Jack started his fourth week of ABA therapy today, and the work has begun. The first two weeks were mainly spent getting him settled in and comfortable with his new surroundings and new "friends". The therapist kept mentioning that they were working on ables and starting on compliance. Honestly, I really had no idea what she was talking about, but smiled and said "great". I thought compliance had something to do with billing and insurance, and getting all the paper work in "compliance".
Apparently, ables are exactly what you might guess, or not since it took me a minute. But ables are a long check list of tasks to see what Jack's abilities really are, studying him and seeing where he truly is in his development. Because let's be honest, the initial evaluation, where they spent 5 hours with him is not an accurate portrait of Jack's true abilities. And compliance has nothing to do with paper work, it's getting Jack to comply with they're requests; such as sitting at the table for 5 minutes, or simply putting a ball in a bucket. Which of course made me laugh out loud, literally, my first thought was "good luck!" During Friday's meeting, they explained to me that Jack's behavior is what will be the biggest challenge, when it comes to getting him to comply. Really? That's so weird he's an angel at home and does everything I request of him! But seriously, Jack does what Jack wants to do when he wants to do it, so if you try and make him do something he's not willing to do, look out, literally, duck, bob and weave, cause it's all coming at you like a tornado, toys, hands, feet and most definitely a running start headbutt. The good news however is that those moments seem to be getting better, for example, getting him dressed and out the door in the mornings have become less stressful, he loves going to school. That in and of itself is a huge leap forward in progress.
What I do love about the program is they keep track of everything, what words he uses, how many requests he makes, and how long he has a tantrum for. In the third week, when they really started pushing him, his tantrums or "non-compliance" lasted roughly 3 minutes, but by the end of the week he was averaging a minute and a half, which is awesome. This last month actually has been pretty amazing, Jack seems happier and the tantrums at home seem to be less of a meltdown mode and more normal toddler upsets. Seeing progress this quickly has been a delightful surprise. We still have a long road ahead of us, his lack of impulse control is still a force to be reckoned with, however we have just learned to keep the counters and tables clear, and have kept the time outs consistent. Even the spitting out of water and juice wherever he stands has almost completely stopped. I feel like there might be a small light down at the end of that tunnel now, where before I felt like I was in the dark, not knowing what the future holds for our little man. Jack is so smart and such a quick learner, I can't wait for to see where we are even in the next couple of months, ABA therapy has truly been a blessing.
Hugs from a fellow Momma Warrior
Em
Apparently, ables are exactly what you might guess, or not since it took me a minute. But ables are a long check list of tasks to see what Jack's abilities really are, studying him and seeing where he truly is in his development. Because let's be honest, the initial evaluation, where they spent 5 hours with him is not an accurate portrait of Jack's true abilities. And compliance has nothing to do with paper work, it's getting Jack to comply with they're requests; such as sitting at the table for 5 minutes, or simply putting a ball in a bucket. Which of course made me laugh out loud, literally, my first thought was "good luck!" During Friday's meeting, they explained to me that Jack's behavior is what will be the biggest challenge, when it comes to getting him to comply. Really? That's so weird he's an angel at home and does everything I request of him! But seriously, Jack does what Jack wants to do when he wants to do it, so if you try and make him do something he's not willing to do, look out, literally, duck, bob and weave, cause it's all coming at you like a tornado, toys, hands, feet and most definitely a running start headbutt. The good news however is that those moments seem to be getting better, for example, getting him dressed and out the door in the mornings have become less stressful, he loves going to school. That in and of itself is a huge leap forward in progress.
What I do love about the program is they keep track of everything, what words he uses, how many requests he makes, and how long he has a tantrum for. In the third week, when they really started pushing him, his tantrums or "non-compliance" lasted roughly 3 minutes, but by the end of the week he was averaging a minute and a half, which is awesome. This last month actually has been pretty amazing, Jack seems happier and the tantrums at home seem to be less of a meltdown mode and more normal toddler upsets. Seeing progress this quickly has been a delightful surprise. We still have a long road ahead of us, his lack of impulse control is still a force to be reckoned with, however we have just learned to keep the counters and tables clear, and have kept the time outs consistent. Even the spitting out of water and juice wherever he stands has almost completely stopped. I feel like there might be a small light down at the end of that tunnel now, where before I felt like I was in the dark, not knowing what the future holds for our little man. Jack is so smart and such a quick learner, I can't wait for to see where we are even in the next couple of months, ABA therapy has truly been a blessing.
Hugs from a fellow Momma Warrior
Em
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