84. ABA Therapy Changed My Daughter's Life on the Spectrum with Sarah McClary
In this episode of Mother's Guide Through Autism, I speak to Sarah McClary, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with a daughter on the spectrum, about her emotional journey of receiving the autism diagnosis and finding hope from the remarkable progress her daughter made with ABA.
Sarah's daughter Leah was diagnosed with autism shortly after her third birthday after her pediatrician noticed some differences in her development.
Sarah described the day of the diagnosis as one of the hardest days of her life and recounts the emotional pain she experienced in the beginning of her autism parenting journey.
It was recommended that Leah have ABA therapy, and soon after she started, she made extraordinary progress in speech and communication.
After seeing remarkable changes in Leah, Sarah changed careers and became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
Sarah explains what ABA is and how it can help kids on the spectrum and addresses the controversy around ABA and the negative experiences some autistic adults say they had with the therapy in their childhood.
She hopes to change the view of ABA by providing compassionate and value-based care to her clients as a therapist because ABA has been life-changing for her daughter and she passionately believes that ABA therapy can make life easier for kids on the spectrum and their families.
She shares the lessons she learned on this journey and offers advice to mothers raising children with autism.
Enjoy!
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Brigitte talks about how to find hope on the autism parenting journey.