Update

I have once again had computer issues. Apparently the power supply is broken so my computer shuts down after a few minutes. I have borrowed an old laptop with a broken screen from my sister and hooked it up to my screen. It will get me by but I am used to a larger and faster system than this one. I think my career change has gone pretty well. I finished up a little over a week ago and am not missing the salon. It is great to not have to get salon ready every morning before I leave the house. I am making progress with both kids I work with, and both would like me to be available for more hours. I feel like I am getting comfortable enough to trust my instincts and put my stamp on their programs. C is the older of the two boys and has been doing ABA the longest. However I can see areas where he is definitely no further along than what A is. I feel like we should take a step back in his language program to make sure he is really absorbing the learning in a meaningful way, not just getting through the Data. We are trying to teach him sentences, when there are probably not 50 words that he uses spontaneously through the day. I am trying to tweak his program to involve more things and activities he would normally use in a day. Also I am not modelling words to him as much during data as he is echolaic and he is able to repeat back complete sentences without really retaining it. I think of it like trigonometry at school. I can't remember how any of it works, but I did well on all my tests. I learnt enough to get through exams and then promptly forgot it all because it had no relevance to me. Relevance is the most important thing in these programs I think. That is where the motivation comes from to overcome any sensory processing difficulties or what ever else they are struggling against. Where I struggle is in sounding animated enough all the time. I think I could sing the whole lesson though. With A it is easier for me to sound excited because I can see more of a reaction. He seems to make so much progress all the time too. He wants stuff. I told C's mum today, find out what he wants and then get in the way. I am doing two afternoon sessions with him. Usually the kids are more receptive in the morning and the sessions are shorter in the afternoon too. So I am going to try to get in the way more and do slightly less "school" on those days. His mum seems happy for me to make these changes to his plan to make the skills more functional. Both mums want to see their child capable of fitting into a normal school one day.
I will probably be adding one more child next year. She has Aspergers, so didn't have the same language delays as the two boys, but will need help with social skills and behaviour and certain tasks. It will be good to have both a girl and a different aspect to the ABA program. Well that's the update for now, just have to read everyone elses blogs to catch up on the stories.