Acerca de
Finn's Story
Finn Allinson joined our family on a stormy night in July of 2014, a few days earlier than we were expecting him. He was a beautiful, normal baby, and would smile, cry and laugh. His brother and sister adored him, and people would often comment on what a good baby he was.
As Finn approached two years old, we noticed that his behavior and speech were not developing normally. He was a very busy, energetic kid and only had a few words. At his year 2 visit, his pediatrician suggested speech therapy. Both his older siblings were late talkers and high energy, so the doctor was not concerned, but we went ahead and signed him up. Autism was never mentioned and it never crossed our minds.
When we relocated to Florida, shortly before Finn turned 3 he began to see a new speech therapist. She recommended we take him to a behavioral pediatrician as there were some behaviors that concerned her. We immediately scheduled the appointment. We finally got in to see the behavioral pediatrician on October 10, 2017, the date will forever stick with us - his pediatrician diagnosed him with autism. This date is also his grandfather Russ's birthday - we couldn't forget the date!
We contacted the school district and put his name in for pre-kindergarten classes. We also learned about Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), a behavioral therapy that helps children with autism understand expected behaviors. After a year of special education, ABA therapy and speech therapy, there was little progress.
In 2018 Finn, we entered Finn into Elementary Special Education (ESE) in Seminole County School District public schools, and entered his name in to private schools specializing in autism. Finn also received his Individual Education Plan (IEP), a special plan outlining expectations and requirements for the school district and student.
One of the best pieces of advice we received is to hire an IEP advocate prior to the IEP plan meeting with the district. Our advocate made a strong case to the school district administrators. Our advocate helped Finn receive benefits that he otherwise may have not received.
However, even with all of these efforts, there were numerous challenges to Finn's parents. More importantly, Finn was not progressing.
What We Have Learned
Through our experience, we learned that there are a number of challenges to parents and children in Florida public schools:
First, ESE classrooms do not provide services exclusively for autism. Rather, these classrooms have children with varying disabilities requiring different approaches.
It is likely that children with autism do nor receive the focused attention they need.
Second, children with autism having a customized IEP do not receive autism-specific education on a daily basis. Other children with autism, especially those who have not hired an IEP advocate, have key elements missing from their IEP plan. Children with autism may not have an IEP at all. Parents may not realize the importance of the IEP.
Third, transport is difficult. Children with autism receive ESE education at one location, ABA therapy at another location, speech therapy at another location, and clinical and research appointments at yet another location. This requires daily transport, often multiple times per day.
This situation is unsustainable.
Fourth, ESE, ABA, speech, clinical services do not collaborate with one another. The school educators and therapists never meet together. ABA therapists do not meet with speech therapists. The school does not permit therapists on the premise without proper clearance, which may often be withheld. Correspondence between the educators and therapists requires a lot of red tape. Often, the teachers and therapists may not be on the same page with each other or the parents.
Communication and coordination is difficult to impossible.
Recognizing all of the problems and challenges, we established the Allinson Institute to provide a a suite of education, therapy and research services at a single location.
Our goal is to to enable coordinated education and services - right people, right time, right location, surrounding and supporting the needs of your child.
Let’s Work Together
Get in touch so we can start working together.