There are over 900 children currently waiting on speech and language therapy in Galway, despite constant appeals to government to provide further resources for autistic children in the West.

This shocking figure was released recently following a parliamentary question from Galway East TD Ulick Burke. The recent decision by the government to refuse to fund Applied Behavioural Analysis for autistic children in Ireland has caused outrage and concern among desperate parents, who believe that this treatment is the only way their children will be able to live an independent life. Their cause has been backed by local politicians including Deputy Burke, who took part in a parliament debate on the topic in Dublin last night.

Speaking to the Galway Independent, Deputy Burke blasted the actions of Minister for Education Mary Hanafin, saying that her beliefs were 'far from reality" and "riddled with errors". He said he had met with many Galway families who were frustrated and devastated at the actions of the government in relation to autism treatment.

"The Minister is saying that there are over 6000 personnel out their educating these children but these are Special Needs Assistants and are caring for but not educating the children. They are essentially saying that every child should be in the mainstream system. There is no research to back this up. There is 40 years of research to show the that just two years of ABA before a child enters school means that they have a 50 per cent chance of being able to take full advantage of mainstream education and live a full life," said Deputy Burke.

"One man I met told me about his son, who has been institutionalised since he was 17 because he didn't get the formative treatment he needed at a young age. He is sitting in a small room for up to 24 hours a day and he will be there for the rest of his life. The stories that you hear are absolutely heart-wrenching and something has to be done about it. All these parents want is what everyone other parent wants, for their child to happy, content and independent. It's just not good enough!"

"The Department of Education portrays parents fighting for ABA treatment for their children as petulant whingers who demand a Rolls Royce education for their children. How is anybody supposed to have confidence in a department with an attitude like that."

Comments (3) »

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written by Sharon, February 15, 2008

905 children waiting for speech therapy, is a disgrace. But what does this have to do with the over-hyped technique of ABA?

Ulick Burke says, "There is 40 years of research to show the that just two years of ABA before a child enters school means that they have a 50 per cent chance of being able to take full advantage of mainstream education and live a full life." This is nonsense. There is no evidence of such an outcome.

Worst of all, Burke tells of a 17 year old boy who is imprisoned "in a small room for up to 24 hours a day and he will be there for the rest of his life."
For what crime? Can I assume that Deputy Burke will be putting every effort into ensuring that this child is freed from that small room and given the supports and accommodations necessary to live a liberated life?

Autistic children do not need ABA. Good individualised education with appropriate staff and resources, together with the necessary level of speech and occupational therapy is what is needed.

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written by Sheelah, February 15, 2008

On what information do you base your statement Sharon? - Do you have a child/children with severe autism, who is/are non-verbal, have speech and communication difficulties as in receptive and expressive language disorder, with behavoural difficulties, sensory integration difficulties, hyperactivity, obsessive compulsive challenges, oppositional defiance disorder etc. etc. Have you ever visited an ABA placement? do you know what you are talking about? Some children and adults with autism do not need ABA and generally they don't seek it. However, there are some persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders who benefit greatly with this approach to meeting their needs.

In the past, and even currently, persons with the greater level of difficulty became psychiatric patients who spent/spend considerable periods of their lives medicated to a dysfunctional level and placed in psychiatric care for life or continue to live in a distressed state while endeavouring to cope with life - would you want that for your beautiful child or sibling or pupil (if you're a teacher) when there is an alternative out there that is proven to enhance educability and development of personal skills etc. -

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written by Sharon, February 15, 2008

Hello Sheelah. I have an autistic child. He is 7 and has very limited speech and various other difficulties associated with autism. He also has a number of strengths due to his autism. I investigated ABA as provided by LEAP when he was just 2, and discovered that they were drastically over selling the benefits and evidence for ABA, and that they probably would even take my son on as a research subject, since his IQ wouldn't have been high enough for them. I find it unethical that I would have been expected to pay for 'treatment' even if he had been taken on as a research subject. Moreover, I found the behaviourist approach to learning entirely counter to how my son learnt best, ie through his interests.

The evidence of ABA effectiveness is hugely overrated. There are many published papers, but as far as I know, there has been just one randomised control trial published, and it did not show significant improvements in social interaction or communication.

Much of the hype around ABA stems from a paper published 21 years ago by Lovaas, in which half of 20 autistic children were said to become 'indistinguishable from their peers' after receiving 40 hours per week of ABA for 2 years. The ABA used then depended on physical punishment, and the selection criteria for the children enrolled on the study was very strict; children with lower IQ measurements were excluded.

A recent UK study showed that children attending autism specific nurseries had the same outcomes as children engaged in intense behavioural intervention programmes. Autistic children deserve a good education. ABA is not a good way of teaching, and it is far from being the only way.

There are many reasons why some people end up in institutions and it is rarely due to the person themselves, but their family, society and other external factors.

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/

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