the program...

In 2003 there were only a few programs supported by the school district, the one we were lucky enough to get was the Lovaas program through UCLA, it was also the one program that showed actual data of children showing signs of recovery...we knew this was the program for us! I remember meeting some of their consultants and other families for an orientation about the program, and I remember meeting a little boy around 10 yrs old (Hunter's age today) - hoping one day he would be doing as well as that little boy, he seemed remarkable and it was hard to tell that he had Autism. I also remember them asking Hunter questions like shapes, he knew all his shapes, he recited the alphabet, counted to who knows what number and was able to say his name and age when asked. They were very impressed and said Hunter would do great with ABA, they said he already had so much going into the program, plus we found out that he had an extremely high IQ for a child with Autism which was another positive. So, Hunter would be going to school from 9-12, come home eat lunch, do an ABA session from 1-3 and sometimes another one from 4-6 on Monday's  through Friday's. He would also do at least one 3 hour session on Saturday and sometimes another one on Sunday. He was a very busy little guy, working harder than anyone I knew, and I soon became what M likes to call "principal to a one pupil school" making sure I digested everything that was taught to him on a daily basis so we could both apply it to his everyday life outside of programming and school.