ABA and family like
When Alex was 5 he attended a special school for children with autism, the school arranged an evening meeting with a guest speaker who was a Clinical Psychologist. He had come to talk about a special treatment called ABA, which stands for Applied Behaviour Analysis. Alex making a bird box with one of his therapists. I came home from that meeting with such enthusiasm, this ‘expert’ had used words like ‘recovery’. I soon ordered to books by Catherine Maurice, one was called ‘Let me hear your voice’ and the other was called, ‘Behavioural intervention for young children.’ I read them both and got to work immediately. The first skill I taught Alex was non-verbal imitation. I said, “Do this!” and prompted Alex to copy me as I put my hands on my head. I used sultanas to reward Alex. I continued to work through the book each evening after school. Alex just responded so well, within a few weeks Alex’s teacher said it was as though someone had switched a light...
