 | I'm sorry to hear of all the difficulty you and some of the other parents are having. I've never been on this website before and actually I came upon it by accident. I'm a part-time psychology instructor in the state of Kansas and I was making up some extra credit questions for my final exam when I stumbled upon this site. I'm not a psychologist. Yeah, I know that sounds strange. I have a Bachelors in Psychology but I am a Behavior Analyst. I have experience working with children with AS, Autism, developmental delays, etc, etc, etc. I was not going to return an email but I couldn't help but think, after reading what all the mothers were saying, that maybe I could offer some guidance. First of all let me say that its all going to be tough and it gets way worse before it gets better. Try to find a behavior analyst in your area. There is an ABA website and it will give you a directory of local ABA chapters that can lead you in the right direction. Most people haven't heard of Behavior Analysts before because basically its expensive. Our fees are NOT covered by typical insurance. I won't give you a whole lesson on behavior analysis, you can look it up on the internet if your interested but let me get down to the point: If you do not tackle the behavioral issues they will get in the way of learning. Most of my clients found that once we had most of the behavioral issues under control (non-compliance, potty training, self-stimulatory behavior, aggression, etc) that the kids began to show significant increases in language development and other skills. The maladaptive behaviors get in the way, they don't allow the teachers, speech therapist, OT, and parents a chance to start teaching skills. One other thing, get him out of the special ed classes. These kids, ALL KIDS, benefit from being mainstreamed into normal classes. It is my experience that they pick up more "bad habits" from other disabled students. In a mainstream class they can use these kids as a model for appropriate behavior. It serves as a tool for explaining the positive and negative consequences of behavior and examples of what is expected of them behaviorally.
I hope this helps. Feel free to reply if you need help finding some information. |
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