The controversy over ABA for autism

Post Reply New Topic

The controversy over ABA: "These advocates, many of them childhood recipients of ABA, say that the therapy is harmful. They contend that ABA is based on a cruel premise . . . "

“ABA has a predatory approach to parents,” says Ari Ne’eman

https://spectrumnews.org/features/deep- ... n-therapy/

If ABA therapists think their treatments can make a client's autism disappear they are mistaken. ABA can teach you the proper script and expectations of socializing, but it will only be an act. And performing this act is costly to people with autism. ABA teaches you to hate who you are.

^ Well said. I probably would have said something like that.

I'm looking into exactly this at the moment - I've seen how negatively my son responds to coercion of any kind, in particular in terms of his self-esteem and feelings of real motivation, and it seems to me that not only punishments but also supposed 'positive reinforcements' - let's face it, the withdrawal or withholding of which, if the desired behaviour or result is not forthcoming, amounts to punishment in any case - are counterproductive. They actually seem to work against creativity, self-esteem, sense of community and voluntary collaboration, self-motivation and the happiness of individuals and of society as a whole.

I'll look into the article you recommend, and I'd be very interested (also by PM) to hear what your personal and direct experiences - your own or others you know - of this issue are. I feel it's perhaps premature to be jumping to conclusions of my own, based on my experience of one child Also it's clear that ABA and its equivalents have many strong advocates, hardly surprising in our culture. I'm quite scared to attempt to stand up against it, and all it stands for (as well as competitive models, conformism for its own sake, and lots of other standard procedures in parenting and schooling today), but I feel I have to do so.

I'm on a bit of a mission - my husband says I'm obsessed (!), but I can see what damaging effects on all children but in particular on ASD ones, these strategies have (last year I worked in the school where my son attended and I did a lot of observation there). I want to do something about it. I'm still thinking about what ..

They complain we are to literal, to repetitive and have to much black and white thinking but then they push a treatment based on repetition and defining right and wrong behavoirs (SMH).

Supporters love to throw "evidence based" to stifle dissent but ignore the evidence that lessining or ending the treatments lessens the "desired" results. ABA is at most permenent band aid approach.

Of course while trying 25 to 40 hours a week to get the "desired" result they ignore the mental illnesses that maybe caused by bieng told in one way or another that you are wrong. Also ignored is teaching impressionable young children to conform to others wishes 25 to 40 hours a week you are going to create adults that are conformists who are unable to stand up for themselves.

ASPartOfMe, I think I see what you're saying, and this is what I also suspect..

Yes, as for claiming that the techniques are 'evidence based', the fact is that rewarding and punishing DO usually 'work', if you wish to obtain short-term compliance (which many parents and educators take to be a sign of being successful, without thinking more deeply about it).

So too few people ask: 'they work, but towards what end?'

I believe you are correct about what kind of adults you are helping to create

If it's helping someone, I don't think it's a big deal. But not everyone can be helped by one process. For them, this may be traumatic. Especially if they can never complete the task they are supposed to.

Is ABA considered the "gold standard" treatment for Autism in Italy like it is in America?

I agree and that's the worst thing you can do to a kid on the spectrum, or any child.

For the record have you or anyone posted had ABA therapy?

Not to the same extent, though the principles are the same for raising children all over in the developed world...
I was shocked to find out that it is standard in schools in Germany to use ABA on autistic kids, though they make a point that they only use the 'positive reinforcements'.

When I began to read a bit of Alfie Kohn on the principles used in education (competition, rewards, grading, etc.), that was when I began to to see that actually we are basing our methodologies on a lot of assumptions about what is good for people. I mean for things like developing autonomy, self-motivation, decisiveness, powers of analysis, self esteem, resourcefulness. And so on. The things we think we'd like for our kids but may be going about it in a slightly misguided way, to put it mildly. If you then go on to read John Taylor Gatto then you may also start to wonder WHY the system is set up how it is.....

Whether I or anyone I know has had ABA used on them? Thankfully no. But I have enough experience of the principles (having also worked in schools, and specialised in education theory) to know how they work. But of course the really important thing again, is to ask ourselves not just IF they work, but TO WHAT PURPOSE?? Short term compliance, usually. Conformist behaviour, probably. But what does that achieve for those kids in the long run? The things I listed above? I don't think so.. it sounds like we're all pretty much in agreement about this. Though the mainstream system isn't, or course - very far from it!