We are starting ABA therapy (Applied Behavior Analysis) with Bree this month. Basically, Bree’s therapists will be working with her to help decrease her go-to response of screaming and replacing it with a more desirable behavior. First, they have to figure out what type of reaction her screaming is (reactive, escape or avoidance, attention seeking, etc.) and try to reproduce the triggers that cause her to have the behavior. Then they will work, with positive reinforcement, to replace those behaviors with something that is healthier. ABA is a common therapy for individuals with autism.
In addition to working on reducing her screaming, they will also be working on social skills with adults and other children. Bree currently does not respond to greetings (“Hi” or “Bye”) and often doesn’t respond to questions from others (“How old are you?” or “What is your name?”). They are also working on answering in an appropriate volume. Bree has a tendency to whisper answers or just point with her finger to answer questions with people or situations she is familiar with, such as therapeutic riding or preschool. For instance, she is supposed to tell her horse, “Walk on”, when she is ready to start riding and she will only whisper the command.
She will be receiving about 8.5 hours of this therapy per week. Add a 20 minute commute each way to drop off and pick her up plus her 10 hours in preschool, and our weeks are pretty busy now. So we dropped her Social Skills Class, much to my dismay. But I know it was the right decision and she will learn those same skills at ABA.
She both enjoys and has a rough time at ABA. She enjoys going because they play a lot. But it is also a lot of work. As they work to trigger the behavior so they can work on more positive responses, it causes her distress. For instance, at home she screams if anyone uses a My Little Pony cup (even if she also has a MLP cup) or if someone mentions that she likes My Little Pony (as she thinks only SHE can like MLP). So they are doing similar things in therapy and will try to work on better behaviors and positive reinforcement. They also have been able to get her to say “Bye” when we leave, with prompting, but it is progress!
Greg and I are excited and hopeful to watch her mature and grow in her abilities.