We hope everyone had a great Week 6! This week's topic uncovers the problems within ABA therapy.
During this week's general body meeting, we discussed the article, "5 Important Reasons Even "New ABA" Is Problematic" by Kaylene George, an autistic self-advocate, author, and mother. She shares her concerns about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapy through a clear and concise list. The 5 main reasons why ABA is problematic are because of the following:
- Changing behavior as the primary goal
- Compliance-based therapies & issues of consent
- Focusing on positive rewards instead of intrinsic motivation
- Extreme hours of therapy limits autistic children's free time
- Promoting the idea that autistic children must change to fit in
Autistic children are forced to spend hours changing traits that make up their identity for the purpose of being accepted by their peers, teachers, and everyone else in their life. Although some may not experience a ‘torturous punishment-based therapy’, it does not make it a safe or respectful therapy option for others. It is important to acknowledge the voices of autistic individuals that speak out against ABA.
If you would like to read more, please check out the rest of the website that bridges the gap between parents and autistic self-advocates here.
Notable quotes from the article:
- “Because when autistic children are forced into hours and hours of compliance-based therapies from a young age, they are taught that their body doesn’t belong to them.”
- “I would much rather see a world where stimming and meltdowns were understood and accommodated instead of trained away and shamed.”
Discussion Questions:
- What have you learned about “new ABA”? Why do you think that term was even coined?
- How does this article fit in with the theme of what we’ve been reading every week since the beginning of the quarter?
- This author is both autistic and parent of an autistic child, like one of the previous authors that we read. What insights or biases do you think this identity has on a person?
Thank you for reading this week's blog! I hope you learned something new. Please feel free to take some time to reflect and leave any questions or comments in the comment section. Check out our instragram page for the post version of our weekly blog posts and future updates. Don't forget to subscribe down below so that you don't miss out on upcoming posts!
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