely people here on this forum!
But this wasn't enough, so today we had a visit with a behavioral therapist. I think it went very well, considering. She seems to have a very positive attitude, and has two grandchildren w/ an ASD herself, so she at least has some idea of what things are like around here! :) I am supposed to go back next week, and we're going to do some behavioral analysis (some long fancy acronym I can't remember for reasons I'll explain in a minute). So hopefully, I'll have some good data and some solid suggestions for his transition meeting next week.
The hard part...Jason completely melted down. Screaming, crying, rolling around on the floor -even headbutting me right there in her office. He calmed down there towards the end, in fact came to me to help him finish calming down, which was great. I think the older he gets, the more rigid he seems to be getting with his routine, and with going into new places and meeting new people. It was truly an exhausting experience, and I feel like bawling my eyes out from it.
I'm wondering -for those who have done this- what was an FBA or similar experience like? What kinds of things are they looking for, etc.? She's planning on doing this, and as time goes by, we'll also do some adaptive testing (Vinelands or similiar, I expect.)
Thanks for letting me vent, and to ask these questions. Any advice?
They usually look at targeted behaviors such as aggression and look at the ABC of the behavoir. (Antecedent, Behavior and Consequence). The behavior therapist will make a plan for all who work with him when the targeted behaviors occur. They will also suggest strategies to help prevent the behavior from occuring by adjusting the enviroment, the order of activities, adding sensory/vestibular activities, etc.Go to cecp.air.org and click on FBA. Also, search the term on this site. There are probably literally thousands of posts and Norway Mom is great about posting links. And FBA is a formal observation that give the Behavioral Therapist insight into what the FUNCTION of your child's behavior is. Once the function is discerned, an effective positive Behavior Intervention Plan can be drawn up. Just so you know, tho, behavior plans are as effective as their implementation, so you and everyone in your home MUST buy in to following the plan exactly. In the states, these plans are created mostly in school and followed in school, with parents doing the same at home.[QUOTE=flip]They usually look at targeted behaviors such as aggression and look at the ABC of the behavoir. (Antecedent, Behavior and Consequence). The behavior therapist will make a plan for all who work with him when the targeted behaviors occur. They will also suggest strategies to help prevent the behavior from occuring by adjusting the enviroment, the order of activities, adding sensory/vestibular activities, etc.[/QUOTE]
That sounds exactly like what she was talking about. She even suggested videotaping him, so we/he can view them and perhaps get a better idea of what types of things are setting off these aggressive incidents. Sometimes, the antecedents are clear, other times not so much, so I think this sounds like a solid suggestion, too. Thanks for explaining that to me...she said the same thing, but I couldn't remember it very well until you posted! :)
Little frazzled...but aren't we all, sometimes? LOL
[QUOTE=tzoya]Go to cecp.air.org and click on FBA. Also, search the term on this site. There are probably literally thousands of posts and Norway Mom is great about posting links. And FBA is a formal observation that give the Behavioral Therapist insight into what the FUNCTION of your child's behavior is. Once the function is discerned, an effective positive Behavior Intervention Plan can be drawn up. Just so you know, tho, behavior plans are as effective as their implementation, so you and everyone in your home MUST buy in to following the plan exactly. In the states, these plans are created mostly in school and followed in school, with parents doing the same at home.[/QUOTE]
Thanks, tzoya. I think it's going to be sort of the opposite situation here, since he's still getting therapy at home at this point in time. We're hoping to have him start pre-school by mid-October, so I'm hoping to use this plan to help his teachers and the school understand him and his behaviors. They seemed very pleased that we were doing this, and willing to implement whatever suggestions will work in the school environment.
You can also contact your county to see if free respite services are available. Sometimes this means getting money to hire a babysitter of your own, sometimes it means bringing your child to a respite rec program. Sometimes there is even overnight respite at another location. These services differ in the area in which you live.http://www.autismteachingtools.com/page/bbbbtn/bbbbvw
Here is one of the links that I bookmarked from the other day that had some behavior plans.
Someone posted some links to some good Behavior plans the other day, can't remember who. But, it was helpful for me to read. It was the result of an FBA. Maybe someone will chime in.
Glad that was a helpful explanation. I hear you on frazzled. It's so hard at those appointments to take everything in because our kiddos are usually not at their best and we are attending to them and trying to listen to the professional at the same time. I actually go by myself to my son's psych to talk strategies and just get advice. It is so much more beneficial that way.
I'm looking around, trying to find a good babysitter that I can afford (always tricky, lol) to do just that for appointments and such where Jason isn't required to be present.
I'm searching around for more stuff on FBA's...thanks for the help, flip and tzyoya!