Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)

    Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is a behaviour therapy consisting in a gradual, mechanical, rigid at first, assimilation of certain behaviours, gestures, activities, which once generalized become normal, as well as the elimination of those specific to autism.

The ABA therapy is not “officially” admitted in Romania. Usually, the experienced people, the tutors (who are mostly students or bachelors in psychology and psycho-pedagogy and also speech specialists or psychologists with experience) have got the experience by working with our children since a few years ago when ABA became known. Some of them who have worked for a long period of time and have had remarkable achievements, had the “opportunity” to be “trained” abroad, where they got a “legal” diploma. In most cases they become supervisors, the very persons we need (tutors and parents) in order to be coordinated and who can pursue our evolution, who can give us advice, advice that become results by therapy. That is why supervising is very important, because the person that supervises has a great “moral” responsibility. We don’t have supervising for Bianca and Sabina yet, but we have understood its importance and we do our best to succeed in getting it.

    There are, in our country, experienced supervisors, but they are a few compared to the great number of autistic children. Experience is achieved after years of therapy, exchange of experience with people in/and outside of our country (seminars, congresses, work in specialized centres, etc) and is seen in the results they had with these “special” children. Both tutors and supervisors are hard to find, and especially tutors (because they have the hardest work), the people who work with our children 4-6-8 hours a day. The tutors (students, psychologists, speech specialists) should be around 3,4 max for a child. When “hiring” them (because the only legal “link” is the child, no paper is drawn up) one should ask for references about their experience. The most concrete proof is recommended to get in touch with these families because a tutor ussually works for more families at a time. It is recommended to have our eyes wide open when we choose the persons we entrust our children to. It is true that we have been lucky, but we have heard about some cases and it is a pity for these children not to have a good start, especially because time is very precious and mistakes are very expensive. On the other hand we as families should be trusted by our tutors. We should offer what we demand: respect.

    Once the tutors found , the period of pre-therapy begins. It usually lasts for 2-3 weeks (it depends on the child) and in this period our children and the tutors get to know each other…The tutors find out what the children like, what frustrates them, they observe the children in various environments and states and get information necessary to elaborate the programmes of therapy. Usually a starting point is the cognitive evaluation made before the therapy begins, and it is a standard for the future evaluations in order to be able “to quantify” the results. But this cognitive standard is not always the most important. For instance: if a 5-6 year old child does math exercises for the second grade, and from the social point of view he has great deficiencies, then he is not fully recuperated and this is not the target, but the symbiosis between all the aspects: socialization, language, self-help, cognitive and motor aspects. But this mainly depends on the team (tutors, supervisors and parents) but also on each child’s abilities. A good tutor is that who permanently learns from his own experience as well as from others, who knows to mould himself on the child’s needs, to be flexible not limited in the application of the therapy (the ABA rules are strict and clear, but I mean the manner in which they are applied) to know how to work in a team, to accept and assimilate criticism and advice, not to be conceited, to be serious, to stick to the established programme and, especially, to be patient.

    I do believe that not anyone can be a tutor, but only those persons who really like what they do, who love children and are fully involved. Usually such persons don’t have a social life for a long period of time because they are dedicated to their work. But on the other side they are rewarded by the fact that they have decisively helped to the recuperation of children, that they have offered them the best start in life, children who otherwise wouldn’t have had great chances, and at the same time they contributed to our recuperation as parents. I personally want to thank these special persons for their devotion, their patience, their seriousness and especially for their time. Let’s not forget that they are not legally hired (and it is a risk especially for the future, but maybe one day ABA will be acknowledged in the way it is practised) and sometimes they are not paid to their real value …we sometimes know that… but our possibilities as parents are limitted.

    When the therapy starts our life changes… to good. It is the same as when you have a child for the first time in your life. At least I felt that way.

    The tutors become family. Your personal life changes sometimes you have the feeling it is no longer yours: job, therapy, tutors, ABA, autism, household chores, taking the children to the park, to play, and treating them as any child of their age, invoices, instalments, life goes on! At first it seems odd: some strangers in your house, people you trust totally and in whose hands you give your most precious asset: your child. But in time they become part of your family: they are the people who can give you best advice when it comes to your child. Although only 8 months of therapy have past, they seemed years to me…

    In this period of therapy the target is the accumulation of knowledge according to the programmes of intervention established (in many cases the child is taught almost everything from the beginning) as well as their generalization, the diminution of improper behaviour and the development of the scarce ones.

    The final stage of therapy consists in socialization: kindergarten, school, society in general. Our obligation as parents is to do our best in order to apply this theory constantly and as proper as possible: to be consistent. I wish a lot of patience to all who read these lines and find themselves in a situation similar to ours. I ask them to have hope no matter the situation of their child, to try everything for their children because I know that most times it seems and it really is very, very difficult, but this is our only weapon. All the forms of autism are recoverable! Don’t despair! Let’s try to have more faith in ourselves and help each other in any way we can! I must admit that the achievements of my daughters, Bianca and Sabina, made me go on, gave me courage to hope for a future for them to be as they should be, made me stronger as I have never thought I would be: “ Where there is no road, built one!”. There is hope for everybody!

Versiune în Română

Donate