He gets 10 hrs ABA per week and has been since the summer of '06. At 2, Anthony didn't understand much of anything I said and he had a few words that he used as labels. He would walk around with a hotwheel car in each hand. He had an "ear thing" - he touched his ears all the time and other peoples' ears as well. By 3 he was starting to communicate better but very disfluent speech, misused pronouns, no articles, very few 3 - 4 word sentences. Although, by 3 he lost the ear thing and the car carrying (he actually had those things for a few months each).
When he started ABA they started teaching him academics and he picked up on that stuff very quickly. They have tons of conversations with him and have really helped him with his langauge. Now, you can have a very good back and forth exchange with him. He engages people on his own, asks questions etc.
WOW, that is such fantastic news!!! Congrats!! That is fantastic. I am so glad that he is doing so well academically and socially. I work with four year olds all afternoon long and some of them can't even tell me all their letters and numbers. It is so wonderful seeing him do so well. Keep it up and congratulations to the teacher for a job well done.thats awsome! Yes progress is very good, and just when you think itll never occure their it is!!The case manager from Anthony's home ABA program observed him at his typical pre-school on Monday. Here's the email she sent me today. I couldn't be happier!
"I am so confident that Anthony will be ready for kindergarten. Mrs. D runs her classroom like a kindergarten classroom. Anthony does so well with transitioning, following directions, and verbal participation during circle time. Pretty impressive how he has generalized so much of what he's learned into the classroom. He was raising his hand and knows the answer to most of what she asks right away (letter sounds, everything on the calendar).
Social/Play
Both his teacher and aide reported that he plays with a variety of items in the classroom, and that he plays with groups of kids, gravitating towards the girls. I observed him painting by himself, and then doing stencils. There was another girl at the table he was commenting to (I was happy to see this). I observed several boys in the classroom playing alone for almost the entire play time.
Behaviors
Mrs. D reported no concerns. Very typical behavior if any. The aide reported that she has seen him disagree with a peer and get very frustrated. She said his frustration comes out verbally (outburst). She also said it is very short lived and rare.
In regards to last Friday-
Mrs. D said he was very touchy and wriggly all day, and she had to give him frequent reminders. That is why he didn't get a stamp. She also thought he may have been disinterested in doing a second floor puzzle which is why he flipped the lid. She did not feel it was out of anger. I would not be concerned with this as long as it is an isolated incident.
I am going to suggest that we add a social or play goal each day. You can prep him in the morning as he's eating breakfast/getting ready for school.
1. "Anthony, let's pick someone new to play with at school today. Would would you like to pick during play time?" (he chooses someone)
2. "What toy/game are you going to ask him to play?" (dress-up, kitchen, tools. Prompt something new each day).
3. "You can say 'Andy, let's play with the hammers'." (Give him some ideas).
4. Ask the teacher who he played with when you pick him up to see if he is able to follow through.
*Even if he just plays for a few minutes or one activity-
Also, let's push imaginative play during his ABA sessions. Building, tools, kitchen, action figures. Have D and J model different things he can say while playing these activities WITH peers.
Note: I feel as though he does these things at home with no problem, but I'm not sure about the classroom. I'm also not sure we would get an accurate report from the teacher re his
conversation during play (she would have to be watching him all the time). With an older brother, all the older kids in your neighborhood, and as bright as Anthony is, sometimes classroom play activities tend to lack interest. Again, I am not super concerned, but they will still have some play time next year as well, and we want to keep him in the mix with kids his own age.
He is doing so well. He fits in so well in this classroom-it looks like such a fun place to be."
ETA - Anthony told us Friday that he "got in trouble" in school and he didn't get his hand stamped (they get their hand stamped for good behavior). He made it seem as if he had a meltdown which he didn't!
How GREAT! I wish I wish I wish we had a teacher like that ... for SAM!
We had a parent-teacher conferecne last night precipitated by misbehavior ... and only THEN found out he has REFUSED to do any academic work! This is his pre-K year ...
Excellent!Wow--that's great. I know you have been doing many ABA hours. Can I ask when he started and what kind of functioning level was he at age 2, 3 and 4? I interested to hear as he is a bit older than my son. I'm just curious as I make decisions for my son who has made great progress through VB/ABA.WTG! He is doing awesome and sounds pretty typical for kindergarten kids..Sarah was mainstreamed last year and had no interest in the other kids but tolerated them:) We kept her in a ABA playgroup she was in till summer and this year she is doing great! I forgot what normal was after so many years of ABA and knowing how affected she was..it was hard to see she was doing as well or better than her peers and hard to let go of ABA therapy for her but she was ready as your son is too...he is finding his way and each year he will only get better and better! SO happy to hear such great news!
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