Reply to too much ABA therapy?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As an autistic adult active in the autistic community I strongly recommend reading up on ABA before you decide to do it at all. Don't talk to adults of autistic children, talk to autistic people about it. Hear how they felt as children subjected to ABA practices. Look out for red flags when screening for good therapists. Too many hours are a horrible strain and stress on children's systems. 40 hours a week for example is a full days work for a very small child. [b]Stay away from anyone using food as positive reinforcement. Stay away from anyone using "quiet hands" techniques that prohibit or even punish for stimming. Stay away from anyone enforcing eye contact.[/b] At the very least. Who can seriously think that is healthy? Generally ethics of real ABA techniques are doubtful at best. What one would consider "good ABA" is often not real ABA at all so don't confuse the two.

Parents often do not realize how exhausting and often inhumane ABA is. They just see results. But results don't equal good for your child. If you punish for unwanted behavior often enough and reward for wanted behavior often enough of course you get results. But you also disrespect a child's personal right to deny another person's request. ABA so often trains children to follow orders at total disregard for their own free will.

ABA is highly controversial. And since it is not you who is subjected to the therapy but your child - for your child's sake research a lot before you use ABA. There are countless other therapies out there that are less abusive, controversial, controlling, potentially harmful and traumatizing etc.

The very core of ABA is the same as how you would train an animal (and no you cannot say this in any kinder words) so finding more respectful and loving alternatives is always the best way to go. Anything achieved through ABA can be achieved through less invasive forms of therapy.[/quote]

I agree that trying to enforce eye contact or eliminate is stimming is worthless. Kids use little eye contact or stim because they are in sensory overload. They can't look at faces and listen to verbal input because it is too much at once. They stim because they coping with sensory overload.  Eliminating those behaviors through ABA takes away coping methods without making the child better able to cope with an over-whelming environment.   Any behavior therapy should teach actual skills, not just strive to make the kid with ASD look normal. [/quote]

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