Does ABA therapy brainwash you?
26 Sep 2017, 9:17 pm
magz wrote:
Holy cow, do you really need these "therapies"? They seem to ruin you, ruin the worthy human being you are! And they defeat the purpose - you need social skills to defend yourself, not to defeat yourself. If the "therapists" disregard you, who would teach you the basic respect for yourself? That's what you need to have a meaningful life!
I don't know where you live but maybe you could find some support from other HFA? Maybe there is some self-advocacy group in your area?
Also you write well, maybe you should write about all this if talking is too hard, show it to your mother - she seems at least positive towards you. Maybe you could consider changing the course of your therapy? Or at least the therapists?
IMO you need some alliance to get rid of this "therapy", they are killing the worthy YOU!
I don't know where you live but maybe you could find some support from other HFA? Maybe there is some self-advocacy group in your area?
Also you write well, maybe you should write about all this if talking is too hard, show it to your mother - she seems at least positive towards you. Maybe you could consider changing the course of your therapy? Or at least the therapists?
IMO you need some alliance to get rid of this "therapy", they are killing the worthy YOU!
I know. The therapists were unrelenting and cruel during my childhood, though. My iPad mini became useless, I was exposed to very loud noises without being allowed to use any hearing protection, and my self-esteem was annihilated.
All of this made me more reclusive instead of more social. I dislike fellow freshmen because I believe that they are corrupt along with all of society. I suffered from panic attacks and at least two periods of depression as a result. However, I have learned a little bit of human psychology and behavior while people-watching and from personal experience
I want to advocate for autism rights when I grow up, with hopes of evaluating the ethics of conventional autism treatments and helping make changes as necessary.
_________________
I am no longer using WP. Please PM me if you want to talk.
26 Sep 2017, 10:39 pm
warrier120 wrote:
I remember as a young girl, I had to go through a strenuous course of ABA therapy. Obviously, I did not like it. Whenever I had a meltdown, (which used to last hours) the ABA therapist would basically shun me until I calmed down and would label it a "tantrum". I considered this an aversive since I hate being ignored during meltdowns. This is because I feel completely helpless and out of control during a meltdown, and this diminishes my self-esteem. In my teenage years, (currently) I have become depressed as a result of being unable to appreciate myself when ignored.
Could it be possible that ABA therapists are starting to manipulate your emotions to force you to change your way of thinking? Whenever I approach some of my therapists on the subject of ABA and abuse, they obviously deny it. I always tell them that I have been emotionally damaged by ABA, but they think I'm lying. Once again, I feel powerless and do not appreciate myself.
I just want someone who is actually willing to listen to an autistic person's perspective. It feels like my freedom of thought has been violated by people who want to enforce society's ignorant and dangerous rules. Do you think that ABA brainwashes autistic people/Aspies?
P.S. I am "high-functioning" autistic.
Could it be possible that ABA therapists are starting to manipulate your emotions to force you to change your way of thinking? Whenever I approach some of my therapists on the subject of ABA and abuse, they obviously deny it. I always tell them that I have been emotionally damaged by ABA, but they think I'm lying. Once again, I feel powerless and do not appreciate myself.
I just want someone who is actually willing to listen to an autistic person's perspective. It feels like my freedom of thought has been violated by people who want to enforce society's ignorant and dangerous rules. Do you think that ABA brainwashes autistic people/Aspies?
P.S. I am "high-functioning" autistic.
I had only been subjected to that treatment once and I do not believe that is the right thing to do to a child. My mother never did such a thing to me or my siblings. She would let us cry for a bit and then come back in and see if she could comfort us or distract us.
When I am watching my young relatives and they have a tantrum, and I send them to their room, I ask if they need some alone time (they typically say they do), and tell them that they are welcome to come out when they are feeling better. If they wanted me to stay though, I would.
I would tell the same thing to someone on the spectrum.
29 Sep 2017, 11:34 am
warrier120 wrote:
magz wrote:
Holy cow, do you really need these "therapies"? They seem to ruin you, ruin the worthy human being you are! And they defeat the purpose - you need social skills to defend yourself, not to defeat yourself. If the "therapists" disregard you, who would teach you the basic respect for yourself? That's what you need to have a meaningful life!
I don't know where you live but maybe you could find some support from other HFA? Maybe there is some self-advocacy group in your area?
Also you write well, maybe you should write about all this if talking is too hard, show it to your mother - she seems at least positive towards you. Maybe you could consider changing the course of your therapy? Or at least the therapists?
IMO you need some alliance to get rid of this "therapy", they are killing the worthy YOU!
I don't know where you live but maybe you could find some support from other HFA? Maybe there is some self-advocacy group in your area?
Also you write well, maybe you should write about all this if talking is too hard, show it to your mother - she seems at least positive towards you. Maybe you could consider changing the course of your therapy? Or at least the therapists?
IMO you need some alliance to get rid of this "therapy", they are killing the worthy YOU!
I know. The therapists were unrelenting and cruel during my childhood, though. My iPad mini became useless, I was exposed to very loud noises without being allowed to use any hearing protection, and my self-esteem was annihilated.
All of this made me more reclusive instead of more social. I dislike fellow freshmen because I believe that they are corrupt along with all of society. I suffered from panic attacks and at least two periods of depression as a result. However, I have learned a little bit of human psychology and behavior while people-watching and from personal experience
I want to advocate for autism rights when I grow up, with hopes of evaluating the ethics of conventional autism treatments and helping make changes as necessary.
Where is it? I mean the country?
If it was like that in my neighborhood, I would defend my daughter from being diagnosed with all my skill! Because all the bullying and isolation at school is nothing next to the torture you describe.
_________________
Let's not confuse being normal with being mentally healthy.
<not moderating PPR stuff concerning East Europe>
30 Sep 2017, 8:33 pm
Hi guys, I’m going to take a break from posting anything for a while since nobody is responding to my posts. I will still be here at Wrong Planet, but I will not create new posts or reply until I see someone elses first. Thanks for cooperating.
_________________
I am no longer using WP. Please PM me if you want to talk.
15 Aug 2019, 7:11 pm
I'm Autistic and I took a course on Autism which went over ABA and how it works/current practices and this is called 'planned ignoring'. Therapists are supposed to take data and work out the whys/whens/wheres of a behavior -what does someone get out of it? If they determine that the behavior is for attention seeking a therapist may use planned ignoring where they don't acknowledge the child while the behavior goes on. It's expected that that behavior will worsen as the child tries extra hard to get your attention and this is called an 'extinction burst'.
Personally I don't like planned ignoring; it was used in Ivar Lovaas's conversion therapy in the 70's to get little boys to stop playing with 'girls toys' in the hopes that they wouldn't then become gay (it's a horrible study and a hard read).
Better to give the child an alternate way to have your attention (picture cards, communication apps ect). Also it sounds like your therapist misunderstood your meltdowns -like you weren't doing it for attention and even if you were....just ignoring them until you don't do them anymore really solves nothing.
I'm sorry this happened to you.
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