Floortime VS ABA | Imamother

amother

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 11:40 am

Can anyone explain the difference between the 2? I'm trying to figure out which would be better for my child

gootlfriends

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 11:44 am

How old is the child? This post doesn't have enough information.

amother

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 11:50 am

He's 5 and is being very difficult! Doesn't listen to authority. If we tell him to do something and he doesn't want to he just wont do it even if he will get punished. he also gets frustrated very fast and will act impulsively

mha3484

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 11:52 am

Floor time is a model based on learning to develop relationships with others. ABA is a behavioral modification model. It really depends on what your kids respond better to.

amother

Valerian

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 11:57 am

Does he have ASD?

amother

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 12:00 pm

amother

Phlox

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 12:10 pm

amother OP wrote:

Then you won't be approved for either therapy. And they're both very expensive out of pocket.

Sounds like parent skills training would be more helpful for you.

amother

Outerspace

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 12:13 pm

amother Phlox wrote:

Then you won't be approved for either therapy. And they're both very expensive out of pocket.

Sounds like parent skills training would be more helpful for you.

Why do you assume op can't afford it?

I'm a Floortime provider and am a big fan of Floortime, which I think would be very helpful in this case. As a whole I dislike ABA but with the right provider it can also be very useful for specific circumstances. Whichever you choose, you need to work together with the therapist. Having the therapist work with the child independently will be much less effective.

cupcake123

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 12:19 pm

Floortime

amother

Apricot

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 12:27 pm

I think floor time would be more helpful. I find aba only works with certain personalities. Is the child getting any other therapy?

amother

Valerian

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 12:29 pm

amother OP wrote:

Then why are you considering just those two options? What about regular play therapy? OT? Evaluation?

imasinger

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 2:04 pm

Another vote for both evaluation, and parent training.

amother

Teal

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 2:16 pm

OP feel free to pm me to hash it out. I work in special Ed and have a child on the spectrum as well. I have a lot of experience with therapies in a professional capacity and personally as a mom. Based on what I see here, you haven't tried anything yet for your challenging five year old. So a few thoughts

1. Get a full eval- if he does qualify for something that could be helpful for you and you can get better idea of what's going on

2. Don't jump to these therapies- there are others that could just as if not more effective for his issues (and I don't say this lightly bc I know how it feels to be desperate) but I wouldn't just jump into these. Especially ABA, in last five years we have seen from the adult Autistic community it can be very traumatizing (they share their perspective as ppl who have been through it) and imo its a last resort. Better to start with something like OT (amazing for regulation) or art/play therapies

3. Parenting classes- I'm honestly not a big fan of these. Most parenting classes are a one size fits all approach AND I've never met anyone doing them who actually has any training outside of their modality/childhood development. If you do pay for parenting classes, make sure it is someone reputable who sees each child has an individual and doesn't swear by a one size fits all method.

Hatzlacha Raba! I know how hard challenging children can be and I hope you figure out a great plan for him!!

amother

Snapdragon

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 2:42 pm

mha3484 wrote:

Floor time is a model based on learning to develop relationships with others. ABA is a behavioral modification model. It really depends on what your kids respond better to.

This is the basic idea of what the two are in short but I’m sure you would get a better understanding when speaking to potential providers

Don’t feel bad about asking a bunch of questions

It’s important when choosing a therapist/place to do some research because especially for ABA there are many different ways it’s done.
My child is in ABA therapy now but it’s done in a way thats so different than traditional ABA that it can look like the Floortime model to most people.

Before I made a decision I asked all the questions I had until I felt comfortable with it.

amother

Valerian

Fri, Mar 29 2024, 3:28 pm

ABA can be amazing for kids that benefit from it, but I wouldn’t jump to it without a diagnosis.