Overcoming Autism by Lynn Koegel

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I started reading a book a few days ago, it is titled "Overcoming Autism" and the primary author is Lynn Koegel.

As I was browsing the books at my library, I was at first put off by the title, I thought "Another Jenny McCarrthy Cure-It Book???"

However, I read the jacket and became intrigued.

It is all about ABA therapy. I asked my consultatants (who do ABA therapy) and they advised that Dr. Lynn Koegel and her husband are experts in the field and very highly regarded.

I found that the advice in the book and techniques to use were very sound. I started trying them and they already are working very well (actually they are working with both by autistic son and my NT daughter!!).

Also, I found that the book made the programs that my consultants are designing for my child and family more clear.

I like this book so much, I ordered a copy of Amazon so I can continue to refer to it.

Anyone else find this book interesting. Have you read any other titles by this author or any other good titles by other qualified authors that you found helpful.

Thanks.

Sounds interesting. I'll look for it at the library.

A quick Google search brought up American Dental Association - to American Dietetic Association to Americans for Democratic Action - and more, but I don't know what ADA are the initials for , CanadianRose. What is ADA?


Merle

I found this and all her books are on this site.....http://education.ucsb.edu/autism/
I recommend Temple Grandin's new book....The Way I See It.

Make sure all these books are in our "recommended reading" thread!

Merle, lol, she wrote ABA. Applied behavioral analysis. Yes, you can pick up the controversial feelings that are going to exist on it from the name.

thanks, I just didn't know what ABA was shorthand for.

Glorified child abuse.

I'm confused by this statement.

I have some ladies who have multiple degrees in early childhood education visiting my home.

With their intervention, my child speaks and is able to make his needs known. He is able to handle going out and doing things that interest him, including going to the driving range to practice his golf swing, going to restaurants for his favourite foods, going to amusement parks where he laughs still his sides hurt.

The interventionists embed his "learning" into fun and games where all I hear is laughter. He spends a few minutes learning the letters and numbers and then he jumps on the bed. He spends some time learning how to wait his turn and then these "lessons" are practiced through board games (which my son takes turns choosing with his NT little sister).

The therapist also attends my son's preschool where she facilitates his being able to sit and attend to storytime and is helped to socialize with the other kids. When I dropped by, I saw my son gleefully playing with another child and they both looked ecstatic.

The therapists encourage his interests and include all of his interests in their programs.

Where is the "abusive" part??

If someone prefers other forms of education and finds that they work - godspeed.

If someone thinks that my child screaming and kicking when he can't verbalize, being completely isolated from his community because of he cannot socialize and unable to enjoy his own, specific interests in his community because of disruptive behaviors is the better way to go - then they can put their parenting advice where the sun don't shine...

The problem is that 'ABA therapy' is a very poorly regulated thing. A thousand different therapist will use a thousand different strategies and they will all call it 'ABA therapy' because that is what the parents want to hear. To be honest what your doing with your child is nothing like the 'official' ABA therapy designed by DR. Lovaas a couple decades ago. So your therapist really shouldn't call it ABA therapy, because it isn't. She is just using that term because it makes the clients (you) think that she is following some scientific procedure.

Of course the problem is that your therapist isn't the only person who does this. There are a lot of people out there using the term ABA therapy to describe whatever they want to do. And some people use this term as an excuse to harass children claiming that it is good for them. Which then leads to the notion that ABA is nothing more then glorified child abuse. Its because other 'therapists' have engaged in glorified child abuse and used 'ABA therapy' as a cover for their own actions.

I watched a video on YouTube by a mom wanting to show the miraculous progress her child had made. I think the link was posted somewhere on this site. Anyway, included was video from several ABA sessions, where the child was forced crying to do things I found absolutely ridiculous, like clap a certain way, and keep repeating until it was right. Sit still in the chair just right, and be corrected when he didn't. And on and on. I found it very upsetting, as you can tell.

The issue isn't the therapy itself, in my opinion, but the goals. If you are going to use an intense behavior training method for a child, shouldn't it be reserved for the important stuff?

CanadianRose, I assumed off the bat that you weren't talking about something like what I witnessed in that video, so I didn't bring it up. But we do have to recognize in this thread that the therapy has been used widely and with different method and effect, and much of it has not been what most of us here would view as positive. Like so much of what is being done in the field of autism, it is still evolving.

I guess the caution is to realize the concept can be used for positive effect, and it can also be something most of us consider negative. Parents should ask questions, observe, and follow their instincts.

There are a number of autism self-advocates emerging who are expressing tremendous feelings of shame and abuse as the result of ABA training. As others have said, it's not all ABA training, but some of it. It's another testament to why we as parents need to be diligent ensuring we know exactly what is being done with - and to - our kids, and not blindly trust so-called experts.

I was wondering too, so thanks for asking. I was trying to figure out what the American Bar Association had to do with this forum.

They use the TEACCH method at my daughter school and the place that does my kids therapy is a program designed by Dr Cynthia Nordal. No one has ever been cruel or forced my daughter to do anything strange. Actually the therapist that come to my house are wonderful. They mainly play games with her and teach her to stay engaged. Right now they are working on her getting other peoples attention. They will pretend to ignore the fact that its their turn in a game until she reminds them. They have also started playing games like "Mother May I" and "Simon says" with her. They also are very aware of when she needs sensory input and when she gets overwhelmed they have learned to stop talking and use gestures or handing her things. Im hoping to get the same types of therapy when I get to France.

I've been trying ABA sort of stuff with my son for a few weeks. We haven't got a therapist, just using a web site called rethinkautism and following their programme.

I tell him we're going off to his room to do 'homework' and he actually likes going there because I do fun things with him and give him snacks, lots of cuddles and praise. He gets quite excited. So it's fun for him to do. For me it's good because I felt like I was floundering before.
I think of it as teaching in tiny steps.

When he loses interest in something I move to another type of lesson. When I'm done and felling kaput myself and have to go and do something else he sits there on the chair in his room looking at me like he wants me to continue.

Child abuse!?

Yeah, I could see how, if you have a poor therapist, you could get mixed up in a bad situation. Looking back, I have had a therapist take advantage of me (in terms of money and continuing services with her - however, with my child, she was great). And I know better now. Yes, the therapist was great with my son, and I know this because I was always in the house when she did therapy with him, but she definitely dropped all the lingo and behavioral stuff to keep us going along. She also gave me some advice about what to do with his preschool, and said I should put him in private inclusive preschool, which ended up costing me alot of $, instead of taking advantage of the free, perfectly wonderful TEACCH-model preschool available through the county. Since then, I've learned alot about myself, my son, and autism in general, to know that I am making the correct decisions for my son and the rest of my family. And when I've trusted my gut instinct, I've always been right on the money. Now, he does go to the county preschool and he's learned so much and loves to go, loves his friends, teachers, etc.

What I have learned is that autism is a business, and I'm so fed up with this business. No more therapists are getting any more of my hard-earned money

We still do therapy in my home, but I like to call it practice therapy because he is a child that needs extra practice with self-help stuff - putting on socks, shoes, brushing teeth, eating with utensils, etc. He does love working at the table and he has a wonderful memory so I think he enjoys answering all of the therapist's questions. He does a super job with that. But never is he crying or forced or doing something repeatedly just to do it repeatedly.

Good for you. Im sick of seeing people robbed because they want help for their kids....People will use anything to get money, I hope more parents follow suit. I am also fortunate in the fact that we have a public school with an awesome Autism program for Pre school and pre K. My daughter has been there two years. We also get in home therapy three times a week through the Regional Center where she was diagnosed. I think most people dont realize that there are free services out there. I was thankful to the speech therapist at the hospital where my daughter began her evaluation that told me about the Regional Center. They also diagnosed my son with Asperger's but due to major cuts from the state (Shame on California!) my son gets very few services now. I managed to get my health insurance to pay for a one on one therapy once a week for him and we paid (very reasonable price) out of pocket for his social group.
We are moving to France this summer and have already looked into the services there. My kids already have their French handicap cards so they will get services and we also get monthly support for them.