Spectrum Perspectives

When a child is first diagnosed with Autism, the first thing parents are told to do is to get their kids into ABA therapy. But when they look on-line they start to get confused about what it is, find conflicting reviews, and get scared. So what is ABA, and what is it NOT, and what's the controversy? Let's talk about it.

Group discussion about ABA Therapy. Alexandra has twin boys who are non-speaking and use Spelling to communicate. She has had bad experiences with ABA therapy where both her boys were restrained several times at school. The problem is, the school refused to allow them to use their preferred method of communication, which upset the boys. ABA only deals with "behaviors" but does not get to the CAUSE...

Lisa's son has the typical story, multiple ear infections and a regression and gut issues. When he was in a school that used strict ABA he was injured after being held down for over 3 hours. He now has PTSD and needed to go through trauma therapy. She now is starting the Spectrum Tech Trade School and Village to help you adults fund employment. She says "Don't listen to anyone who says your kid ca...

Andrew is a Child Development Specialist who has been working in the field of Autism for over 30 years. We discuss the past, present and future of teaching methods and therapies typically used, including the use of ABA Therapy. Andrew says we need to take a look at the “System”, what works and what doesn’t, be open to change and ways to improve the way things are being done.

In Part 2 of our interview, Cindy and Amanda discuss how the diagnosis of autism has changed over time. We have heard people use the words “Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3”, and Mild, Moderate, Severe and Profound Autism. But now it all seems to be under the same umbrella term of “autism”, and we no longer can use the word “Asperger’s Syndrome”. Amanda believes too much attention is paid publicly to...

Amanda is the mom of a 5 year old son with Autism. She says Nick had almost 50 words when he turned 2, and within months he regressed to only saying 5 words. He also began to lose his receptive understanding of language as well. Most of his speech is called “Scripting”, where he repeats lines he hears on TV or music lyrics. So even though he can speak, he doesn’t really understand what he is sayin...

Dr. Mark is a Naturopathic Doctor runs the Functional Medical Institute in Tulsa, OK. They look for the upstream causes of illness by looking at their genetics, diet, sleep, stress and movement. Their mission statement is to provide a pathway to healing by making lifestyle changes, rather than just treating symptoms. He is also an author and movie producer. We discuss the changes to our bodies ove...

Dr. Mark is a Naturopathic Doctor runs the Functional Medical Institute in Tulsa, OK. They look for the upstream causes of illness by looking at their genetics, diet, sleep, stress and movement. Their mission statement is to provide a pathway to healing by making lifestyle changes, rather than just treating symptoms. He is also an author and movie producer. We discuss the changes to our bodies ove...

As a doctor, Dr. Abend was surprised to find that when he tried to take his own son to other doctors, they refused to see him because he was autistic. So, when he started a Special Needs sports clinic in his town, he began to invite medical students to help out in order to integrate them into being comfortable with kids with Special Needs. He also started the “Autism Think Tank” where doctors from...

As a doctor, Dr. Abend was surprised to find that when he tried to take his own son to other doctors, they refused to see him because he was autistic. So, when he started a Special Needs sports clinic in his town, he began to invite medical students to help out in order to integrate them into being comfortable with kids with Special Needs. He also started the “Autism Think Tank” where doctors from...