Kelsey

18 Aug, 2022

Blog

It’s back to school time! While many parents are excited to send their children to school, others are worried about their children. Will their teachers listen to them? Will my child make friends? How will my child handle the change in their routine? Below we describe a few tips to make the transition a bit smoother.

Preparing Your Child

Talk about going back to school! Make sure they are familiar with the name of their teacher and let them know some of the things they can expect. Share if there’s going to be a friendly face in their class, or maybe your child is excited about riding a bus. Whatever it may be, stay positive.

Meet the Teacher

Attend the meet and greets! You’ll get a chance to meet the teacher, become more familiar with the room and the school.

Familiar Items

It’s helpful to have sensory items or comfort items while they are at school. Try to find something that won’t be a distraction but something to remind your child that they are safe.

Daily Schedule

Visual schedules can also be a great way to transition. Print out a schedule and hang it on the fridge to prepare them for their big day.

Communication

Consistent communication with teachers, therapists and collaboration between the two can really help making this the best experience possible. We are all on the same team with the same goal: to help your child succeed!

Kelsey

8 Aug, 2022

Blog

Working together as a team when choosing skill acquisition and behavior reduction goals is an important part of ABA therapy. When discussing goals with you your BCBA will prioritize goals of social significance. Socially significant goals are based on importance to the family, to the individual receiving services, and skills that will allow the individual to best function within their environment.

Of course, there are some goals that, as a parent, you may want to see worked on right away. These might include conversation skills or toilet training, but there are certain reasons those may not be targeted immediately. We may need to first work to reduce problematic behaviors, teach precursor skills, or wait for the child to catch up developmentally. Another example, might be a family goal of the child knowing their math facts, however, at the present time the child does not sit with the family to eat dinner. Therefore, it would be more socially significant to start with addressing the child’s ability to sit and eat a meal with the family before addressing the student’s ability to cooperate with completing more academic demands.

Other goals that a family may have but may not be a socially significant goal would be decreasing sensory-based behaviors. This may include hand-flapping or eye contact. We only target behaviors for reduction if they interfere socially, academically or if the behavior presents a safety concern.

As always consult your BCBA with any question or concerns.

Kelsey

2 Jun, 2022

Blog

One of the best things about summer is the chance to get messy outside with different sensory play activities. Here are a few of our favorite suggestions:

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

This only requires a few ingredients and you and your child can have a blast. I like to use old cool whip containers to store the paint, just mix it up and you’re ready to go!

3 cups of corn starch
2-4 drops food coloring, various colors
3 cups water, use more or less depending on desired consistency
Paint brushes, preferably 1″ or larger

Kinetic Sand

Kinetic sand kits can be found just about everywhere. Mix it up with water beads as well. Throw in the beach themed toys and have fun! If you need a more edible sand idea, blended cereal works great too!

Reusable Water Balloons

The best thing about reusable water balloons is that you don’t have to worry about cleaning up the yard or your child ingesting balloon material. And an additional bonus is that these same balloons can be used all summer long.

Shaving Cream Play

Shaving cream is easy to clean up and a fun and different texture for children to play with. Use food dye to color the shaving cream. Or for a safe taste version, use whipped cream. Bust out some ice cream scoops and let your child get messy!

Early Intervention for Autism

Kelsey

30 Sep, 2021

Autism Spectrum Disorder can be diagnosed as early as 18 months and more reliably by two-years-old, yet most children do not get diagnosed until the age of four. Early intervention is key to developmental success, research has shown time and time again that children who receive early intervention ABA services are more likely to develop communication (Koegel, 2000), catch up with their peers (Eikeseth, Smith, Jahr, & Eldevik, 2002), and have a decrease in maladaptive behaviors, such as physical aggression and self-injurious behaviors.

In addition, children who receive early intervention services are far more likely to be able to drastically reduce hours by preschool years. While early intervention may cost more up-front, families who pay for early intervention services see savings in the long-run. Early intervention shows better outcomes for children in every sense.

With the significance of early intervention, it is critical to look for early signs of autism, speak to a professional and seek out services as soon as possible.

The ABA Intake Process

Kelsey

14 Sep, 2021

This post explains what the ABA intake process looks like and what to expect. Keep in mind, every ABA company is different, but most intake processes will look something like this:

Verify Insurance

An important step is to verify insurance benefits. Your chosen ABA company will be able to contact your insurance and ensure that they are within network and let you know what co-pays to expect.

Intake Meeting

Generally a meeting will be arranged to get to know your family and your child. It’s helpful to make sure the company is a good fit and to see what the expectations are. Feel free to ask any of your questions during this time as well! Some questions you may expect are “why are you seeking services now?” and “what is your biggest goal for your child?”

Assessment

Once the intake meeting is done, an assessment is scheduled in person. Depending on your child’s age or skill level, different assessments will be chosen. The most common assessments are the VB-MAPP and the ABLLS-R. Both are great assessments to gather information on treatment goals and current status, but there are even more assessments which may be an even better fit. Ask your BCBA if you’re interested in which assessment they are choosing.

Assessments generally take two hours, but can take less time. At the start, it is common for the therapist to play with the child before beginning the assessment trials. Often, parents will be asked to leave the area so that they do not interfere with the assessment results, since sometimes kids can be easily distracted.

Keep in mind, an initial assessment is a small sample of your child’s skills. Most kids don’t perform their best during the first assessment since it’s a limited amount of time with a brand new person. Since the initial goals are based off of the first assessment, it may take a bit of an adjustment period to get the perfect goals for your child.

Treatment Recommendations

After an assessment is completed, a report will be written to summarize the results. This report will also include recommended goals and the recommended number of therapy hours. Your child may be recommended anywhere from 15-40 hours of ABA per week. ABA is a commitment and it is most effective if you can schedule the recommended hours per week.

Therapy Start

Once the report has been approved by insurance, therapy services can start.

If you’re interested in starting in-home ABA services in the Chicagoland area, email us at kelsey@littlevictoriesaba.com

My Child Was Just Diagnosed with Autism- Now What?

Kelsey

8 Sep, 2021

If your child was just diagnosed, you are here looking for answers or maybe help. First, take some time to process the information. Know there are many resources and support systems out there. If you want to take action, here are some things you should do:

Establish What Supports Your Child Needs

School-aged kids with an ASD diagnosis often benefit from an IEP (Individualized Education Plan). Look into what resources the school district can offer and work with the IEP team to figure out what works best for your child. Other supports may include therapy services, such as ABA (applied behavior analysis) therapy, speech therapy, and/or occupational therapy.

Look into State Funding

In Illinois, we have PUNS, which is funding which provides access to services using a Developmental Disability Waiver. PUNS funding can start at any point and will cover different services for the remainder of a person’s life. However, getting pulled for PUNS funding can take years, so it’s best to get on the list for funding as soon as possible.

https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=41131

Find Help and Support

There are many resources willing to help. Depending on what you need, you can find support groups, charities, and more resources. Your family doctor is usually a great place to start. Make sure your insurance will cover any services you are looking to receive. Some family opt to take out a secondary insurance plan to cover services.

Learn More About Autism

Check into resources to learn more about what autism is and how it can impact your child, but also know that each person with autism is different and so will be their journey. Read about people with autism and their experiences.

https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism

Learn from Your Child

Remember that you are still the expert on your child. Try to avoid comparing your child to others, instead see what they need and do what you can to meet those needs.

How should ABA Therapy Look?

Kelsey

4 Aug, 2021

If you’ve just started Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy services you are likely to have a lot of questions. Are they doing any work? Why are there so many tantrums? What’s with all the acronyms? When will I start to see progress?

First Days of Therapy

In the early days of therapy, it’s important for therapist and clients to build a positive relationship. We do this by playing games, coloring, and following the lead of the child. The length of time we “pair” varies depending on the child. Sometimes it may look like just being in the same room as the child. Regardless of how it looks, pairing is absolutely critical to the success of therapy.

Tantrums

Unfortunately, tantrums are part of therapy. Therapy is hard-work and someone coming into your home and placing demands don’t always get met with the warmest regards. Working through these tantrums is part of ABA therapy and learning. It’s all apart of the process!

Progress

Each child is different, which means that progress is unpredictable. Progress will happen. It usually starts in small steps. Little things will become easier and before you know it, you’ll think of where your child started and become amazed at how far they have come.

Session Structure

Most commonly, sessions will consist of playtime and worktime. Sometimes these lines blur and can be difficult to decipher. This is intentional. Ideally, therapist want to slip in programs and work without the child noticing. This may mean that if you aren’t playing close attention, you may not notice it’s work either. Ask your BCBA what programs are being targeted, ask about the structure of programs. How long does your child have for a break? How long/hard are they expected to work?

BCBA

Your BCBA is there to help and they want what’s best for your child. If you have any questions or concerns always reach out to your BCBA!

Haven’t started yet? Reach out to Little Victories ABA to get started!

kelsey@littlevictoriesaba.com