Floor Time Basics

I attended an eight part training for Floor Time that was attended by other parents, service coordinators and therapists. We learned the terminology, observed videotapes of sessions with children in various phases of Floor Time, participated in play sessions and made our own videotapes for presenting to the group.

Even though a few years back we had a Floor Time assessment from another agency, I honestly did not really comprehend what Floor Time was. I was under the impression that you play on the floor with the child following their lead.

Floor Time can be done at any time of the day in any type of situation. There were examples given in the class of using it while taking a child to school and making conversation in the car. Twenty minutes is all you need to have a successful Floor Time session with your child. Many families have the siblings take part in some or all of the sessions with Therapists.

Some agencies have Floor Time sessions at their location with the option of several rooms including a gym setting. Other organizations prefer to have the Therapists come to your home or even the child's school.

An assessment can take place in one or two parts. One being at the home or the agency with an observation and parent interview with the second part being the school observation and input from teacher or aide. This is what happened with the first assessment Matthew had elsewhere. I was not too happy with the feedback the teacher and aide gave. Pros and Cons of Assessments covers the first Floor Time assessment outcome.

DIR Model means = Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based approach. There are six developmental levels. These stages are:

1. Self-regulation and interest in the world (3+ months)

2. Forming relationships, attachment and engagement (intimacy) (5+ months)

3. Two-Way Communication (9+ months)

4. Complex Communication (12-18+ months)

5. Emotional Ideas (24-30+ months)

6. Emotional Thinking (34+ months)

For the last two sessions when the participants showed their video presentations we had a handout to check off which levels the child had achieved. These forms were given to each presenter to keep.

In your Floor Time Assessment the milestones achieved thus far should be listed with explanations. Children can be at different levels at various times of the day, and they can change week to week in therapy sessions. A child could also have partial achievement in one milestone, depending on certain issues that take place where the child may need help in self regulating.

Circles of communication start at the two way communication level with the opening and closing of these dialogue circles. This is possible for children who are nonverbal. A smile and eye contact can open or close a circle of communication. There may even be a goal for how many circles of communication the child can reach in a session.

The intimacy stage is being able to engage with other people in relationships. How does the child get along with siblings, relatives, classmates, therapists, etc.

Some of the following are examples in the observation chart we were given to check off the current rating (always, sometimes, never present or loses ability under stress) and age mastered for the six levels. There was also a sensory-motor profile for tactile (sense of touch), auditory (hearing)sensation, olfactory sensation (sense of smell), visual sensation (seeing), gustoatory sensation (sense of taste), vestibular sensation (sense of balance), muscle tone (strength and balance), coordination and reflex integration.

Self Regulation - recovers from distress within 20 minutes with help from you

Intimacy - protests and grows angry when frustrated

Two-way communication - responds to your gestures

Complex communication - uses imitation to deal with and recover from stress

Emotional Ideas - multiple gestures in a row

Emotional Thinking - uses pretend play that has a logical sequence of ideas

Tactile - seems irritable when held, prefers certain textures

Auditory - puts hands over ears in noisy settings, likes to make loud noises

Olfactory - reacts defensively to smell, ignores noxious odors

Visual - appear to turn away from bright light, discriminating colors

Gustoatory - eats non edible foods (PICA), all food tastes the same

Vestibular - seems fearful in space, likes to swing, enjoys being tossed in air

Muscle Tone - Seems active or restless, tires easily, prefers to lie on floor

Coordination - accident prone, bruises easily, consistent hand dominance

Reflex - slow to walk or sit, irritable in infancy, isolating head movements

Based on my presentation many of the forms mentioned that Matthew partially mastered the first two levels. His Floor Time Assessment states the same thing. Individual Differences covers the ways a child takes in the world in sights, sounds and touch. The nine senses mentioned are found in this part of the DIR component.

My notes mentioned a great way to understand the difference between hypo and hyper. The hyper does not need more stimulation, the hypo responsive needs more stimulation. A child that has been over stimulated by swinging on the swing might get sick. This happened to Matthew a few times at his OT sessions where I saw it coming, but the Therapist had no clue she was over doing it.

A hint I made note of for two of the milestones - 5 is the Emotional Ideas, creative use of ideas. This means children that can think outside of the box. For 6 in Emotional Thinking this is those kids who can answer the why questions in detail and have higher levels of abstract thinking.

In stage 4 a child should be able to attend 30-40 circles of communication. Circles are counted per activity and not per time. A child will have more emotions at stage 4 with complex circles. They can do symbolic play

Some tips for Floor Time for parents to make note of before applying techniques with your child - be at eye level, notice the same things your child is viewing, become animated (high affect), become a fun play partner, face the child and become part of the object the child is engaged with.

Matthew likes to lie on the bed under a blanket and shake legs on the bed. I make a game of like Simon Says and we start and stop stomping our legs in tune and he laughs a lot during this. He looks at me and smiles, opening circles of communication.

I sing songs in the car on the way to school and use his name in many of them. I say things like Yo Yo Mattie-O and repeat it several times. Matty is a silly boy, do da do da day hey! I use the high affect to keep his attention going and make the journey to school a pleasant one.

A child can take your hand and lead you to something they want and this is considered opening a circle of communication. Giving a hug or kiss is a circle of communication. If the child turns away from the conversation they have closed the circle.

The idea is to expand on what dialogue you may already have with the child and open up the lines of communication. Instead of asking how was school, get specific in your discussion. The key is to be persistent, show an interest in what they are dealing with or playing with. Explore feelings and encourage original thinking.

Floor Time can be music based or even OT based, depending on the needs of the child. The supervisor for Matthew will be an OT with the addition of Music at times per my request.

One of the handouts included a paper - Am I A Good Floor Timer? The questions to ponder are:

Do I observe the behavior, language, and gestures of the child?

Do I observe the style of relating?

Do I approach the child slowly, with respect and thoughtfulness?

How often do I let the child take the lead?

Do I let the child know through gestures, emotional tone and facial expressions that I am there for her?

Do I know when to be verbally responsive, and when it's better to quietly share a child's emotion?

Another issue that was brought up was for motor based challenges. The term crossing the mid-line was not something I had heard before. Topics in Occupational Therapy explains this phrase - " Crossing the midline, which relies on good bilateral coordination, means using part of one side of the body in the space of the other part. Some examples of crossing the midline include sitting cross-legged on the floor or drawing a horizontal line from one side of the paper to the other without switching the pencil to the other hand."I attended an eight part training for Floor Time that was attended by other parents, service coordinators and therapists. We learned the terminology, observed videotapes of sessions with children in various phases of Floor Time, participated in play sessions and made our own videotapes for presentating to the group.

Even though a few years back we had a Floor Time assessment from another agency, I honestly did not really comprehend what Floor Time was. I was under the impression that you play on the floor with the child following their lead.

Floor Time can be done at any time of the day in any type of situation. There were examples given in the class of using it while taking a child to school and making conversation in the car. Twenty minutes is all you need to have a successful Floor Time session with your child. Many families have the siblings take part in some or all of the sessions with Therapists.

Some agencies have Floor Time sessions at their location with the option of several rooms including a gym setting. Other organizations prefer to have the Therapists come to your home or even the child's school.

An assessment can take place in one or two parts. One being at the home or the agency with an observation and parent interview with the second part being the school observation and input from teacher or aide. This is what happened with the first assessment Matthew had elsewhere. I was not too happy with the feedback the teacher and aide gave. Pros and Cons of Assessments covers the first Floor Time assessment outcome.

DIR Model means = Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based approach. There are six developmental levels. These stages are:

1. Self-regulation and interest in the world (3+ months)

2. Forming relationships, attachment and engagement (intimacy) (5+ months)

3. Two-Way Communication (9+ months) 4. Complex Communication (12-18+ months) 5. Emotional Ideas (24-30+ months) 6. Emotional Thinking (34+ months) For the last two sessions when the participants showed their video presentations we had a handout to check off which levels the child had achieved. These forms were given to each presenter to keep. In your Floor Time Assessment the milestones achieved thus far should be listed with explanations. Children can be at different levels at various times of the day, and they can change week to week in therapy sessions. A child could also have partial achievement in one milestone, depending on certain issues that take place where the child may need help in self regulating. Circles of communication start at the two way communication level with the opening and closing of these dialogue circles. This is possible for children who are nonverbal. A smile and eye contact can open or close a circle of communication. There may even be a goal for how many circles of communication the child can reach in a session. The intimacy stage is being able to engage with other people in relationships. How does the child get along with siblings, relatives, classmates, therapists, etc. Some of the following are examples in the observation chart we were given to check off the current rating (always, sometimes, never present or loses ability under stress) and age mastered for the six levels. There was also a sensory-motor profile for tactile (sense of touch), auditory (hearing)sensation, olfactory sensation (sense of smell), visual sensation (seeing), gustoatory sensation (sense of taste), vestibular sensation (sense of balance), muscle tone (strength and balance), coordination and reflex integration. Self Regulation - recovers from distress within 20 minutes with help from you Intimacy - protests and grows angry when frustrated Two-way communication - responds to your gestures Complex communication - uses imitation to deal with and recover from stress Emotional Ideas - multiple gestures in a row Emotional Thinking - uses pretend play that has a logical sequence of ideas Tactile - seems irritable when held, prefers certain textures Auditory - puts hands over ears in noisy settings, likes to make loud noises Olfactory - reacts defensively to smell, ignores noxious odors Visual - appear to turn away from bright light, discriminating colors Gustoatory - eats non edible foods (PICA), all food tastes the same Vestibular - seems fearful in space, likes to swing, enjoys being tossed in air Muscle Tone - Seems active or restless, tires easily, prefers to lie on floor Coordination - accident prone, bruises easily, consistent hand dominance Reflex - slow to walk or sit, irritable in infancy, isolating head movements Based on my presentation many of the forms mentioned that Matthew partially mastered the first two levels. His Floor Time Assessment states the same thing. Individual Differences covers the ways a child takes in the world in sights, sounds and touch. The nine senses mentioned are found in this part of the DIR component. My notes mentioned a great way to understand the difference between hypo and hyper. The hyper does not need more stimulation, the hypo responsive needs more stimulation. A child that has been over stimulated by swinging on the swing might get sick. This happened to Matthew a few times at his OT sessions where I saw it coming, but the Therapist had no clue she was over doing it. A hint I made note of for two of the milestones - 5 is the Emotional Ideas, creative use of ideas. This means children that can think outside of the box. For 6 in Emotional Thinking this is those kids who can answer the why questions in detail and have higger levels of abstract thinking. In stage 4 a child should be able to attend 30-40 circles of communication. Circles are conted per activity and not per time. A child will have more emotions at stage 4 with complex circles. They can do symbolic play Some tips for Floor Time for parents to make note of before applying techniques with your child - be at eye level, notice the same things your child is viewing, become animated (high affect), become a fun play partner, face the child and become part of the object the chld is engaged with. Matthew likes to lie on the bed under a blanket and shake legs on the bed. I make a game of like Simon Says and we start and stop stomping our legs in tune and he laughs a lot during this. He looks at me and smiles, opening circles of communication. I sing songs in the car on the way to school and use his name in many of them. I say things like Yo Yo Mattie-O and repeat it several times. Matty is a silly boy, do da do da day hey! I use the high affect to keep his attention going and make the journey to school a pleasant one. A child can take your hand and lead you to something they want and this is considered opening a circle of communication. Giving a hug or kiss is a circle of communication. If the child turns away from the conversation they have closed the circle. The idea is to expand on what dialogue you may already have with the child and open up the lines of communication. Instead of asking how was school, get specific in your discussion. The key is to be persistent, show an interest in what they are dealing with or playing with. Explore feelings and encourage original thinking. Floor Time can be music based or even OT based, depending on the needs of the child. The supervisor for Matthew will be an OT with the addition of Music at times per my request. One of the handouts included a paper - Am I A Good Floor Timer? The questions to ponder are: Do I observe the behavior, language, and gestures of the child? Do I observe the style of relating? Do I approach the child slowly, with respect and thoughtfulness? How often do I let the child take the lead?

Do I let the child know through gestures, emotional tone and facial expressions that I am there for her?

Do I know when to be verbally responsive, and when it's better to quietly share a child's emotion?

Another issue that was brought up was for motor based challenges. The term crossing the mid-line was not something I had heard before. Topics in Occupational Therapy explains this phrase - " Crossing the midline, which relies on good bilateral coordination, means using part of one side of the body in the space of the other part. Some examples of crossing the midline include sitting cross-legged on the floor or drawing a horizontal line from one side of the paper to the other without switching the pencil to the other hand."

Look through assessments and reports to see if this term is ever used to describe your child and ask the Therapist their opinion. Another way to think of Floor Time is engaging in purposeful play with your child on the Autism Spectrum. During the assessment the Therapist took a book and walked around shaking it with Matthew following suit with him doing the same thing. He was quite interested to see someone doing the same thing as him in a quiet setting.

Circles of communication can be verbal, gestures, eye contact or a combination of these. A circle starts with one and closes with the other person. Motor planning is the ability to formulate the idea of an action, organize it, and then execute it. Proprioceptive is the sense of body awareness created by interpreting the information from the muscles and joints.

Receptive language - capacities involved in understanding the thoughts, feelings, desires, and needs of others. This includes the ability to interpret both verbal and nonverbal information from the muscles and joints.

Individual Program Plans for California Residents

If you are a resident of the State of California you are aware of the Regional Center through the Department of Developmental Services. "California's has 21 regional centers with more than 40 offices located throughout the state that serve individuals with developmental disabilities and their families."

There is an intake process that each consumer must go through before they are accepted as a consumer. They are assigned a Service Coordinator for their particular unit. This could start with Early Intervention and move into the School Age Unit and other units as the child gets older and becomes an Adult. For the child from 0-3 their plan is the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) before it becomes an Individual Program Plan (IPP). There is a transition at the age of 2.5 to prepare for the next phase and meetings for families to assist in this process. Matthew turned three at the end of June and the school services were set to commence in September. I did not want Matthew to have no program in place for the summer months, so I appealed and got him to continue in the Early Intervention Program through the summer so he would continue with his progress and therapies.

Families entering the Regional Center System want to know right away what services are available to them. There is no quick answer to this because each person has their own individual needs and issues. Plus there are a number of disabilities served by the Regional Center.

It also depends on which location you are served by and the actual diagnosis. Some offices do not count Asperger's Syndrome as an eligible diagnosis. Therefore parents try to get the diagnosis changed to access programs for their child. They might have to pay a fee for various services rendered based on these programs:

Parental Fee Program

Family Cost Participation Program

"There is a requirement for parents to share the cost of 24-hour out-of-home placements for children under age 18."

A child could be eligible based on the diagnosis of their sibling and obtain Early Intervention Services based on the risk of a disability. This is how my son Matthew accessed his Early Intervention Program. His first diagnosis through the Regional Center was ADHD and then seven months later another evaluation determined it was severe autism.

Both my children are consumers of the Regional Center and have the same Service Coordinator. There is a training and events department where consumers or their parents can receive training a certain number of times per year. Each location works differently, but most have seminars and support groups at their offices and families get invited to participate based on the age and disability of the consumer.

I have taken part in some training courses at other locations on Behavior and Support. I went to a few seminars on communication resources to learn what options there are. The Regional Center funded for me to attend a few autism conferences over the years as well. The most recent funding is the Stanley Greenspan Online Course set for April 25, 2008.

There are also emergency funds that help families that are low income with clothing vouchers to stores like JC Penney or a vendor who carries clothing for school and has backpacks. During the holidays there are companies that will adopt families and bring toys and food items to the homes of the consumers. There are also programs that have grocery store certificates for families at Thanksgiving and Christmas. They have parties at various offices and at the vendors locations for families.

Parents can sit on boards for the Regional Centers and volunteer at the offices. They also can work at the libraries and help set up at fairs and expos. There are fairs to share about social and leisure activities where families can learn more about these organizations. Employment Opportunities

Transportation Services is another option for families when they have no other means of getting to the therapy appointments. When our vehicle was out of service we received transportation through a taxi service where each week I had to call and request a pick up and then make sure they were at the clinic once our session was over. There were several instances where we waited a long time for a ride home and it was night and dark. This does happen if you have late afternoon appointments and the freeways here in Southern California are heavily traveled. It helps to always bring fidgets, food and drink for the appointments so everyone is occupied and not starving. You might want to bring homework also for the siblings while therapy is taking place.

Summer and winter camps are options through the Regional Center as well. You do need to look into these options early in the year due to waiting lists and the time it takes to get funding approved. If the school offers a similar program over the summer months you most likely will only get it partially funded. The summer camp my children attend runs for six weeks and they used to have Extended school year (ESY) through their respective schools for a three-week period that we declined. I apply through The Achievable Foundation for a grant to fund the autism summer camp.

Sports and recreation activities are services that can be added to the IPP. This would include baseball, wrestling, karate, bowling, swimming lessons and horse riding lessons. My children have no interest in sports so I have not pursued this further to see what exactly can be funded. I do know that Keen is a vendor.

Respite Services are for the parents to get a break and either have someone in the home from an agency watch the children while they go out for a meal, attend a workshop or see a movie. Another option is to have the respite worker in the home while you do some reading, computer work or just have an extra set of hands around.

The problems with the respite system is that the pay is very low and there are a lot of requirements for the workers to gain employment through the agencies that are vendored with each Regional Center. Trying to get the same worker each time is not an easy task. Depending on the severity and number of children in your household who are consumers, your hours will not be the same as other families. Some locations might still let you hire your own worker, but I think this has changed throughout the State. I have gone through many agencies with not much luck.

These services are changed on an annual basis with your IPP meeting at the home with the consumer and Service Coordinator. When you want to change a vendor you contact your worker with the request. They send an amendment that is signed by parent, service coordinator and the regional manager before it becomes effective.

This is the same policy for all therapies that are requested. The first step is an authorization for just the assessment. Once this is approved there is a time frame you need to get this done by. The vendor sends a report to the Regional Center that goes through the funding process. When this is approved the consumer receives another amendment with the dates the therapy is approved for, how often and where they take place. This is also contingent on an outcome that is listed on the form.

An example - IPP Amendment

Reason for Amendment - Additional Outcome Plan/Living

Outcome - To maintain consumer in the home family will receive respite care to alleviate the stress of raising a child with a disability.

Supports - Mother will receive 32 hrs/mo (sib rate) of agency respite thru XXX to maintain consumers at home from 11/1/07 - 10/31/08

Respite will be reviewed at least on a yearly basis and re-authorization will depend on outcome of providing relief to parent.

There have been times that I was not pleased with the assessment report for a therapy requested and did not pursue it further. Also a few years later we requested a therapy through another vendor and had better results. While receiving therapy services through a Regional Center vendor you can always request a change in therapists. We first changed vendors with Floor Time and then therapists at the second clinic.

My children each received a three month period of music therapy before they changed the rules to incorporate typical neighborhood children into sessions and we opted out. Nicholas had an adaptive skills trainer for a six month or one year period with Jay Nolan Services as the vendor.

Other services available for families include the following:

Parenting Skills Training

Supported Living

Speech Therapy

Physical Therapy

Behavior Management Training

Behavior Support

Classroom Aide

Genetic Counseling

Diagnostic Testing

Adult Day Activity and Training

Assistive Technology

After School Care

Lending Library

Mobility Training

Intensive Intervention Services

Extended Day, Year and Saturday Services

Childbirth Education and Preparation Services

Licensed Residential Facilities

The IPP Plan covers living, education/work, social/recreation and health. Consumers can get recommendations for dentists, therapists, support groups and also request their Service Coordinator to be part of the IEP team at school. If there is an incident at a vendor the Service Coordinator will have to visit the site to file a report and review their procedures. This happened many years ago when Nicholas burned his hand while they were cooking at summer camp.

The Regional Center will want copies of the IEP and obtain progress reports from vendors to determine continued therapy. They will also request physician records and want medical forms filled out. Consumers can have access to their files and have copies of documents for their own files.

I have taken part in studies that were done at the Regional Center offices and also a nurse visited once to see how the feeding was handled at home with Matthew. Many years ago when registered with a visitation network the counselors there faxed their reports to the Regional Center since I did not have a Lawyer and I wanted to know what was taking place during parent visits with the noncustodial father.

Regional Center workers also attend conferences, trainings and support groups and can pass along information they learn and obtain to consumers. Many Regional Center Service Coordinators and Managers are parents and relatives of those with developmental disabilities.

Emotions of Raising Autistic Teens

p>Most often there is no advance warning with the incident lasting under a minute. The lingering affects cause an occasional flinch when he gets in close proximity. I am referring to the times my son Matthew goes on the attack. I am the victim with the scars to prove I survived the latest behavior battle.

I do learn from each instance but they all take my breath away leaving me wondering how we got to this point. The last two were provoked by therapists that I allowed to work in my home to assist in the teaching of adaptive living skills. I know I need help in getting Matthew ready for the transitions into adulthood and living as independently as possible. Yet the very people we rely on do not seem to grasp the complexities of autism spectrum disorders and the challenges they face in their daily living.

Instead they come into our home telling us what we already know while we continually share the same sixteen year history that is on file and a waste of crucial therapy time. This last episode resulted with my face being pushed into the stove with his arm around my neck while three employees of this latest behavior agency stood by before one actually came to my rescue after I screamed for help.

The first meeting of the therapist also included the supervisor along with another therapist with no explanation on why she was here. No one bothered to inform me that there would be three of them. Maybe my household of three should show up at their office one day and invade their personal space for two hours.

The first session was meant to be observational on the three behaviors that were decided on from the behavior assessment. This meant watching Matthew eat to see that he gorges on food and walks around without sitting for the entire meal. The main behavior that is really an adaptive skill is the toilet training with the third skill transitioning from a bath to shower.

The supervisor stepped in the cat water bowl and soaked the whole floor. Due to their late arrival I postponed giving Matthew his night time medication by forty-five minutes, which also meant a later dinner hour. With three onlookers in my kitchen I opted for something quick in the microwave for Matthew while Nick and I had to wait until 8 PM for dinner.

Matthew reacted to the three strangers in the kitchen hovering over the table where his food was by lunging at me. I was near the stove so I ducked with my head down as he was pounding on me and scratching while in a choke hold.

The supervisor spent the entire two hours with a winter type coat and scarf wrapped around her neck. The other girl had on a coat as well with the male therapist in casual attire.

I lashed back at the supervisor by telling her she did not make us feel comfortable in our home by keeping her jacket and scarf on and not explaining things to Matthew. After that I left the room to compose myself. While in the living room Nicholas asked me if I was crying but it was too hard to even talk at that point.

I had such mixed feelings since I was still scared that Matthew might strike me while my arm was stinging from the scratches and my jaw was very sore. At this point I was upset with myself for leaving Matthew alone with them in the kitchen but if I had gone back in it would have been to kick them out of the house.

I did not like how she went on to tell Matthew what to do when I finally emerged. I thought I was going to curse her out when she asked me to give Matthew a bath so they could observe. I refused to put us through that ordeal and told her so. I felt like clapping when they finally left, but enjoyed seeing a skunk in my front yard and their reaction as they made their way outside.

Over the years we have endured a bevy of therapists that spew their future success of toilet training Matthew and getting him to speak before services are even rendered. I would rather they show compassion and common sense when it comes to dealing with young teens on the autism spectrum.

The only person Matthew appears to be scared of is his brother and he has a fear of dogs. This does not stop him from leaving through the back door to walk along the streets of Los Angeles in his pajamas before LAPD picks him up. I worry that he may be enjoying the attention or perhaps it is the ride in the squad car that he is craving.

When I see him sitting on his bed looking adrift I feel sad because we have no real means of communication to get to the core of his emotions and his thought process. Nicholas wonders what Matthew thinks about and sometimes says that could have been him as the nonverbal one.

Having grown up with a disabled sibling I was often told to think how my life would have been had I been the one born with a brain tumor and blind. For years I lived in a house where I was scared of my own Mother. I preferred staying out all night to prolong the beating I would get from a bad report card.

While I certainly do not want any of my kids to be scared of me, I also do not want to be in the position where I fear for my safety as a result of an attack by my son. In a few years time he will be finished with high school and transition into the adult population.

For now, I’ll continue searching for answers.

Screwed Over By Professionals

I have been thinking lately of how we as a family of two autistic teens have been treated by those professionals serving the disabled community. For nine years my son Nick attended the autism summer camp with Matthew being eight years. I start planning for camp early each year and due to this we do not sign up for Extended School Year , but that backfired this past summer.

A few years ago I read about a New Jersey Mom where the school her special needs child attended read and utilized her blog against her at the IEP. Because of this I have been lax in posting my true feelings about the camp issue this past year along with what happened with the behavior parent training a few years back through one agency and the clinic where Matt received Feeding and Floortime therapy.

But parents need to stick together and share both positive and negative experiences for others to glean from and determine what is the best resource for their kids. Quality control exists for a reason.

Camp abruptly was cancelled before the start of summer, but way after the deadline to sign up for ESY so Matthew had nothing for two months to keep his progress going and his decline was evident to his teacher at the start of this school year. Things he once was able to do had to be taught over. There were obvious deficits due to not having any services over the summer.

The camp ended their association with the State of California Regional Centers and proceeded to send the written exchanges they had to the families. I felt this was poor judgement to air their dirty laundry to the very people they serve. They basically left us hanging with nothing - there was not even a planned day for families to get together so the kids can see one another. After nine years this is how my son was treated and I felt it was unacceptable.

Over the course of the summer the Regional Center cut camps as a vendored option, leaving families scouring to find funding opportunities. Several weeks ago we started going to Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN LA) where we ran into a fellow camper that was in Nick's class for the previous two years.

For years I had been telling other parents and promoting online about the summer camp and now we are in the dark about what will happen next year. In talking to the other parent at the KEEN sessions she also did not get her daughter into ESY because of camp, but in spite of that her child still wants to go to camp next summer as does mine. It is a conflicting feeling and I wonder how they will contact parents in the coming year.

The Behavior parent training few years back was for a few months but the services were hardly professional. Since that experience the Regional Center has ceased doing business with that company, but after my calls to complain the so called therapist trashed me in the final report. This is why I hate assessments and reports.

The girl got the job from an ad on craigslist and tried to use her version of PECS with my nonverbal son Matthew. I explained to her that she was no speech therapist and to stick to the assessment plan. One session she brought a new therapist who had a low cut tank top on. I called the office to complain about their attire and the way the therapist conducted herself in my home.

The feeding therapy started years ago and went well for a long time until I requested the sessions to be at my kitchen where we needed the help. Matthew had no problems eating in their kitchens but the issues were here. There was never any organization to the sessions as the therapist would bring a piece of paper and never follow a plan or give me written directions. I asked many times to use foods that required a fork and spoon, but it was always foods that could be eaten by hand.

The visits to school were inconsistent and the same questions were asked each week. For months no one ever showed up and there was a huge gap in services offered. We were basically just left hanging and Matthew is back to eating limited foods.

I have run into the Occupational Therapist and Dietitian twice in the last year - once at a funeral and just last month they were presenters at a feeding seminar I attended. It is my belief that some professionals speak well on their topics and are good on paper, but fail in achieving success with the client.

I requested many times to get the copies of the videos they took of me and Matt, yet to this day nothing ever arrived in the mail. I wanted to see the progress and learn from these tapes, but they were too busy using them at their seminars to help other professionals instead of following through with their own clients. My son has suffered because of this.

The Floortime therapy was through the same clinic since we had a relationship with them, or so I thought. After a year at my home they stopped suddenly due to the therapist being allergic to cats and we had one from outside come inside. No one ever came again after that and just left my son in the midst of the progress with no help whatsoever.

It sure would be nice if the therapy remained consistent and the families received some guidance before it all ended. Thanks for nothing..