Instructor's experience inspires new autism therapy degree program at Capilano College
NORTH VANCOUVER, Jan. 10 - Ellen Domm knows intimately how
thousands of families in B.C. suffer due to a scarcity of qualified
professionals to treat children with autism and related developmental
disorders such as Asperger's syndrome.
And the Capilano psychology instructor hopes a unique applied behavior
analysis (ABA) bachelor's degree program inspired by her family's experience,
which the college is launching in 2009, will help alleviate what she says is
clearly a staffing crisis.
When Domm's seven-year-old son, Levi, was diagnosed at age three with
autism, a condition affecting the brain's normal development of social and
communication skills, she and her husband Perri immediately decided on an ABA
treatment program.
Although the scientifically validated therapy would be expensive - as
much as three times the province's $20,000 annual subsidy for autistic
children up to age six, after which it drops to $6,000 - it was their son's
best hope for improvement.
But when they tried to assemble a behaviour interventionist team to
implement the program, Domm said they quickly found out how difficult that
was.
"Even though we had a pool of Capilano students to draw from and train,
the turnover rate is quite high," she said, "and we went through 14 therapists
in two years."
Autism is now the most common childhood developmental or neurological
disorder in the country, affecting more than 4,300 children in B.C.
"But we have only a handful of board certified behaviour analysts," said
Domm, "and they have lengthy waiting lists.
So, she thought, why not offer an ABA course at Capilano with a practical
component so families can count on steady pool of motivated students to work
with their kids.
She pursued the idea with fellow Capilano psychologist Cara Zaskow and
with her help, and input from autism families and professionals, the course
has mushroomed into Canada's first ABA bachelor's degree program. Scheduled to
begin next January, it will operate as a cohort program, accepting about
20 students with associate degrees in psychology to train for work with autism
cases, among others.
"They'll be qualified to become board certified associate behavior
analysts, earning at least $40 an hour to start," said Domm. "Or they can
pursue a master's degree in ABA, special education or psychology." | Full Story>
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