Therapy, therapy and a little more therapy

The developmental pediatrician is recommending the following for Niko:

1) 2 hours a week of occupational therapy
2) 2 hours a week of speech therapy
3) TWENTY hours a week of ABA (translation = putting Niko is special school)

Excessive much?  I don't want to be that parent who's in denial, but I also think this is a bit much.  Niko currently receives 1 hour/week of special skills training and 1/hour week of speech therapy (just started speech two weeks ago). The feedback from providers has been great.  Niko is making progress.  Niko is doing well at school.  Why would I pull him from a place he enjoys, and where he is surrounded by typical role models and put him in a school with other autistic kids.  This makes no sense to me. Now, let's say I was getting daily phone calls from his school...that would be a different story.

This part of the process must be so hard for families. I know it's hard for mine.  Now all the layers and layers of parent support fliers piled onto a cork board at the doctor's office make sense.  This is so overwhelming.  Emotionally, of course.  But right now the harder part is the logistics and finances of it all.  That special school has a special price tag.  And it's too big for our meager income.

So, we fiddle and fumble about, and hope that we're not shortchanging Niko in the process.