btw, I am one of the parents that has said "I wish I hadn't put my son in that classroom etc." And I know several other parents that have said that as well so I disagree with @A MyAutismTeam Member . There is good therapy and there's bad therapy. With my son, bad therapy makes him regress in behavior. And then it takes longer to recover him from the regression than the time it took for him to regress. So I would rather my son get NO therapy over BAD therapy. Now of course, I always want more good therapy. But as parents, we need to carefully evaluate all opportunities to determine if it will be good for our child.

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A MyAutis...

I think your BCBA should evaluate your daughter to find out if she has the prerequistes to benefit from social interations with typical peers. If she does not yet have the skills, then the experience will be frustrating and upsetting for everyone.... especially her. Most social programs start with a small group ( 1 to 3 peers) and gradually build to large group. Large group preschool can be chaotic so our kids need experience in the small group first.

We currently have 15 hours of ABA in our home every week. My 3.5 son is going to start pre-school this fall. Our plan is to keep the ABA in the mornings and he will attend school 4 afternoons a week Monday - Thursday for 3 hours each day. I was happy to find a preschool that does 4 days a week. He needs that routine and social experience.

I would never give up the ABA in lieu of pre-school but he DEFINITELY needs a lot of social interaction which he has had very little. I think this combination along with his speech therapy 2x a week and OT once a week (truly how many hours are there in a day?) will come together to give him the best treatment.

He also takes a gymnastics class which just started this week. I cannot tell you how many times that teacher yelled his name! He was like a monkey at the zoo that got loose. He does not stand in line correctly or wait his turn. He was so excited that he bounced around with ants in his pants and kept leaving his group. BUT it made me realize that he really needs to learn these social cues and rules. He needs school very much.

I say BOTH...I haven't ever heard anyone ever say "I wish I had her/him in LESS therapy/services"....but lots of regrets about not trying or taking advantage of something that was offered. She has an IEP so I assume you have discussed with the team what the best environment for her will be and the services she will get there? research shows 20-40 hrs of intervention (several different interventions, no longer just discrete trial) is "best practice"

My son is excelling in a regular pre-k ESE public school setting. He started at 3yrs old. He absolutely loves it. We also go every week to speech 2xs and OT 1x.a week. He also has an IEP and we use communication cards for his wants and needs. He also went to summer school. He is ready to go back. He loves his routine for school. He even rides the bus. I had debated to send him to ABA, but since he is doing so good in school, I'm scared to move him. Hope my experience helps you. Thanks for sharing weveryone.