Your experience with ABA/teachers etc.,

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MichieBCBA
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24 Sep 2022, 3:26 am

Hello wonderful people!

I would love to know your experience with those working in ABA and teachers: can you tell me your favorite things you have experienced with teachers/therapist and the stuff that bothered you the most or negative experiences and why or how it made you feel?

Would so appreciate the information



Dear_one
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24 Sep 2022, 6:51 am

ABBA made a substantial contribution to Sweden's tax collectors, but I don't know about this new group.
I had a math teacher who was frustrated that I had lower than expected marks, and wanted to talk about cars. Many years later, I taught myself how to use math to make better cars. He could have given me car problems to solve.
My best counsellor had little training, so we collaborated on my diagnosis. Her talent could be described as remedial parenting, and an art, not a science.



jimmy m
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24 Sep 2022, 11:44 am

BCBA might indicate that you are a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. I have Asperger's Syndrome and it has taken me almost my entire life to figure out why I am different and why I think differently. I am 74 years old and I suffered a massive stroke a year and a half ago. I probably lost around 2 percent of my brain cells, but I am coming back on line.

Because I am an old timer, I never went through the approach used to correct and help individuals who are different. I have had a good life, even though it was fairly rough in the beginning in my Junior High School years. But after that period, I survived the physical and mental abuse of my peers, and then my skill set began to take off and I found my way in this world.

I do not advocate giving (mental altering) drugs to high functioning autistic because sometimes one has to find their way in this life even though it can be painful. And an approach that adds drugs (prescription or otherwise) can damage our brains. It can take away our distinct skill set that makes us different.


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CockneyRebel
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25 Sep 2022, 5:49 am

I grew up in a time when kids could still be kids. I'm a free-range aspie. I lived a free-range childhood.


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25 Sep 2022, 11:20 am

My diagnosis was Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1 (Mild), with a note that I also satisfy the criteria formerly associated with Asperger's Syndrome. I was diagnosed shortly before my 65th birthday, after I'd already been voluntarily, happily, comfortably retired for eight years. I got the Adult Autism Assessment because I was curious, not because I needed it, and I was delighted by the diagnosis because it explained so much of what I'd experienced in life...but my diagnosis hasn't really had any practical use for me.

And I've done reasonably well in life. My no-longer-needed resume is good. (Good enough that I retired comfortably at 56!)

Asperger's wasn't in the DSM until 1994, the year I turned 40, so I could not have been diagnosed as a child because there was no diagnosis that applied to me.

The reason I got an Adult Autism Assessment (at age 64!) is that my then 88 year old father was visited by a child who was thought possibly to be Autistic. And several times Dad said the kid was doing the same "weird" things I used to do...almost 60 year earlier. Given that, I'll guess that if the diagnosis had been available when I was a child it is quite possible those "weird" behaviors would have lead to me getting diagnosed and maybe getting ABA treatment.

And I strongly suspect having gotten that label as a child would have greatly changed my life...for the worse. I think some opportunities would not have been available to me if I had that label. I doubt I would've done as well professionally and financially.

So I'm glad I did not get the diagnosis as a child and didn't go the ABA route.

Perhaps some martial arts classes when I was kid could've been helpful, though. Maybe I'd have fared better with the bullies.


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Ettina
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25 Sep 2022, 2:26 pm

MichieBCBA wrote:
Hello wonderful people!

I would love to know your experience with those working in ABA and teachers: can you tell me your favorite things you have experienced with teachers/therapist and the stuff that bothered you the most or negative experiences and why or how it made you feel?

Would so appreciate the information


Favorite thing - when I infodumped to her about octopi and found out she thought they were neat, too.

Least favorite thing - when she picked a silly fight with me about whether my sensory hypersensitivities made certain foods things I "can't eat" or things I "don't want to eat" on the assumption that I was not allowed to refuse foods I didn't want to eat, and when I started spiralling emotionally, decided to pretend I'd ceased to exist, even when I started having self-harming urges, so I ended up having to call a suicide hotline, and then when my parents and I had a meeting with her to discuss how to avoid this happening again, she wanted to get even more stubborn and nitpicky about pointless things, including telling me that my inability to wear a bra meant I'd never be employed, and also wanted permission to kick me out onto the bus when I had another episode like that.

So, overall, 0/10 experience. I can find much better people to infodump to. And I'm very glad I wasn't diagnosed as a child.



Aspie1
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28 Sep 2022, 6:51 pm

I had undisclosed/covert ABA therapy. That is, I was never told it was ABA, but it in retrospect, it was ABA. So if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

My therapist relied on hints and a game of cat-and-mouse to run ABA on me. Nothing was disclosed to me at the start; I was told to "just share". And yet, there were hidden expectations. If I told her something she wanted to hear, like me getting an A on a test, she'd praise me gushingly. If I told her something she didn't want to hear, like how my parents emotionally abused me, she'd tilt her head to the side and make a cooing noise "awwww"---it was meant to mock me and intimidate me into changing the topic. There were also neutral topics, like the video games I played, that got me neither praise nor mockery. And it was my job to pick up on her hints and adjust my statements accordingly. I got good at it eventually, but it took me at least a year, if not two years.

I'd give that ***** [female dog] a -1/10 for her therapy skills. She was my parents' flying monkey pretending to be my friend, and I picked up on it very quickly.



Cocoa_With_Stars
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13 Apr 2023, 3:59 pm

I was diagnosed in 1989 when I was around 2-years old. I'm a woman, and I was nonverbal at the time. I remember understanding everything that was being said and what adults wanted me to do, but I couldn't respond verbally. I'm still not sure why. My mom says I would bang my head against the wall, which I have no memory of. Just before I was to start therapy, I spontaneously began speaking in complete sentences. I had already been evaluated. The evaluations had said my IQ was very low, but that assessment was wrong about my intelligence.

I don't remember much of the therapy itself, but my mother repeated this throughout my childhood "The goal is to make you indistinguishable from your peers". I remember being very anxious as a kid. I was always terrified of making mistakes socially. Adults would frequently grab my head to force me to make eye contact, both at home and at school. When I got bullied at school, my parents and teachers said it was my fault. I would then be screamed at when I got home. I was failing to be "indistinguishable from my peers", and my parents hated me for it.

At school, they would remove me from class for speech therapy. They announced it was time for speech, then acted like that had nothing to do with making me a target. They told me to ignore the bullies, then insisted I hadn't ignored them when it didn't work. I don't remember the therapy sessions themselves. I must have blocked them out. I remember them announcing it was time to go to therapy in front of everyone. I remember feeling dread, but I don't remember what happened once I walked into the therapy room. The only part I remember was when they told me I no longer needed therapy. I was 7-years old, and I jumped up and down shouting hurray!

My parents adapted the ABA techniques at home and used them throughout my childhood. They used aversives liberally and rewards infrequently. They did the same to my NT sister, though to a much lesser extent. We both have PTSD from that. They were obsessed with unconditional obedience. I learned very little social skills from them or from the therapy. I was still pretty obviously Autistic until around high school. I had access to the internet for the first time, and I studied facial expressions and microexpressions. I read "How To Win Friends and Influence People," and I found social skills lessons online. When my parents weren't around, I figured out what worked through applying what I read and through trial and error. Practicing around my parents was impossible. They would hover, practically breathing down my neck, interrupt to "correct" me, and then rant at me for hours afterwards about my "mistakes". Many of those so-called "mistakes" weren't even a problem. They were just looking for something to criticize, and they would invent issues if I didn't do anything wrong. Their advice also tended to backfire, and then they would gaslight and say they hadn't given the bad advice. So, their ABA actually slowed me down.

During college, I was actually quite popular. I have been popular at most workplaces, too. My mask is extremely good. Unfortunately, it cost me dearly in terms of my mental health.

The best thing is working from home. I can stim to my hearts content with nobody knowing about it. I only mask if I have to go out in public. I keep the camera off during meetings, so the masking required at work is minimal. I also haven't spoken with my parents in years, which helps a-lot as well. They have this idea that I owe them for the work they did to "cure" me. What a load of baloney! They didn't cure me. I got to where I am despite what they put me through.



SarahBea
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13 Apr 2023, 4:37 pm

Based on what I have heard from others I am very glad I haven't had ABA. It seems like it dehumanises autistic people and doesn't improve mental health.

https://www.spectrumnews.org/features/d ... n-therapy/


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13 Apr 2023, 8:49 pm

Cocoa_With_Stars, Welcome to WP! I hope you find it comfortable.

Much of what you describe sounds uncomfortable. I don't recall anyone on WP saying anything positive about ABA...except that it taught them to be a better liar.


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MatchboxVagabond
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14 Apr 2023, 8:51 am

Dear_one wrote:
ABBA made a substantial contribution to Sweden's tax collectors, but I don't know about this new group.
I had a math teacher who was frustrated that I had lower than expected marks, and wanted to talk about cars. Many years later, I taught myself how to use math to make better cars. He could have given me car problems to solve.
My best counsellor had little training, so we collaborated on my diagnosis. Her talent could be described as remedial parenting, and an art, not a science.


That's something that good teachers are supposed to do, whether or not it happens depends a lot on the work load and support that they've got. With computer, it's certainly possible to quickly create interest based word problems, but it can be a challenge to ensure that they make sense and are of similar difficulty to what the task is supposed to require.



MatchboxVagabond
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14 Apr 2023, 8:54 am

Double Retired wrote:
Cocoa_With_Stars, Welcome to WP! I hope you find it comfortable.

Much of what you describe sounds uncomfortable. I don't recall anyone on WP saying anything positive about ABA...except that it taught them to be a better liar.


As an education major, there's a reason why behaviorist methods aren't used with the general population any more, it really is best suited for use on animals. Then you've got the issues associated with the fact that you're now training people out of the most obvious signs of distress and happiness rather than addressing whatever underlying situation is causing the emotional display.

Fundamentally, it's about making people that aren't comfortable with autism comfortable at the expense of the autistic individuals who likely aren't getting their needs met or taught how to get their needs met. Even in cases where the stimming is harmful, it's still of questionable utility as addressing the distress should reduce the stimming and that should be coupled with teaching the person about other options for meeting the same need.



rse92
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14 Apr 2023, 10:20 am

If you are looking for positive reinforcement towards a career in ABA, I doubt you will find much of it here.

I am on the board of an autism services organization in my city. There is one other prominent organization in my city which touts ABA openly and teaches it. My organization, which is 35 years old, does not and will not. We believe that letting the autistic child be autistic will in the long run lead to better life results.