Autism Treatment Info Treatment Tips for Children with Autism, PDD & Asperger's Syndrome

1. Do you lose team members often?
   You want your team members to stay with you as long as possible. If they are leaving , you have to assess to know why. Look at:
   • Pay- you'll not keep anyone paying a low rate.
   • Career Goals- hiring too many therapists who don't plan to make ABA their lifes' calling is asking for high turnover.
   • Your Child- most therapists will stay with a child no matter the behavior IF the child and the therapist are paired positively together. Analyze the pairing your therapists and child maintain together. They should have a great time together.
   • You- oh, I hate to bring this one up. But are you nice to your team? You know, I'm impressed with how long therapists will stay on a team despite the parent, because the therapists love the child. But you CAN push them too far with mood swings, disrespecting them and causing them high anxiety. You need to review yourself if you have high turnover.
2. Are your therapists trained?- As your child moves through his program, you have to invest in training? Even seasoned therapists may need to learn new procedures for your child. You see, if your child is in an extended program, more than likely, he/she has a unique learning style as compared to children who complete their programs quickly. This is NOT a statement to depress you but help you understand WHY your team needs continual training. You must consider lack of training as a possible stumbling block in your program.
3. Are your therapists committed?- You know, when therapists are late, or skip sessions, the hours of therapy missed add up. Start keeping a record. You may find that too many times sessions are being canceled and your child is not getting the treatment you think he is.
4. Are you too close to a therapist on your team?- What I mean by this is that because of the personal nature of having an hurt child, it is natural to come to know your team members well. I suggest remaining professional but if you do become quite good friends, you may find you can not properly manage your therapist. The friendship is a barrier. Note: I do believe that if you have a fantastic therapist, you should keep them as long as you can. Your child comes first. I am also suggesting it is best to keep this relationship professional. Critical really.

I know managing individual team members is hard and when you have to do it long term, well, management is just that much harder.  Take an honest look at your team and ask your self some tough questions. You don't want to have to run a home program any longer than was necessary.  Believe me, on this one.

My heart is with you,

Katherine Lee