All About Autism

[Couragemom]

Hi Gifts from Heaven,


I mean pee-pee. He usually does big business at home so I am not so worried. His balance is really bad and his low body tone makes things worse. For example, I expect that most N2 boys should be able to just pull down the pants/underwear, pee then wear back while standing right? But not for my son. Haiz…

[Couragemom]

Hi mommies,


Got a question for you all. Financially all the private therapies plus his half-day CC fee in a branded pre-school (I don’t purposely want to enrol him in such an ‘Atas’ environment, but more for the low teacher-student ratio) are taking a toll on the family. If I were to choose, I am thinking of letting him join a PCF kindergarten but continue private therapies (need to scale down some as well) as I deem them more important. What do you all think?

[Double E]

Couragemom:

Hi mommies,


Got a question for you all. Financially all the private therapies plus his half-day CC fee in a branded pre-school (I don't purposely want to enrol him in such an 'Atas' environment, but more for the low teacher-student ratio) are taking a toll on the family. If I were to choose, I am thinking of letting him join a PCF kindergarten but continue private therapies (need to scale down some as well) as I deem them more important. What do you all think?

Courageman
I did that about 1.5 years ago. Changed my son to a kindy from a CC to better manage the finances. At the same time, I also look at the therapies and see if there is any that I can drop or reduce the frequency (but of course has to be that he is more or less much better in that area, and I think no need to be so intensive anymore). But the changing of CC to kindy really helps on the pocket a lot. Furthermore I have two kids. When they were in CC, I have to pay $1400 per mth, after I put them in CC, I pay $1400 for every quarter ( I would have to pay $4200!! per quarter if my kids remain in the CC).

However, you also need to see what's PCF's teacher-ratio since the reason for your current choice of CC is due to the low teacher ratio. Also have to assess if the PCF teachers are patient enough to manage your boy as compared to the current CC. I think while financially is very tight, to me, it is more heart wrenching to see my son not being treated fairly and well at school.

What private therapies are ur son attending? perhaps you can cut on those instead of the CC if you deem your current CC has been doing a good job managing your son.

[Couragemom]

Hi Double E,


Actually his school teachers are quite ok with him and he is used to the environment in general but the school fees is $1100 (after subsidy!!!) for half-day CC! I don’t feel he is ready to go to PCF kindergarten as he probably will be ‘lost’ but if I am to continue the current cocktail of private therapies and atas CC, the family has to dip into our savings for his sake.

I found a good church kindergarten for my NT daughter for K1 next year and it only costs $800 per term! But there is no morning class slot for my son in N2 next year, must be on the waitlist. I will review his progress by Dec and see if I can cut back on his private therapies as well without compromising too much on his progress.

[fluttershy]

Hi Couragemom,


I think your idea sounds good. As long as you are not discontinuing the private therapies, he should be okay and you see how he's progressing with less therapies :snuggles:

Sometimes I wonder too how long I can bear with the finances since we just started private ABA therapies 7 months ago and his daily 5-hour a day ABA costs us S$8xxx.xx monthly and going to hit S$9xxx.xx starting in January 2015 I just keep telling myself that this won't be forever (maybe just for 2-3 years? :xedfingers:), so we're holding on right now and because early intervention is very critical for ASD kids.

I'm sure the higher man up there will somehow provide for us. We cut back on everything, no dining out, no shopping, no branded stuff, no holiday :?: coz right now top priority is for my son to get better, so just do the best to my ability :rahrah:

[Couragemom]

Hi fluttershy,


Thanks for the encouragement. Yah, you are right. I read an article that a US study shown that an ASD child given intensive ABA therapy from age 3-6 has a very good prognosis for future integration back to society. But like you say, the fee is HIGH!

I spoken to my husband and we decided to let him continue his current pre-school for the time being and will probably cut back on the therapies and see if he regresses anot. Keeping my fingers crossed and keeping my faith.

Meanwhile, I try to squirm my eyes while checking the bank account so that cannot see how fast the $ is depleting!

[dreamy79]

Hi


i’m new here. i have a son 3.5 years old being diagnosed mild autistic. to me he doesn’t have any issue other than behavioural issues. Have been sending him to rainbow centre for 2 hours lessons 3 times a week.
Can i know what’s the ABA therapy that i have been reading in this forum? is it good for behavioural issues kids? roughly hw much will it cost and which provider is good?
Sigh his mainstream CC has been feedback he’s quite disruptive in class really worried they’ll kick him out, he love the CC and the teacher and friends there. Any advice?

[sharonkhoo]

I know that ABA is done by professionals, and they arguably do a better job than parents, but at a much higher fee. For those who do it daily for several hours, it probably works well, but at a high cost. I believe it’s also possible to implement it at home, and if the parents can do it consistently all day, as and when it’s needed, it can work as well, maybe better, than just a few hours a week. So if cost is prohibitive, do try to read up and DIY. Something is always better than nothing. I did a lot of stuff with my Asperger’s kid long before I heard about ABA, and it sounds a lot like the things I did.

[fluttershy]

Hi Couragemom,


I read this sentences somewhere in facebook page & it really gives me a lot of encouragement to see parent with special need child(ren) in different light:

\"Before he was born, so much of my life was about moving forward. I was always looking toward the next house, the next car, the next job. Having a child with special needs really made me slow down and examine my definition of success. It also opened my eyes to how many people around me were willing to help.\"

I was exactly like that before my son was born :oops:

[fluttershy]

dreamy79,


http://www.spectrumofhope.org/aba.html

ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) is the only peer-reviewed methodology proven to help improve the lives of children with Autism. The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis was founded in 1958; ABA as a treatment for Autism began in the 1960s. There is over 50 years of scientific research supporting ABA. ABA programs are based upon scientifically proven methods, peer-reviewed research, and well-established principles of learning.

Cost wise it really depends on how many hours a week your son is going to commit. The more hours obviously the more costly it will be. Also it depends on how qualified and how professional the team of therapists & case manager/behaviour consultant is.

In the beginning i engaged a home-based ABA therapist for my son for about 3 months that i found in a public forum based on the reviews of some parents because it was so much cheaper. However it turned out my son didn't enjoy his ABA therapy time nor did he make any progress (or maybe very slow) within that 3 months. I decided to stop & went to the centre with professionals & qualified ABA certified therapist.

It's very very expensive (for me! :moneyflies: :moneyflies: :moneyflies: ), but I see a lot of promising results out of him, his compliance is high now, he understood simple instructions which made him throw less or no tantrum at all because he's able to understand my instructions. He also learn to accept denial (eg. he's not frustrated when i said \"no\"). They taught him how to play with several different toys properly as well, so that he can use his spare time engaging in play instead of stimmings (meaningless behaviours such as: gazing around, doing things repeatedly & withdrawn in his own world).

Both me & my husband thinks that although the cost is very high, but it's a money well spent. We look at it as a long term investment for his future as well. We're having a monthly parent training session where they train me on what to do at home & how they do it for all the skills that my son's already mastered, so that the family can apply it at home as well.

It's still a very long journey ahead of me, but I really hope that it will be well worth it!