Feb 24, 2014 (Started Aug 24, 2009)

  • Effectiveness
    Major (for pervasive development disorder NOS)
  • Effectiveness
    Major (for autism spectrum disorder)
  • Effectiveness
    Major (for impaired communication skills)
  • Effectiveness
    Major (for repetitive behavior)
  • Effectiveness
    Major (for lack of social skills)
  • Side effects
    Mild (for Overall) (fatigue)
  • Adherence
    Always
  • Burden
    Very hard to take
Dosage: 5 hr Weekly
Advice & Tips: Today is the last ABA session my son will receive. It's truly a bittersweet moment. He's been receiving some form of ABA therapy for four and a half years. Now it's up to us to keep it up. He's come an incredibly long way. His first ABA program involved learning how to identify "mom" and "dad". Now he's playing on sports teams, succeeding in school, and just being a typical brother to his sisters. He's still got his quirks and attention can be an issue, but his progress has exceeded our wildest dreams. Early intervention works. Do it early. Do it intensively. Do whatever it takes.
Cost: $200+ monthly

Sep 19, 2011 (Started Aug 24, 2009)

  • Effectiveness
    Major (for repetitive behavior)
  • Effectiveness
    Major (for lack of social skills)
  • Effectiveness
    Major (for pervasive development disorder NOS)
  • Effectiveness
    Major (for impaired communication skills)
  • Effectiveness
    Major (for autism spectrum disorder)
  • Side effects
    None (for Overall)
  • Adherence
    Always
  • Burden
    Very hard to take
Dosage: 23.5 hr Weekly
Advice & Tips: We're at the point now where my son does not receive "traditional" table-top ABA anymore. He has had an incredible two years in ABA, gaining wonderful skills and testing very well in them. Now our focus has switched to getting him to consistently use these skills in daily life. So, now we do a lot more play (games, pretend play), social groups (we invite a few models over a couple times a week and do snack, a game, some free play, etc.), and other more non-traditional approaches. At times it seems like the gains aren't quite as huge lately, but I personally believe that has a lot to do with the fact that the skills he is gaining now are HUGE steps (compared with learning individual rote tasks).
Cost: $200+ monthly

Feb 22, 2011 (Started Aug 24, 2009)

  • Effectiveness
    Major (for lack of social skills)
  • Effectiveness
    Major (for impaired communication skills)
  • Effectiveness
    Major (for repetitive behavior)
  • Effectiveness
    Major (for autism spectrum disorder)
  • Side effects
    None (for Overall)
  • Adherence
    Always
  • Burden
    Very hard to take
Dosage: 23.5 hr Weekly
Advice & Tips: ABA therapy is very appropriately filed under "lifestyle modification". That's exactly what it is. It takes over your life. Privacy? A thing of the past. Your house is a revolving door. Social life? Largely gone—between school and ABA therapy, there's hardly any time left in the day. Financially? Well, there are more and more states forcing insurance companies to cover ABA, but there's still a long way to go. For now, we're spending $3,000 per month out of pocket. That, as you can imagine, is devastating. But, it's working. My son started ABA about two weeks after his diagnosis and quickly ramped up to 25 hours. He's now getting 11 hours outside of school (along with 10 hours of direct instruction in school). I distinctly remember about 15 months ago, we were running trials to teach him to say "mommy" and "daddy". Now, he's working on prediction trials, three-step instructions, and reading. It has been amazing. I attribute a ton of it to him. From day one, he has been an incredibly hard worker. There are times when the schedule exhausts him. But we just try to learn not to read too much into it. We all get tired. The truth is, he's making incredible gains. I would consider this a life-saving treatment.
Cost: $200+ monthly
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