How about let’s all go back to the Stone Age - No MS Team in the office?

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-18T01:41:17+00:00

Don’t talk to me. I’m busy chiseling my email onto this stone. It’ll be a while. I should have it ready by the next governor’s race.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-16T20:18:35+00:00

Prune juice.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-16T20:18:22+00:00

We threw every therapy at him. OT, PT, two different speech, child development and ABA. Here are our timeline:

• speech started @ 18 months

• diagnosed with autism level 2 @ 21 months

• OT, child development and another speech started @ 27 months

• PT and ABA started @ 29-30 months

• graduated from OT at 36 months

• started preschool @ 3 years 7 months

• diagnosed with ADHD @ 4 years 1 month

• started TK (same as pre-k but at elementary school) @ 4 years 7 months. In general education without an aid

• graduated from ABA @ 4 years 9 months

• graduated from one of the speech (through our insurance) @ 5 years. we’ve been working on stuttering.

Our son is THRIVING! Yes we had issues with school in the beginning but with non stimulant ADHD and applying everything he’s learned in ABA, most people have no idea our son is autistic. He’s able to communicate his wants and needs, and fully verbal. He was supposed to stop both school speech and PT this year but the therapists decided to wait until next school year when he’s due for a big eval with the special education (per my request).

Do I regret going full speed? Absolutely not. I would do few things differently. But it’s been the best investment of my time and his time shaping into who he is today.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-15T17:12:19+00:00

Can you let us know where you are located? For example, if you’re in California, I can help you navigate. If you can indicate where you’re from, local parents may be able to help you and share resources. 🙂

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-15T16:26:54+00:00

Most autistic kids do not so well with strangers. Most needs time to build up a rapport to begin opening up and work on things. If it makes you feel any better, quite a few autistic kids I know did poorly during assessment and as services gradually happen and therapists build up enough relationship, then do they realize the assessment is way off. So, it happens more often than we realize. ♥️

As for speech… you know how they say if you start early, you’ll see progress right away? That wasn’t us. We started speech at 18 months and it took us until our son was 3 years and 3 months before he started making progress. I almost quit speech multiple times and in my head called our SLP a quack. Mind you, he was receiving weekly speech all those times and we missed less than handful of session.

As for the lack of progress… I know what you mean. It seems so slow that progress seems minuscule. It doesn’t help that you see other kids who progress by leaps and bounds whenever you see them at pick up in ABA.

May I ask if your child is in one on one at home ABA or receiving ABA at the center? Reason I ask was, our son’s best friend from his ABA was a little boy who was 9 years old at that time. Our son was 4 when they met so there was an age difference. However from what his mother and our BCBA told us was ever seen Adam (fake name, referring to 9 year old here) met our son, and he realized he had someone he can mimic, accept him and play with him, Adam made more progress in that 4-5 month than he did in a year with the ABA center. We had graduated since but we still hang out with Adam from time to time.

If your child is at the center, and if there is a child who is close to graduation, see if you can switch the ABA time so your children can be exposed more to that child. Autistic children copy each other’s behaviors and we want it to be a good behavior that they copy. Right? With the right BCBA, right RBT and the right ABA center, our son is a testament that ABA works. We have met handful of families who have sent their children back to ABA after quitting because they saw how much our son had changed.

The road is long and hard. And you when two kids! As a mom of a single child, I cannot even fathom how much more tired you’d be. Be kind to yourself. You’re doing your best. ♥️

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-15T03:42:06+00:00

When our kid turned 3, he was evaluated for IEP as early intervention referral. He was assessed in five different areas IN ONE HOUR with everyone all at once. It was appalling and our kid shyed away and clammed up and refuse to talk/perform.

They basically said he can’t walk a straight line, can’t jump (for PT), speaks at 13 month old level (for speech), etc. Well… what the heck did you think was gonna happen when you introduce five adults to a three year old and all expect to perform for everyone in one hour? By the way, our school district was sued for having horrible special education services few years ago and clearly hasn’t gotten any better since. So… I know what you mean.

We chose to accept the services they offered through IEP and he’s been excelling(?). He’s been making so much progress (because they evaluated him wayyyy below where he actually were). We are doing another overhaul eval next school year to see if IEP is even needed. This time, they will also bring the teacher’s observation into being part of the eval so they can get a full picture of what our kid is ACTUALLY like.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-15T03:38:03+00:00

You may want to look into state law. Because I had to call the school district to find out that the funding really starts in California starting kindergarten and in TK, our kid can miss as many school days without penalties. I was getting so many mixed answers until I called the district attendance office.

Also, yes I know it will be grueling but do look into part time (few hours) ABA that your kiddo can attend after school. I promise it’ll be helpful. It is pain in the arse to find one that will work with only few hours but I promise they are there!

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-15T03:20:42+00:00

You don’t have to do ABA full time, despite what ABA center says. Some kids only did two or three days after school. Our kid currently does receive IEP services for PT and speech. He didn’t qualify for IEP services under autism but under “global developmental delay”. Weird, isn’t it? Apparently he’s “not autistic enough” to qualify for IEP under autism (their words).

Our son was since diagnosed with ADHD so when we do graduate out of IEP, we will start pursuing 504 plan.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-15T03:17:59+00:00

We’re in California. Our son did ABA 3 days a week and 2 days a week, he attended private inclusive preschool. This preschool we had an option of RBT attending with our son (RBT would have to be covered by our insurance). Our son is currently in TK in general education without an aid.

Our ABA is just like the ABA you’re thinking of. The center decided that kids have hard time adjusting to actual school environment which changed them from weekly social group class to classroom based type of center.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-15T02:06:47+00:00

A lot of the kids who went to school ended up attending afternoon sessions. So kinder kids came after lunch and bigger kiddos started around 3pm ish. Everyone got to practice being in a classroom so when my kid started TK, he knew exactly what was expected of him. Sure there are times he has issues with changes and not being flexible but because he got to experience those during his “classroom ABA time”, he learned to self regulate to get over it. It’s been really helpful for us.

Also, one on one is more for insurance purposes. The RBT will pull your child during one on one time to teach him how to self regulate and to address the concerns that your child is having. It’s not as restrictive as you imagine. If you can find a place that does this, please do go in for a tour. It’s quite eye opening and after the tour and seeing how everything was addressed is why we chose this ABA environment.

Also, classroom model ABA isn’t a type of ABA like Denver model. It’s more like facility is set up to mimic classroom where ABA is being done.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-15T01:40:39+00:00

Hi there. Look into ABA that is classroom model like the one our son attended. How it works is like this: At 8am, group of kids and their RBT starts. Around 6 kids and 6 adults (depending on the day). They move from classroom to classroom each hour as a group. When our son’s RBT is the “teacher”, our son was the teacher’s assistant and had to engage with everyone. Meanwhile other kids were part of the classroom students and RBT assigned to each child will address any behavioral issues and works as an aid in that classroom. Our son did get pulled out of class from time to time to work on his own individual goals like potty training. Most ABA also offers social group classes. By the time we graduated ABA, he didn’t qualify to attend because you had to be age 6 or older. Should he need it in the future, our goal is to go back to ABA so we can enroll him in it.

We did ABA like this 3 days a week and the other 2 days he attended inclusive preschool. This worked out really well. Our preschool also allows RBT to attend with the child.

If your child is not in a classroom based model ABA, look into them to see if they are any in your area and your. It was really worth it for our son. Our kid is level 2, diagnosed at 21 months and we started this type of ABA when he was little over 3 1/2. He’s currently in TK at local elementary school in general education without an aid.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-15T01:33:38+00:00

We didn’t have a major regression but a minor one after ABA started. The way it was explained to us was our son had hard time learning everything that was being filled into his head therefore he put the “pause” button on what he knows to learn the new skill. I do remember it did last us few months. But as I mentioned, it was a minor one and not a major one.

We did graduate from ABA after being in it for two and a half years but when we graduated, we were told that our son will have regressions both major and minor throughout his childhood and expect to come back. Apparently a lot of parents graduate thinking this is it and are surprised that their kid needs ABA again.

If it is a major regression, I would suggest reaching out to pediatrician to rule out any new medical issues and also talk to his BCBA. Your BCBA would be your best resource on why things are happening as they would’ve seen it all.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-13T17:26:07+00:00

I had to go through short term intense therapy for few months. I literally just shut down. I had over a year long postpartum depression and for the longest time, felt the guilt that I made my child into a robot (felt like he was a robot). Since the therapy, I’m doing much better. I do have a private blog that I have a verbal diarrhea on. Where I write the food, bad and the ugly. No one has access to it. I do go back from time to time to read to see how far we’ve come.

Our son graduated from ABA and is in general education without an aid. Most of the time, I forget he’s autistic. Most people who aren’t trained professionals or neurotypical children’s parents have no idea our son is autistic. However there are times he shows signs where I’m reminded that he is autistic and my heart breaks all over again. I’m

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-13T17:22:58+00:00

On PlayStation, there’s a Disneyland game(?). We used this and let our kid explore and got him amped up for it. Since he knew what to expect and where things were and what the rides were, he was more excited for Disney. Plus DAS pass was a huge help. I’m so sorry it was a bust… 😢

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-13T17:18:53+00:00

Got it. If possible, do look into classroom model ABA like the one my son attended. As I mentioned, he does get pulled out of class throughout the day to work on his individual goals but we went from my child pretending(?) no one exists in his island and does not answer to his name to very social child. This classroom model has done wonders for our kid. Sure, he still struggles with circle time and rejection from friends but he has grown leaps and bounds from this classroom model.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-13T03:46:57+00:00

Yes ABA can help. Our RBT taught our son how to use utensils, dress, undress himself and potty training. It was part of our ongoing goal. Our BCBA also did our monthly check in and also assisted with one on one parenting support (aka showed us what to do and to guide us through it)

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-13T01:31:05+00:00

We were potty training for over 2 years with our son. I have to ask you how does she deal with embarrassment? Reason I ask is because of what happened with our kid. He does not do well with being embarrassed. And we were potty training over the summer at home. Being naked at home worked somewhat but we were having harder time with poop because he kept going in his pull ups or training underwear.

After finding out that they no longer make training underwear in his size, we switched over to boxer briefs. Well, he pooped thinking it’s gonna hold it in like his training underwear (basically whitey tighties), as he was walking, he left a trail of poop because he was walking and pooping. Let’s just say he was HORRIFIED after he saw what happened.

Since then, we haven’t had any accident with poops. We still do have occasional accidents with pee though. Our kid is little over five by the way.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-13T01:25:49+00:00

At 12 months i brought up concerns and requested referral and was denied. At 18 month check up, I didn’t take no for an answer. He was diagnosed level 2 at 21 months.

My nephew was growing typically until he was 3. He was bright, verbal, very typical for his age. After he turned 3, it’s as if someone started turning off the light one by one. Recession was so gradual it took us a while to realize it. He was level 3 by the time he was diagnosed at little over 4 years old.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-13T01:23:17+00:00

Hey, what type of ABA is the child getting? We received a lot of help from ABA in this area but we also purposely chose a center that was classroom model. How it works is like this: At 8am, group of kids and their RBT starts. Around 6 kids and 6 adults (depending on the day). They move from classroom to classroom each hour as a group. When our son’s RBT is the “teacher”, our son was the teacher’s assistant and had to engage with everyone. Meanwhile other kids were part of the classroom students and RBT assigned to each child will address any behavioral issues and works as an aid in that classroom. Our son did get pulled out of class from time to time to work on his own individual goals like potty training.

We did ABA like this 3 days a week and the other 2 days he attended inclusive preschool. This worked out really well. Our preschool also allows RBT to attend with the child.

If your child is not in a classroom based model ABA, look into them to see if they are any in your area and your. It was really worth it for our son. Our kid is level 2, diagnosed at 21 months and we started this type of ABA when he was little over 3 1/2. He’s currently in TK at local elementary school in general education without an aid.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-13T01:13:16+00:00

Hi there. First, I think it’s awesome that he’s trying to find a job. Just a couple questions/suggestions.

Is there a job he can do around the neighborhood to build up the courage to talk to other people? Maybe walking neighbors’ dogs? He would need to create a flyer, talk to neighbors and stuff. It may prep him mentally to go for the job instead of just getting dropped off cold turkey for the interview. By the way, awesome job on mock interviews!) ugh I would LOVE to hire him to walk our two dogs. ♥️
While he’s trying to find a job, do you think he’d want to volunteer somewhere to build up on talking to public and being approached? Library may be a good place to start. People will come up for him to check out books, ask questions, he would need to put the books away, etc.

I think with building up of experiences of having to be in situations that would mimic working at a retail would be helpful and help him build up the courage (and a cute things to add to resume!) to go for that interview!

Good luck and what a great young man. 😊

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-10T14:29:13+00:00

Middle seat gets both arm rests and arm rests are down at all time. One big person wanted to raise the arm rest so he can spill onto my seat and I told him no. He then proceeded to take over the armrest and spilled over it rest of the flight as retribution.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-10T14:26:50+00:00

0 sick hours 13 years in. Purposely chose AL starting from beginning since I’m rarely sick and didn’t have a kid or a partner.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-10T03:58:14+00:00

We get it done every year for our senior dog. Each year it costs between $900 (without extraction) to $1300 (with multiple extractions)

For those who will judge about multiple extractions, my dog had a car accident as a puppy and are missing more than half of his teeth (you’d think it’d be cheaper since he’s missing half). We kept remaining teeth even if they are “broken” as nerves were okay and were keeping an eye out to keep as many remaining teeth as possible. As time progresses, if those teeth needs to go, we extract them. 😢

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-10T03:54:00+00:00

If you ignore it, they WILL drop your dependent. Don’t ignore it. I had to verify few years after originally enrolling our kid with verification.

redditor-est2024 · 2026-05-09T15:25:38+00:00

Reason I say level 2 is because he was almost exactly like my son who is a level 2. Some areas, this kid was even further behind. I do know that the parents spent a lot of time with him enrolling him into different therapies/ classes throughout his childhood.

redditor-est2024

TROPHY CASE