Ask Dr. Doreen - Elopement - Processing Speed - ABA

6:15 Hi from Australia. Up late with my son on the spectrum that refuses to sleep at night. Help He is 11 and nonverbal 16:49 we are try to work on elopement issues with my little. for some reason separation anxiety is very high . he has eloped with his support person while i am at work thank fully he only made it out the door and was caught before he made it to our drive way. 4 x last month scary 25:04 My 4.5 yo ASD son is making progress (esp. cog., lang.), but still struggles w attention. He often gets stuck in his own mind (thinking about things or whispering under his breath)& doesn't tune in. When he does tune in, he can answer questions (including some how and why) and do simple math/reading and talks mostly in full sentences with decent grammar. He doesn't really stim (other than a little vocal stimming), so I think he needs this "in his head" time to decompress. But he also needs attention for school. Will this improve in time? How do I help? I think he may have some slow processing speed, but the reason I don't think that is all of it is sometimes he answers pretty quick, and other times (when he's tuned out) its VERY slow (or not at all) 40:31 Do you recommend taking a break from therapy? Aiden has been in therapies. We're taking a break from OT. Aiden seems to be more frustrated lately. I don't want to take a break from ABA or speech. Since OT is only 30 minutes I feel like the therapist just wants to get things done Definitely not enough high reinforcement 47:45 There are children's hospitals that do this now. It's called "episodes of care". I hate it. They force families to take breaks. 52:42 My son was diagnosed with Social Communication Disorders (SCD) at 2 years old and after that we begin therapy: sensory integration, speech therapy, occupational therapy, floor time, behavior therapy (not ABA), playgroup with shadow teacher (only 2 months). He can mention words, animal, vegetable, fruit (tach) at 2 years 9 months old. But, since he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) at 2 years 10 months old, we start begin with ABA therapy at 3 years old. For starter, 20 hours a week (home ABA), now we increase to 30 hours a week but with the different center ABA therapy (ABA verbal behavior) and we plan to increase the hours by joining the third center (in Jakarta there is a maximum hours per week therapy in one single center). Now at 3 years 3 months, he can mention more functional words, tach, and mand (he want milk, he want his mom accompany him, he want to sleep etc., not so much). No aggressive or challenging behavior problems. He is a sweet boy who can hug his dad or mom or grandpa, know his name and how old is he. Also, ABA therapy has increase his eye contact. We also done biomedical therapy: antifungal for his yeast overgrowth, planning diet, and MB12 shots. My questions are: is it right to join 3 centers therapy (one in home service ABA, and two in the centers with ABA/VB directed by BCBA) and what is your opinion about ABLLS and ABA/verbal behavior because the centers use these two methods for assessment and therapy? And last, the pediatrician gives my son risperidone (little dose daily) although he not shows any challenging or aggressive behavior, is it right? 57:01 Whenever I try to bring up medication, I feel like I get judged by doctors. What are your thoughts on adding vitamin b12, b6 to his diet? will this help? My child has been doing ABA for about 3 years now. He is 6 years old. He says BAH and papa which is great and I encourage him. But I wonder if medication can help him focus and encourage speech. 1:03:15 On the show this week #AskDrDoreen #Autism #AutismPodcast https://www.autismnetwork.com/category/ask-dr-doreen/ https://www.tiktok.com/@askdrdoreen? Link Tree https://linktr.ee/AutismLive Pre-Order the book written by the host of Autism Live, Shannon Penrod! https://www.amazon.com/Autism-Parent-Sanity-Saving-Spectrum/dp/1949177858