I just want to say I really like this thread. Here in the FL panhandle we don't have a lot of services available and I have had to learn to do it myself. I have purchased floortime instructional videos, read ABA manuals, and of course read everything I could find on the internet. My DS is 5 and in Kindergarten this year. Since he was 18 months old we have done speech/OT, EI with gymboree play classes and music classes, and then preK (ESE/VE), and 2 years of 6 week summer camps which are the only experiences he has had with ABA. We have made our own visual aids, power points, home-made video modeling, you name it. Our homemade approach has basically been an in-your-face mix of whatever works.
There are only a couple of ABA therapists here. You either have to be on medicaid or rich to afford them. We were told it would be covered by Tricare, only to find out its only for ACTIVE duty military, NOT people who have given the country 20 years and then retired.
He is just now to the point where there are services being offered specifically for what I think he needs. He is in an ESE class where he is (I think) the only one with autism. He gets pulled out by the autism teacher 2x a day to get extra help in language skills and she is doing some ABA based work with him. Its working very nicely because he is getting the social interaction he needs in the ESE class, and the specialized attention in the autism class.
My husband graduates from college in December and will be looking for a job as a middle school math and/or science teacher. I'm scared to death we will have to move and I'll have to start all over trying to figure out whats best for our little guy. The entire panhandle has a hiring freeze because of budget cuts.
So its nice to hear what works for everyone else's kids, and who is happy with their services...please keep it coming!