#189: Early Intervention and Autism - Helping Kruz Find His Voice

Lisa is a BCBA and the mom of 3 boys, including Kruz. He is Lisa’s youngest child and has Autism Spectrum Disorder. You may be familiar with their journey as they share it with you through @CruisingWithKruz on Instagram.During our conversation, Lisa dives into the struggles that take place when it comes to advocating for a diagnosis and the other ones that pile on once you do get it! Waitlists can be excruciatingly long, not only for evaluations but for services too. That’s why it’s key to stay in communication with your team. It’s not easy once you enter services either. Lisa talks about the financial weight of high insurance premiums as well as high maximum out of pocket costs.Lisa shares Kruz’s progress in the last year and a half. He has participated in 25 hours a week of ABA, weekly speeches, and been involved with his family, friends, and community. A look at Kruz’s skills in January 2023 would show nonverbal communication and dangerous self-injurious behavior. Now his progress, reflected in June 2024, reveals conversational communication, a blossoming sense of humor, and critically reduced self-injurious behavior. With this great news,  they are able to target other needs and reduce the intensity of services.Parent education and training is something Lisa is very passionate about, as she heeds other parents advice to advocate, advocate, advocate. If you’re noticing a delay or have heightened concerns, do not wait! You will NEVER regret providing support and intervention. But you will regret losing time. Lisa is heading up our brand new parent portal that you can access with an ABA Speech Connection Membershi #autism #speectherapyWhat’s Inside:Kruz and family, their autism journey.Understanding what it takes to advocate and begin services and support.An update on progress January 2023 to June 2024.Parent Support: Join our parent portal!Mentioned In This Episode:CruisingWithKruz (@cruisingwithkruz) on InstagramCruising With KruzJoin us in the ABA SPEECH Connection for ParentsJoin us in the ABA SPEECH Connection for ProfessionalsRose Griffin (@abaspeechbyrose) on Instagram