what is ABA and why is it bad?

Post Reply New Topic

I have had a lot of occupational therapy my whole life. What is the difference between that and ABA?

ABA is an attempt to "correct" socially significant behaviour by the use of reinforcement, punishment, extinction etc. I guess whether or not it's bad depends on exactly how it's done. Who decides what's acceptable behaviour and what isn't? Whose consent is sought to force these changes? Is the therapist competent and sincere? I suppose theoretically if those questions had the right answers, it could do some good. But there are horror stories around about kids being strapped down to stop them from stimming (and worse), and I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were true. As with many therapies, beware of jerks posing as healers. Personally I'm not a big fan of behaviourism. When I was growing up, Skinner's ideas were rather out of fashion, and they do seem to smack of heartlessness.

Okay then too heavy handed.I've been coaxed, encouraged and motivated to be more responsive and stuff, but not forced.

ABA can be good at times. At other times, it might turn a person into a robot.

I recommend you read about a man named Lovaas, Ezra. He's the guy who sort of put ABA on the map. He used to practice a rather extreme form of ABA known as "Discrete Trial Training."

One of the impressions I pick up about ABA is that it it focusses on changing or extinguishing a behaviour rather than understanding underlying reasons behind the behaviour. I think it possible its underlying premiss has no knowledge of all the sensory and anxiety issues which go with the spectrum.

Lovass Claimed his methods successfully cured a person of what he termed "Feminine Boy Syndromw"
in fact what it did was such severe damage to the person's self esteem, self image and mind that in their mid thirties they committed suicide.

So far my impressions of Lovass and ABA are not exactly encouraging......

There was a person here, about 2-3 years ago, who was actually one of the subjects of the Lovaas study. This person did not have positive things to say about the Lovaas Method.

On WikiHow there is an article on "How to Tell if an Autism ABA is Harmful". It pretty much explains everything. Except why human beings feel they must force others into being "normal" in an abusive and sadistic fashion.

- Some therapists will not accept a person looking or acting autistic and not allow them to be themselves. They may attempt to remove autistic characteristics such as lack of eye-contact or most stimming, using phrases like "table" ready" or "quiet hands". They may try to force the autistic person into fitting in or making more friends, which should be a personal choice.

- Some therapists train the autistic person to look and act happy, even when they aren't, or pressure them to give and accept hugs and kisses unwillingly. This is basically setting them up for sexual and emotional abuse.

- No one is too autistic or "low-fuctioning" to be treated with kindness and respect. A good therapist will be this way to an autistic person.

- If an autistic person cries or gets upset, a good therapist will stop whatever they were doing and show concern (or remorse). They will care about the person's emotional pain. A bad therapist may press harder, pin them down, or turn it into a battle of wills. A bad therapist may call these emotional states "tantrums" and insist theyt must be dealt with harshly.

- An autistic person receiving abusive therapy may have increased meltdowns, suicidal thoughts or behavior, or become violent, even if they weren't before.

So apparently not all ABA is bad, but since human beings seem genetically wired to abuse people who are different and unable to defend themselves or get help, most of it is. That's why elderly people and children in foster homes are also treated horribly.