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Therapy and ABA...worth anything?
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 9:35 am
I'm not putting this on the special needs section, because I really want to hear from anyone.

I have a feeling this is going to be a bit contraversial.

I have a six year old with an asd diagnosis. I live in an area where there is really no funding for therapy, and I am of limited means.

A few months after he was diagnosed, at age 3, I took him to a pediatrician who specializes in developmental delays, and I asked where we should put our money, for optimum success. He didn't really think it was necessary to break the bank, and basically told us to let him grow up.

So we did some language therapy every other week for a year, and a tiny bit of ABA, for a very short time. We put him back a grade in school, and he's been mainstreamed in preschool for 3 years.

Three years ago....he would spin things constantly, and push cars back and forth repeatedly. Now.... That behavior has totally disappeared. We never addressed it, but when I'd notice him doing it, I'd just say, "that's silly, do something else".

Three years ago.....he would repeat the same things about the same topics over and over.... Now...... He never does that.

He used to have crazy tantrums that lasted forever, now.... He's still easily frustrated, but very easily redirected.

His language has improved majorly, and he's able to have normal conversations with teachers and kids his age.

We did not tell the school that there's any problem, and they've never brought up any big concerns.

Is he different? He always will be, somewhat. We're not in denial, but we hope he keeps improving. When he does things that are strange, or off, I just tell him that's inappropriate.

If he'd have had all the therapy that most kids on the spectrum get, we'd be saying see.... The therapy is doing such a great job! Look how well he's doing! I wonder if there's any way of proving that all the success of other children is from the therapy.

Interestingly, I had a child with a physical delay, she had very low muscle tone, and we did months of therapy. We got her walking, but who says she wouldn't have walked at the same time by herself?

Also, perhaps doing all this therapy, just calls attention to the child's differences, and can even set him back?
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:06 am
It sounds like he was on the milder end of the spectrum.

Of course, there is no way to answer your question about your particular son.

But the question could be posed:. If he did have therapy, perhaps he would be doing even better, and his differences would be even less noticeable. And therapy isn't just to make a child appear normal- it's to build the internal social, emotional, and language skills necessary for success in life. Also, please keep in mind that successful mainstreaming at the preschool level looks very different than successful mainstreaming in elementary and high school years. It will be a lot harder for him to have peer relationships and succeed socially as he gets older. The reason early intervention is promoted so heavily is because the brain is very plastic and moldable at a young age. It is a lot easier to mold his brain in the right direction now than to address deficits when he is much older
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amother
Puce


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:10 am
Speech therapist here, and I TOTALLY AGREE. I work in preschool with kids that are 2 or 3 years old. Often times I get way to much credit for some of the progress because when the parents notice all the gains their child has made during the year they credit me for doing an amazing job. The reality is that I think that it mostly has to do with the fact that when I started working with the child he was 2.5 and at the end of the year she's 3.5, so of course there was progress with various language issues.
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amother
Fuchsia


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:14 am
You can have a balance between doing all the therapy in the world and doing nothing, and it sounds like you aimed for that balance. There's no reason to treat non existent symptoms, and for existing symptoms is often depends on the severity. No one is a Navi and no one knows what progress the child will make with or without therapy. Generally, the earlier you intervene the more successful the therapy is. So people do their hishtadlus and get appropriate therapies when they feel it makes sense. In a normal situation, a child is not hurt by having unnecessary therapy. Also in most schools in my area there are lots of preschool and early elementary kids getting various therapies. It doesn't make anyone stand out.
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LittleMissMama




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:15 am
These are questions I ask myself often. We have the funds to give our special son everything and anything therapy wise. He has gone to a special school for years and in many ways has grown, but he is still different from his peers. He talks differently, moves differently, learns differently. And it's noticeable to all. He's a teenager now.

How much has the therapy helped him and how much is natural development? I don't know but I think it's my responsibility to help him as much as possible.

It sounds like your son started with more mild delays. I'm happy he's doing well, regardless of how he got to that point.
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:15 am
I mean I get it, if you're trying to teach the sound of the letter "r", then once the child learns it, there's concrete evidence that it worked. But social skills? Frustration tolerance?
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amother
Fuchsia


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:20 am
amother [ Puce ] wrote:
Speech therapist here, and I TOTALLY AGREE. I work in preschool with kids that are 2 or 3 years old. Often times I get way to much credit for some of the progress because when the parents notice all the gains their child has made during the year they credit me for doing an amazing job. The reality is that I think that it mostly has to do with the fact that when I started working with the child he was 2.5 and at the end of the year she's 3.5, so of course there was progress with various language issues.


I'm a therapist as well (not speech) and while I sometimes feel the therapy may not have been a major factor in progress, sometimes it truly can change the brain very dramatically. This is why I focus on underlying deficits and abilities and not necessarily on presenting skills.
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:22 am
We could have sent my son to a special school, and he would have gotten full days of therapy of every kind. Here's the thing.... It's a one way street 90% of the time. One you set personal goals, and not institutional goals, anything the child accomplishes is great. Rarely does a child switch from special needs to mainstream full time, and in a special needs classroom, what kinds of behaviors and social skills will he pick up?

We made the decision to keep him mainstreamed as long as we can, as long as he's within range, why switch? Therapy in the regular school system where I live is pitiful.
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amother
Fuchsia


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:24 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
I mean I get it, if you're trying to teach the sound of the letter "r", then once the child learns it, there's concrete evidence that it worked. But social skills? Frustration tolerance?


It depends what age you're referring to. But sometimes it's clear that a child isn't picking up social skills on her own at all. Even as other children move into more mature developmental stages in that realm, she's still doing her own thing. So no, it's not realistic to assume that one day very soon she will have an aha moment and catch up to her peers independently.
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aricelli




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:24 am
Tough question! My child was getting worse and worse so it was easy to see that the therapy was helping. Also- I got him the therapy because he was so so unhappy and I count bear to watch that- it hurt me. So I wasnt looking for him to change as much as I wanted him to find his happiness which I was unfortunately unable to do on my own. Also- off topic- he did all the stimming strange behavior- but with therapy I was able to learn that it wasnt “silly” but was telling me something. A beautiful book I’m reading now is Barry Prizants Uniquely Human- which focuses on asd but is beautiful for any mom looking to understand her child!
Have a lot of continued naches OP!
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:27 am
amother [ Fuchsia ] wrote:
I'm a therapist as well (not speech) and while I sometimes feel the therapy may not have been a major factor in progress, sometimes it truly can change the brain very dramatically. This is why I focus on underlying deficits and abilities and not necessarily on presenting skills.


And how do you know it made any difference at all? There's no control for this experiment, (except maybe my child who got practically nothing in a way of therapy and made dramatic improvement. )
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:32 am
amother [ Fuchsia ] wrote:
It depends what age you're referring to. But sometimes it's clear that a child isn't picking up social skills on her own at all. Even as other children move into more mature developmental stages in that realm, she's still doing her own thing. So no, it's not realistic to assume that one day very soon she will have an aha moment and catch up to her peers independently.


And with therapy a child on the spectrum will catch up???? Yeah, I know, closer to it..... Go prove that was because of the therapy.

I feel like because as parents we invest so much time and money, we end up convincing ourselves that it was so necessary.
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sim




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:33 am
Look into this approach; someone close to me had a lot of success with it and felt that it was worth every penny. More so than ABA. It's known as the Floortime Approach.
https://www.stanleygreenspan.com/
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aricelli




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:35 am
sim wrote:
Look into this approach; someone close to me had a lot of success with it and felt that it was worth every penny. More so than ABA. It's known as the Floortime Approach.
https://www.stanleygreenspan.com/

Yup!
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amother
Chocolate


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:37 am
Totally worth it! My child had ABA and speech therapy and it made a world of difference, I am so thankful forever to the wonderful therapists!
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aricelli




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:44 am
sim wrote:
Look into this approach; someone close to me had a lot of success with it and felt that it was worth every penny. More so than ABA. It's known as the Floortime Approach.
https://www.stanleygreenspan.com/

Even If nothing else it strengthens your relationship with your child and helps you understand them and helps them understand themselves
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aricelli




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:46 am
aricelli wrote:
Tough question! My child was getting worse and worse so it was easy to see that the therapy was helping. Also- I got him the therapy because he was so so unhappy and I count bear to watch that- it hurt me. So I wasnt looking for him to change as much as I wanted him to find his happiness which I was unfortunately unable to do on my own. Also- off topic- he did all the stimming strange behavior- but with therapy I was able to learn that it wasnt “silly” but was telling me something. A beautiful book I’m reading now is Barry Prizants Uniquely Human- which focuses on asd but is beautiful for any mom looking to understand her child!
Have a lot of continued naches OP!

Oy - a hug!!! Why
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amother
Fuchsia


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:53 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
And with therapy a child on the spectrum will catch up???? Yeah, I know, closer to it..... Go prove that was because of the therapy.

I feel like because as parents we invest so much time and money, we end up convincing ourselves that it was so necessary.


No one can prove anything Smile But like I said, if social skills are completely off his radar, and he actually does learn those skills with therapy, no reason to believe that it wasn't to that credit.
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:58 am
sim wrote:
Look into this approach; someone close to me had a lot of success with it and felt that it was worth every penny. More so than ABA. It's known as the Floortime Approach.
https://www.stanleygreenspan.com/

I've looked into this. Again, how do you know that it made any difference. I'm looking for concrete evidence.
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amother
Chocolate


 

Post Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:59 am
I like to think of therapy as the medium through which the real potential of the child can show, so yes the potential is there, but many times you need a therapist to help the child access what they are capable of.
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