The idea of sharing an autism diagnosis with your child can be just as overwhelming as receiving the diagnosis in the first place. We all want to protect our children from pain, fear, and judgment, but at the end of the day, trying to hide the label doesn’t remove it. So let’s talk about why it is important to talk to your child about their autism diagnosis, when you should have the conversation, and some ways you might approach it.
As a new school year approaches, many of our parents start thinking about whether their child should enroll in school or stay exclusively in ABA therapy. The answer to that question is going to depend a lot on where your child is on their therapy journey and your family’s goals and priorities. We always like to start these conversations with a reminder of what ABA is and what it is not. The main goal of your BCBA is to help your
The idea of reaching out to someone about an autism diagnosis can be very scary. Even if deep down it is clear that something isn’t quite right, putting a label on your child may feel intimidating or, even worse, like you did something wrong. Rest assured that isn’t the case. In fact, getting an autism diagnosis early is the best thing you can do because the earlier treatment starts, the more beneficial it is. Still, it can be
Independent play can be a game changer. Independent play time can allow for a little piece of time to do all the things we do as parents. And let’s face it, right now we all could use a free minute to focus on something other than entertaining our kids.
Behavior can affect the whole family. Sometimes the reasoning seems clear, but other times it can be confusing and frustrating. This weeks blog tackles the four functions of behavior. Learning how to spot the reason behind a behavior is the first step to change!
A Google Search for ABA Therapy provides a whole host of possible ABA providers and a handful of jargon filled blogs about what ABA is. It can be confusing. But it doesn’t have to be. Let’s break it down into some basic concepts. ABA stands for Applied Behavior Analysis- So, what does that mean? It means that we look at why a behavior is happening within the context of real life.
In ABA therapy, having parent involvement is key! We may be the experts in ABA, but parents are the experts in their children. That’s where parent training comes in! It’s not uncommon for a BCBA or RBT to recommend behavior interventions that worked in the clinic for parents to try out at home only to learn that they just aren’t feasible- for whatever reason! It wasn’t until I had a child of my own that I realized how closely we
Before starting with any ABA company, we encourage you to call your insurance and have them explain your benefits to you. The Helm ABA is an in-network provider with Aetna, Anthem, Baylor Scott and White, BCBS, Cigna, Healthsmart United Healthcare, and UMR. Knowing and understanding your benefits is important to your financial health as you search through which policies are best for your family. Here are some common terms you may come across. Coinsurance: the amount you pay to share the
The journey to beginning ABA therapy can be long. For us the journey usually starts with a phone call or email reaching out and asking about our program and whether we have any availability. But we know for you, the journey began long before when you first had concerns and brought them to your pediatrician. Our goal at The Helm is to help make that journey a little easier. We want to partner with you and be a team of
Whether you are new to ABA or a veteran, it doesn’t take long to realize that waitlists are a common occurrence in ABA. Just a few minutes of calling within your local community can reveal a list of awesome ABA companies who are “full” or working through a “waitlist.” What’s the deal? We all know that ABA has the potential to create huge gains in communication and behavior for children with autism, so why do we have to wait? Waitlists
