BBC television documentary about autism and ABA

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It is entitled Autism: Challenging Behaviour and will be shown on BBC Four on Tuesday 5 November from 9pm to 10pm. It explores the controversy surrounding Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) as a treatment for autism. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03gvnvm .

From several video presentations at a local university, it seems like ABA is reward for positive behavior and multiple trials. I can see how it can be helpful as one tool among many.

But they also seemed to kind of make a religion out of it snd seek to 'perfectionize' it.

I've just watched this and the Norwegian ABA guy and his methods really upset me. I wanted to find the 16yr old kid and ask him if he is okay as he seemed a bit PTSD and in need of therapy when watching his younger self. I also felt for his parents as they had voiced complaints during their child's therapy and been shut down and sidelined by someone they were paying to be in their house. It just all seemed so uncontrolled with the therapist almost playing God and personally determining desirable and non desirable behaviour based on their own codes and beliefs. I don't know if this is just the way the program made it seem, but a lot of his judgement calls on what was stimming and what needed eliminating seemed pretty arbitrary. Also the desire to drum out free will and enforce compliance doesn't sound that healthy for modelling a relationship between any adult and young child and made me think paedo candy and grooming (not that that was going on, but what if the kid wants to say no and face the consequences). Being taught to be compliant for raisins and attention for hours on end from such a young age really bothered me.
I think it was mostly the Norwegian guy and was not as upset by the work done in the school.

Is there any way to watch this from the U.S.?

I thought the guy was horrible and so was the woman working in the school who said that she'd do anything to get children to be compliant and follow her demands. I found some of it quite upsetting, but I wasn't surprised, judging from all the bad stuff I've read about ABA. My cousin is training to be an ABA therapist and she was horrified watching it, so I know she won't be like that.

There are a couple of links on newsgroups and on the pirate bay proxies if anyone can't view it on iplayer.

I've missed the programme on Iplayer, unfortunately, but luckily there's a clip still on, and it definitely gives a view of ABA that I agree with. The focus is on positive reinforcement. And yes, that does, in theory, discourage "autistic" behaviours such as stimming, but it's not like you're getting punishment for those behaviours, is it? Yes, it's fine to "accept" people with autism/Asperger's, if they can still function relatively well in the world, but what happens if, like the boy in the video, they can't communicate, and they can't do things by themselves? ABA is practically necessary for low functioning autistic people to learn how to function, and to not have to spend the rest of their lives in care homes or institutions (once the parents are no longer around).

ABA sounds like the psychotherpeutic version of a straitjacket or corset.