Class action suit to force NYC schools to keep ABA

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Parents argue a one-on-one therapy approach to autism is the best method available for toddlers, and are taking their fight for it to court for thousands of children in New York City preschools and elementaries.

Applied Behavior Analysis, which breaks up tasks into small steps and teaches skills through rewards and repetition, is “the most well-researched and validated general approach to treatment for [Autism Spectrum Disorder],” officials from the state health department wrote. It’s administered frequently to 0-3-year-olds in the state’s Early Intervention system.

But after age three, thousands of kids — many of whom thrive under the approach — are suddenly forced to drop ABA in city preschools and elementary schools, , where it’s rarely offered, according to parents and advocates.

A group of parents has now filed a class action lawsuit against the city and state education departments charging the lack of ABA violates federal special education law.

“It’s devastating to see these families desperate, to hear the stories of regression, and to know that it was clearly preventable,” said Elisa Hyman, the special education lawyer representing the families in the lawsuit.

“In my view, it’s blatantly illegal for the department to adopt a blanket policy whereby it refuses to consider, or provide, ABA services,” Hyman added.

Education Department officials acknowledged they don’t include ABA on individual education plans, which are the legal documents that govern special education services, though they’ve added programs across the city that use the approach.

“We’re committed to making sure our students get the services they need and we have added and expanded our special education programs that employ Applied Behavior Analysis in the past two years,” said Education Department spokeswoman Danielle Filson.

The agency also started a pilot to smooth the transition from early intervention to preschool for kids with disabilities, Filson said.

A crisis in services for city kids with autism has been mounting as the number of diagnoses has skyrocketed. In 2007, about 7,000 city students were classified as autistic, according to court papers. Last year, the number was over 20,000, according to Education Department data.

Another 8,500 toddlers diagnosed with autism got support through the city’s early intervention program last school year, state officials said. But the approach state officials have taken to treating their youngest charges contrasts sharply with what happens when they arrive in school.

The majority of autistic toddlers in Early Intervention end up receiving ABA therapy, said Peri Seshens, who ran an early intervention program and now has her own ABA company