ABA Concerns and Experiences

[Anonymous]

There is a really awful practice that has been mentioned on this board. Lots of people have had bad experiences. On Maryland DC border. If it is this one find another. Avoid.

[Anonymous]

I obviously don’t know your kid but I would explore OT and speech over ABA. Much more evidence based and respected professions. I have also noticed how speech and OT often focus on affirming the child and family and building their confidence while ABA seems to be a let’s make your kid appear as normal as possible approach- which is not gonna happen without devastating repercussions to the child. Many adults with autism report their experiences with ABA were nothing short of traumatic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I obviously don’t know your kid but I would explore OT and speech over ABA. Much more evidence based and respected professions. I have also noticed how speech and OT often focus on affirming the child and family and building their confidence while ABA seems to be a let’s make your kid appear as normal as possible approach- which is not gonna happen without devastating repercussions to the child. Many adults with autism report their experiences with ABA were nothing short of traumatic

+1 it may be ABA is appropriate for some kids but that doesn't mean we should dismiss the voices of people who were traumatized. If it's not appropriate for every kid then ABA shouldn't be pushed on all the kids it's being pushed on.

[Anonymous]

Stay away from National Therapy Center. They have a lot of turnover and one supervisor who was very full of himself and started working with my child before even reading his file.

[Anonymous]

Shepherd Park Children Academy (SPCA) is a newly opened Child Development Center in NW DC. In addition to being a daycare, they also offer an ABA therapy program for children with ASD. Children with ASD are paired with an RBT who is supervised by a BCBA. SPCA takes insurance (currently Medstar, CareFirst and Aetna) and is inclusive so children with ASD have an opportunity to learn, grow and acquire social skills alongside children without ASD. Their website is: www.shepherdparkacademy.com

[Anonymous]

What you describe sounds exactly like my experience with Behavioral Framework.

I rematched 3 times and each time the tech they sent was still working on their certification and was basically a glorified nanny with a background check. Zero experience. The first had just graduated high school and was getting this certificate because she was interested in becoming a SN teacher after college. She had babysat a little and that was it. She was like a deer in headlights trying to deal with any real issues. The second was doing this as a break in college (unrelated degree) but was generally good with kids so it was helpful to have her around but she went back to school after a few months. The third was a former SAHM who was getting back in the workforce. She was very rigid and it did not work out. At that point I quit Behavioral Framework because I felt like I was training their employees at that point.

Also, virtual supervision is complete trash.

Imagine an inexperienced teen trying to film an SN child while interacting and taking direction from their boss over FaceTime or a computer screen. It’s a disaster. Just handling the screen is already stressful, taking direction from someone who wasn’t there and had no context of what was happening in the house was often counterproductive.

[Anonymous]

Look into play or relationship-based therapy instead. Insurance is starting to cover it. I won't list any companies or people on this board, but they are out there and it's available in our area.

Also listen on social media/podcasts/etc. to adult Autistics who went through ABA and see what they have to say.