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 on in Alex’s head.

Alex’s dad and I asked our local authority to let Alex have ABA at home. The Clinical Psychologist and Educational Psychologist supported the idea, after a house move and a lot of negotiation the ABA programme started.

What was it like? It was exciting and intense. Alex’s progress was evident from the beginning, yet each time he made progress it uncovered a new area to work on. Alex had four therapists working with him from 8.30 in the morning to 4.30 in the afternoon. They worked through all the school holidays. There were weekly team meetings where each programme was discussed; every tiny step was recorded with detailed notes being kept of every meeting. I had to oversee the day-to-day running of the programme as well as help Alex to apply his newly learnt skills to the rest of his life.

The effect of ABA on our family was vast. We felt as though we were living our life in a goldfish bowl, we were not allowed to leave the therapists on their own with Alex, this meant everyone had to go out together. A trip to the shop involved a therapist me and after our youngest came along five children. Road safety skills were fun. A therapist attempted to teach Alex to cross the road with me and all the other children coming along for the ride. Alex’s siblings were home educated, this meant they were often called upon to join in the teaching sessions so Alex could practise play skills or learn turn taking. Alex’s little sister Esther was only 18 months old when therapy started, the therapists realised she could be a big help. She was learning to play snap and pop up pirate before she could barely speak.

Alex and Esther earning together.

How did I feel as a mum, I suppose had mixed emotions? I was very happy to see Alex improving. Yet I worried about Alex’s siblings, were they getting a normal life? I found people in our home all the time intrusive. I stopped inviting friends around because I needed to recuperate when the therapists weren’t there. Yet the therapists brought a lot into out home, the children liked them, they were fun. Some of Alex’s therapists became a part of the family and we will always have their friendship.

Would we do it if we had out time over again? The answer is a resounding yes. It was hard work, yet a lot of the earlier gains that Alex made were down to ABA. Esther is studying for a degree at 14; she is very good at writing and English. I wonder if all the early therapy she inadvertently had while joining in with Alex has brought her on and helped her to get where she is today.  I don’t know if this is true, but I do know that life has been an adventure and I learnt an awful lot from having Alex on a home-based ABA programme.