The physically challenged can greatly benefit from starting a home based business from home. The home venture gives them an opportunity to realize their dreams and be successful in spite of their limitations. It is generally believed that physically handicapped people are at disadvantage when it comes to running a business from home. But with proper fortitude and determination, these people can be on par with the best in the entrepreneurial world.
Disabled people are able to realizetheir financial goals once they succeed in their venture. It proves to be a confidence booster for them.
Many of these people will have to overcome multiple obstacles to achieve success in their enterprise. They may face greater challenges to establish a successfully endeavor. But by successfully reaching the challenges they will taste the sweet nectar of success.
In spite of all kinds of hindrances, the physically challenged have written some great success stories. Keeping in view that a significant number of normal people fail in their business enterprises, the success stories of some physically incapacitated persons can inspire many to pick up entrepreneurial skills.
The physically challenged can take help from the local authorities to kick start their home business opportunity. The government has many plans with which the physically handicapped are entitled for some grants / concessions and assistance for setting up and running their enterprise smoothly.
How do physically handicapped benefit working form home?
There are lots of benefits for incapacitated people while they operate their business venture from home. They have the independence to be their own boss. Their home office gives them the environment which is familiar and handicap-friendly.
It is very difficult for the physically disabled to travel to the traditional work places. The home business opportunity rescues them from the exhausting commuting on regular basis.
They can make use of many monetary support programs like the Social Security Disability Insurance.
The finances:
Many governmental agencies provide various types of funds to the disabled people for starting their enterprise. There is a surplus of sources of information available from where they can gain good knowledge for running their home ventures.
These sources include information guides, websites, online forums etc. These sources teach the physically handicapped people to sharpen their managerial skills and acquaint themselves with the ways to overcome various hurdles that they may face in their entrepreneurial journey.
There are many organizations that render not only the financial assistance to these people but also with the technical know-how aspects.
The disabled can learn the nitty-gritty of running the business enterprise from such agencies. Some of the agencies providing such assistance are The Office of Disability Employment Policy, Social Security Administration Ticket to Work Program and Start-Up USA.
The loans provided by the state governments to the disabled persons carry minimum interest rates.
The prospect starting a home based business and successfully running it from home has come as a blessing for the physically handicapped who, otherwise, would have considered themselves to be at a disadvantage.
The unequivocal and powerful effectiveness of ABA is clear in the research literature related to the treatment of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). An ABA approach emphasizes positive reinforcement and precise teaching procedures for a comprehensive set of necessary behaviors for children with ASD, including cognitive, reasoning, language, social, self-help, motor, and academic skills.
ABA treatment strategies are particularly useful in teaching behaviors to children on the autistic spectrum who may not otherwise "pick up" these behaviors spontaneously through imitation, or as a result of traditional modes of instruction. ABA strategies can be learned and applied with accuracy by parents, teachers, instructional assistants, and other professionals and family members.
What ABA is not?
ABA is often confused with table-time sorts of therapies, or strictly discrete-trial teaching. State-of-the-art ABA programming should certainly include structured instructional times - including those that might occur at a table - but should not be limited to those scenarios. Effective implementation of an ABA approach to the treatment of ASD should also include incidental teaching opportunities. Once a student has mastered skills in structured situations, those skills must be generalized to other settings, with various people and materials, and under differing motivational conditions.
What is the theory behind it?
Researchers have shown that children with autism are less likely than their typically-developing peers to spontaneously learn skills from other children and adults in their everyday environments without specific instruction. Using an ABA approach can help children with autism lead more independent and socially active lives.
The research literature indicates that these positive outcomes are more common for children with ASD who receive early - as soon as a child is diagnosed - and intensive intervention. This may be due to critical brain development that occurs prior to and during the preschool years, which can be affected by instruction.
Does it work?
ABA is one of the most common - and the one with the most evidence to support its effectiveness - methods used to
treat autism <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_therapies>. By many researchers and clinicians, ABA is known to be the most effective evidence-based therapeutic approach demonstrated thus far. The U.S. Surgeon General states that thirty years of research on the ABA approach have shown very positive outcomes when ABA is used as an early-intervention tool for autism . Many parents have seen great success in typical behavior using ABA. Here is A Testimony from Parent of ASD Patient:
Since my son has started to receive ABA services, we have noticed a significant difference in his abilities. Through highly-structured and goal-oriented sessions, my son is being taught more effective behavior strategies through his social and environmental interactions that will ultimately better prepare him to learn in school and be more functional in handling daily life demands and transitions. ABA has provided more effective tools for communication and is helping him to build a stronger foundation for learning.
Lee Taylor
Mother of 5 Year Old ASD Boy
As a parent, what is the benefit of doing it myself?
ABA has been shown to be effective when used in programs implemented by clinicians or parents. One of the important strengths of a parent-directed approach is that parents know their children best, and can tailor their child's curriculum to suit the needs of the child. In addition, parents will generally have a better understanding of what reinforces their own children - what excites and makes their children happy day to day.
Research has also shown that ABA is more effective when used intensively-often more than 25 to 40 hours per week. Difficulties that parents may have with this include identifying and selecting appropriate therapists and/or clinician to supervise and direct programs, as well as simply supporting the program financially. Parents frequently spend $20,000 to $60,000 or more annually for intensive programming. Consequently, conducting ABA in-home with your existing family resources can assist in overcoming these obstacles.
It has been shown that children that work at home after institutional instruction perform better. Parents are not always satisfied with having their children work exclusively with outside therapists. They need to have a way to work with their children and expand upon what therapists have accomplished.
Why ABA?
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the science of analyzing and improving socially significant human behavior.
The principles and strategies of ABA are based on more than 50 years of experimental and applied scientific research. As new technologies have been developed and validated within the field of ABA, the effectiveness of this methodology has increased.
With regard to Autistic Spectrum Disorders (i.e., Autism or Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and other related disorders), the overwhelming majority of the research conducted on treatment has been from an ABA perspective. In fact, interventions utilizing ABA are among the few evidence-based practices for the treatment of Autism.
Applied Behavior Analysis technologies can be used to address a number of issues relevant to children with ASD, including language acquisition, peer interactions and social skills, responding to group instruction, academic/cognitive skills, following typical classroom routines, self-help and daily living skills, learning in and from the natural environment, and reducing inappropriate behavior(s).
Below is a story written by a client of Dr Coby and Janet Lund:
If you are reading this then I am assuming that you are in search of answers on what to do for your child with autism. What is the right treatment plan for your child and how do you know that you are making the right choice? Well, truth be told - you won't know until you get into it. This is the honest truth as I know it from my experience with my son with autism. When he was diagnosed, I spent many hours researching what the best course of action would be. Don't get me wrong - I spent many hours crying in the shower or the closet or just wherever I happened to be at the time, mourning the loss of a life I had dreamed about with my child. It took a while to come around but, eventually I came to the realization that I needed to get out of my own way and get him some help. But how was I supposed to do that? There is no category in the Yellow Pages that says "autism." Who was I supposed to call? What doctor should I take him to? Will he ever get better? I needed someone to say " this is what you do next." but that someone did not come along and I was left to make my own decisions on what to do.
After researching about different therapies we eventually decided to try ABA and let me tell you it has changed our lives. Notice that I said "our" and not just "his". Yes, it changed my sons life but it also changed the rest of the family too. It has been an experience like I have never dreamed and I know in my heart that i did the right thing by my son.
How did I know to try ABA? Well, I didn't. I just knew I had to try something and this seemed the most reasonable fit with my child. I had read the data on ABA, I knew the numbers and all that, but I was more interested in parental anecdotal evidence than in the numbers. The parents that I talked to were all reporting great success so I figured why not try it? What did we have to lose? If it does not work then I will move on to something else.
If you are considering different therapies for your child with autism, I know that it is overwhelming. You know that feeling that you get when you have to do whatever it is you are going to do and you have to do it fast? You cannot afford to lose any time on a therapy that does not work right? Here is my thought - for what it is worth - start with ABA. Without a doubt in your mind - start with ABA first.
Why you ask? Because ABA will teach your child how to learn. Kids with autism do not know how to imitate and therefore do not do well with anything until they get this skill mastered. Imitation - it is the fundamental building block of learning. You have to be able to imitate to be able to learn and this will be the very first skill that ABA will work on. Once your child learns this skill - there will be no limit to what they will be able to do. Sounds interesting right?
Now, let me tell you about my kid. Before ABA he did not talk. He did not have language AT ALL. He could care less when his Dad came home from work. I could have been a broom in the corner of the room for all he cared. I was the tool he used in order to fulfill his needs. He did not connect with me on any level. He did not play with toys - he simply lined them up from one end of the room to the other - and not just toys mind you. He lined up shoes, soap bottles, crackers - whatever looked remotely the same to him. He only ate two foods - chicken nuggets and french fries. He flapped his hands like a bird all the time. We did not go to many restaurants or family outings nor did I dare try a trip to the store unless he was completely contained in his stroller. I always wondered what I was going to do when he got too big for his stroller. He never called out for me and it would be a long time before I ever heard the words "I love you Mommy." At Christmas time I would shop for my beautiful boy in the hopes of finding that "perfect" toy that would make his eyes light upon Christmas morning but when the time came, he never even realized that Christmas had arrived, much less run downstairs with excitement to see what Santa had brought him. I would have to wake him up and bring him downstairs and he never even noticed the toys that my husband and I had spent hours the night before putting together for him. Life for us was bittersweet but it was our life as we knew it and what we believed to be a good life. We did not know it at the time but, we were about to embark on a journey that would bring us full circle to know just how lucky we were to be blessed with this child and how much we were about to learn about him and ourselves.
Flash forward 4 years to life after ABA. My son is fully mainstreamed in his elementary school. He now asks for and waits patiently for his Dad to come home from work and also runs to greet him at the door when he comes through it, often asking if he can help him make some type of contraption or to go bike riding with him. I get to hear his sweet voice telling me that he loves me daily and I know he means it when he says it and it is not just because I told him to say it. He has been in cub scouts and has been playing piano for 2 years! He rides his bicycle all over outside ( by himself I might add) and participates in any game you can dream up. He is a whiz on the computer and I even caught him downloading movies on my ITunes the other day. He asks for all kinds of toys at Christmastime now and we can hardly get him to go to sleep at night on Christmas Eve. He plays with his brother all the time ( and they fight a lot too). He loves playing Guitar Hero III and often beats me whenever we do the guitar battle thing. He is quite the cook too and loves to make dinner. He talks all the time and I still remember how I used to pray beside his bed at night for him to speak to me. I will never take that for granted. I can go anywhere that I want with him and he stays with me. He doesn't run away or wander off anymore and I no longer have to worry about what I will do when he is too big for the stroller. He tells all kinds of stupid knock knock jokes and is just a typical kid most of the time. He's a pretty good kid and he has worked hard for what he can do.
I can go on and on with this list. I won't lie - we still have issues to work on but it is a work in progress and I now know that he has a quality of life that he would never have had if I had not started ABA with him. There are things on our to do list like how to prepare him for school bullies or how to drive a car. I'm kidding!! We still work on social issues like talking too loud or taking another persons perspective but he's getting better at it all the time and I no longer worry what his future will be like. We have worked hard together and have accomplished much. We have made many sacrifices to do it but at the end of the day look what I have! I have a great kid who no longer suffers from a life of imprisonment inside his own mind. He's free! He enjoys life and I am so very proud of him.
My point is, there is so much more to ABA than you have ever imagined. It is not all work at a table with zero fun. ABA will teach your child whatever you want it to and your child will love learning. Its fun for them and most of the time they never realize that they are working and learning. Most likely, in the beginning you will experience a few bumps along the road. Our kids like their world the way it is and they are more motivated to stay in it than to come into ours. Some kids go kicking and screaming into ABA and others go quietly into it but it does not take long for them to see that it is fun. I especially loved seeing the dawning come to my sons face whenever he would learn something new. It was like he had no idea of what we were teaching before and then all of the sudden the light would come on and BAM - he would suddenly just get it and you could see it in his eyes. It was pure joy for me.
I know you have all heard the horror stories of discrete trials and how the child only learns in a rote manner and that there is no meaning to what they learn. Please throw that way of thinking down the toliet. ABA, when done correctly and by trained staff will give your child and your family a meaningful and functional life that you all can lead together.
So here are a couple of more arguments for you to ponder if you are still on the fence. Why choose ABA instead of Floortime or RDI or some other methodology? Anyone who is getting their kid to make progress with their chosen form of therapy will tell you that their therapy is the way to go. I truly believe you must find the right pieces to your child's puzzle. Puzzle pieces come in all shapes and you have to find the right combination to put it together. ABA will give your child the skills he or she will need later on for doing other types of therapies. I personally love the Floortime approach but will it teach my kid how to walk with me in the mall and not run away? Probably not. Will it teach my kid what to do in the event that he ever gets lost from me? Probably not. Will it teach my kid how to try new foods and not throw up each time he puts something new in his mouth? I doubt it. Once my child has acquired enough language and functional skills to have a quality of life then maybe I will move on to another puzzle piece like Floortime or RDI but for right now I have to provide him with the skills he needs first in order to be successful in subsequent therapies later on down the road. ABA does just that.
But what about the cost? Yes, the cost is high. There is no doubt about that. Here was our rationale. My husband and I felt that we were spending his college fund to do the ABA. He needed the money now so he might have a chance to go to college. If we had not done it now there would never have been the chance of him going to college or doing anything else worthwhile in life for that matter. We wanted him to have some kind of life that involved more than lining toys up all day. We also felt that if this were an illness like cancer or some other life threatening disease - would we not do everything we could to get the very best treatment for him in order to save his life? Of course we would! ABA saved my son's life and my family as a whole. i would do it again in a heartbeat. We made many sacrifices to do it but it was the most rewarding thing we have ever done. ABA is an investment in a life time. It is an investment with many returns and one you will be glad you made.
At the end of the day, I can live my life peacefully knowing that I did everything possible that I could to help him. I always said that I did not want to get 20 years down the road and have to wonder what could have been if there was some type of treatment out there that I did not try. ABA was that treatment and now there is no question in my mind that I did the right thing.
