Charity Auction

Octocon is very pleased to be supporting Achieve ABA through our charity auction this year!

ACHIEVE ABA (School for Children with Autism)

Achieve ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis) has evolved by the coming together of six sets of parents with two main things in common; firstly we all have a child diagnosed with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) and secondly, we are all desperate to give our child the best possible chance of leading a fulfilled and independent life.

As a parent to have your child diagnosed with ‘special needs’ and as in our case ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder), it is an extremely traumatic experience. We do not expect everyone to understand what we are going through, because it is only when autism arrives at your doorstep that you can fully comprehend the devastating effect it can have on you and your family.

As individual parents, we have all exhausted a huge amount of time and energy into trying to source the best possible educational intervention for our children which we are 100% convinced is Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), and even though we have gone through this process in many different ways, the end result has been the same for all of us.

The most stressful experience that you can have as a parent is to know that your child needs help and that help is out there in the form of ABA, but you cannot access it. That is the situation that all six parents have experienced. There are not enough ABA schools and of the few that are in Dublin, the waiting lists are very extensive, and it is because of this statistic, we have had no alternative but to start up our own ABA school (Achieve ABA), situated in St. Colmcille’s, Donaghmede, which we are proud to say opened its school doors in April 2006.

As parents, we have all seen improvements in our children since they have started in Achieve ABA and we are determined to keep our school doors opened.

This is why we are delighted to be chosen as your charity of choice. Your support will help us achieve our goal, that being to keep our school opened indefinitely. In the event of this happening, it is not only our children but many more children that will benefit from Achieve ABA, School for Children with Autism.

ACHIEVE ABA (School for Children with Autism)

Currently the cost of running Achieve ABA is approximately €250,000 per year, and

50% of this cost is financed by fundraising. As you can imagine this is a huge undertaking for just six sets of parents, but thankfully to date, we have been very successful in achieving our goals.

All monies received go towards the running costs of the school. At present, Achieve ABA currently employs our Director of Education, six tutors, a Speech & Language Therapist (part-time) and an Occupational Therapist (part-time).

Who Benefits Most from Achieve ABA:

All parties involved: The children, the parents and the State.

All parents try to give their children the best chance of survival, by equipping them with the skills they need to make their way in life. The greatest gift we can offer anyone who is 'stuck' is the chance to develop attributes like speech, the ability to think, to function socially etc. The person with autism does not have these, but that does not mean he cannot develop them. Such development we believe can only be achieved through intensive therapy - which ABA attempts to provide.

Since we opened Achieve ABA, our children are getting structured tuition, they have the benefit of a social environment and above all they are getting the desired number of hours of intense one on one intervention, and if they were to go on and please God they will go on to live a fulfilled and independent life. If this were to be achieved the savings to the State would be considerable.

What is Autistic Spectrum Disorder (A.S.D.)

Autism is a serious developmental neurological disorder, marked by severe difficulties in communication and forming relationships with people. The first signs of autism usually appear as developmental delays before the age of 3. Autism is described as a 'spectrum' disorder. This means that the symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations and can range from mild to severe.

Children with autism can have severe difficulties in communication and forming relationships with people, in developing language and in using abstract concepts. Characteristics include repetitive and limited patterns of behaviour and obsessive resistance to tiny changes in familiar surroundings or routines. Two children with the same diagnosis can act very differently from one another and have varying skills. Reality to an autistic person is a confusing, interacting mass of events, people, places, sounds and sights. There seems to be no clear boundaries, order or meaning to anything. A large part of life is spent just trying to work out the pattern behind everything.

What is Applied Behaviour Analysis (A.B.A).

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) has been shown through extensive research to be effective when applied to individuals with autism. The structured approach incorporated in ABA intervention involves breaking down skills into small discrete tasks, the teaching of which occurs in a highly structured environment. Differential reinforcement is the crucial element of successful implementation. Here the therapist reinforces/rewards positive behaviours and ignores or re-directs negative behaviours. This results in the child learning appropriate behaviours in a structured environment. These behaviours are then generalised in natural settings.

Another essential element of ABA is that in the initial stages, the teaching procedures take place on a one-to-one basis with the therapist, in a distraction free environment. Over a period of time, distracters are brought into the environment to create a more natural environment.

The aim of the one-to-one instruction is to teach the range of functional skills required for the classroom or the community. Basic attention and social skills are taught from the beginning in preparation for the transition to mainstream. In addition, opportunities are developed to enable the children to practice through observational learning with a regular peer group.

The application of ABA varies for each child according to his or her individual differences, and therefore what applies to one child might not have the same impact for another. ABA intervention focuses on teaching basic imitative and self-help skills, and then builds on these skills to teach communication, play, academic skills and social skills.

Early and intensive intervention using the ABA techniques can result in dramatic improvements for children with autism. Behavioural intervention has been demonstrated to be effective for all children with autism. Research indicates that the earlier the teaching begins, then the higher the likelihood of favourable outcomes.

The intensity of the training results from the duration of the training, which is usually recommended to be around 30-40 hours per week.

Achieve ABA Ltd., (School for Children with Autism), c/o St. Colmcille’s National School,

Newbrook Road, Donaghmede, Dublin 13.

Reg No: 415679. Registered Charity No: CHY 17066

Directors: I. Talbot, D. O’Mahony, L. Gallagher, S. Murnane, J.O’Hanlon