Middle Georgia Board Certified Advocate in Special Education (non-lawyer)

[Darcy]

Hello,

 

I'm a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Board Certified Advocate in Special Education through National Association of Special Education Teachers (naset.org). I provide training and advocacy for getting services and troubleshooting difficulties. I began this journey because so many of my clients were having difficulties getting the the schools around here to provide support for their children. Call my office at 47-313-5093 or reach out through my company's website at: abaunlimitedllc.com .

 

Darcy

[D.W.]

I have a question about ABA and dyslexia. Is ABA ever considered for Dyslexic students? Or is something like dysgraphia better suited for occupational therapy? 

Also do you see a benefit of ABA offered in school or by a pediatrician? 

[Darcy]

Hi D.W.,

ABA can be for anyone with or without a diagnosis. It's focus is on how people learn, so there aren't specific interventions for any diagnosis. There are some learning differences in the brain that cause dyslexsia but the principals of reinforcement and breaking down the task into smaller parts that are easier to learn. There isn't anything in ABA that will treat the underlying cause of dyslexsia so the strategies by a speech language pathologist would be best; SLPs use ABA too(!) through reinforcement, breaking down the tasks, creating supports, etc. I don't work with dyslexia so I can't really tell you what anyone would do for it or if an SLP or OT would be better but I've only heard of SLPs working on dyslexia. 

I've never heard of a pediatrician providing ABA. ABA should be provided by a BCBA and is similar across all settings as the principals of learning are the same no matter what the setting is. Where I see the difference is that ABA offered privately (and paid by insurance) is only allowed to work on "medically necessary" skills whereas schools are allowed to work on educational skills to include adaptive daily living skills. I wouldn't say one is better than the other but that they often target different skills.

Please let me know if you have any other questions! Hopefully I answered 

[D.W.]

On 11/8/2022 at 3:07 PM, Darcy said:

Hi D.W.,

ABA can be for anyone with or without a diagnosis. It's focus is on how people learn, so there aren't specific interventions for any diagnosis. There are some learning differences in the brain that cause dyslexsia but the principals of reinforcement and breaking down the task into smaller parts that are easier to learn. There isn't anything in ABA that will treat the underlying cause of dyslexsia so the strategies by a speech language pathologist would be best; SLPs use ABA too(!) through reinforcement, breaking down the tasks, creating supports, etc. I don't work with dyslexia so I can't really tell you what anyone would do for it or if an SLP or OT would be better but I've only heard of SLPs working on dyslexia. 

I've never heard of a pediatrician providing ABA. ABA should be provided by a BCBA and is similar across all settings as the principals of learning are the same no matter what the setting is. Where I see the difference is that ABA offered privately (and paid by insurance) is only allowed to work on "medically necessary" skills whereas schools are allowed to work on educational skills to include adaptive daily living skills. I wouldn't say one is better than the other but that they often target different skills.

Please let me know if you have any other questions! Hopefully I answered 

Thank you! Sorry I meant my local pediatrician works with referrals and has an attached office that offers ABA services. 

My daughter's school has a behavioral analyst on staff and is the person training general education teachers ABA techniques. 

I see a lot of controversy around Aba online from autistic adults who said they didn't benefit from the experience. I also see famous autistic adults like temple grandin say it's useful if customized to the patient. 

So I'm just trying to better understand how ABA can help all students. Your answer has helped me understand. 

[Darcy]

7 minutes ago, D.W. said:

Thank you! Sorry I meant my local pediatrician works with referrals and has an attached office that offers ABA services. 

My daughter's school has a behavioral analyst on staff and is the person training general education teachers ABA techniques. 

I see a lot of controversy around Aba online from autistic adults who said they didn't benefit from the experience. I also see famous autistic adults like temple grandin say it's useful if customized to the patient. 

So I'm just trying to better understand how ABA can help all students. Your answer has helped me understand. 

Oh! Ok, here is a page on ABA:

https://www.attainaba.com/aba-blog-archives/beginners-guide-for-parents/

I'm working on a parent's course on ABA. When I'm done, I'll invite you to watch it!

[D.W.]

1 hour ago, Darcy said:

Oh! Ok, here is a page on ABA:

https://www.attainaba.com/aba-blog-archives/beginners-guide-for-parents/

I'm working on a parent's course on ABA. When I'm done, I'll invite you to watch it!

Thank you ,