Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am of the mind that the more ABA you can do, the better. Admittedly, we were pretty extreme for our DC -- began ABA at age 2 and did at least 40 hours a week (7 days a week). But it absolutely changed his path. If it's done right, the program will be tailored to his particular needs and goals, so it will be very productive. Best of luck.

Are you aware that adult Autistics speak out strongly against ABA therapy? Yes, these are people who are now verbal, whether written or spoken, and they consistently view ABA as abuse. Go to ASAN and read wth writings of some of the people there. This type of therapy holds hostage all the things your child loves, turning them into rewards to be earned. In many cases, they train children with less compassion and humanity than I train my dog.



Please. Reconsider.

A lot of parenting approaches could be considered training.

But ABA focuses on compliance. It can teach discrete skills, but does little to help them generalize.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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. 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. 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.

Thank you for posting! We don't hear from actual autistic adults nearly often enough around here.

I'd just like to add to those cautions one about anyone who tries to use ABA to extinguish echolalia or other forms of supposedly "non-functional" speech. I've read accounts from autistic adults who say that echolalia was how they found their way to speech--not a detour, but the path. And of course many of us read that amazing story last year about the kid who learned to speak through imitating characters in his favorite Disney movies. Even apart from the potentially cruel methodologies, I worry that ABA is too often directed at trying to modify things that cannot or should not be modified. Back when ABA was first developed they still thought autism was a learned behavior (caused by "refrigerator mothers"!) and so deploying behaviorist methods against it seemed like a promising avenue for treatment. It didn't work, unsurprisingly--because autism is a neurological difference, not a set of behaviors. And there are reasons, rooted in that neurology, for things like stimming, eye contact differences, different ways of communicating, etc.. Trying to stamp them out may well be depriving your kid of the best adaptations he or she has come up with. More typical-seeming may not, in other words, be more functional.

Anonymous wrote: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. 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. 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.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all of the feedback. Sounds like I am not crazy to question the DRs recommendation. What kind of professional would I reach out to for a Functional Behavior Assessment? Would that person consider ABA among other approaches when crafting the Behavior Plan? I love the idea of a professional helping me put ABA in context among other approach options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am of the mind that the more ABA you can do, the better. Admittedly, we were pretty extreme for our DC -- began ABA at age 2 and did at least 40 hours a week (7 days a week). But it absolutely changed his path. If it's done right, the program will be tailored to his particular needs and goals, so it will be very productive. Best of luck.

Are you aware that adult Autistics speak out strongly against ABA therapy? Yes, these are people who are now verbal, whether written or spoken, and they consistently view ABA as abuse. Go to ASAN and read wth writings of some of the people there. This type of therapy holds hostage all the things your child loves, turning them into rewards to be earned. In many cases, they train children with less compassion and humanity than I train my dog.



Please. Reconsider.

A lot of parenting approaches could be considered training.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am of the mind that the more ABA you can do, the better. Admittedly, we were pretty extreme for our DC -- began ABA at age 2 and did at least 40 hours a week (7 days a week). But it absolutely changed his path. If it's done right, the program will be tailored to his particular needs and goals, so it will be very productive. Best of luck.

Are you aware that adult Autistics speak out strongly against ABA therapy? Yes, these are people who are now verbal, whether written or spoken, and they consistently view ABA as abuse. Go to ASAN and read wth writings of some of the people there. This type of therapy holds hostage all the things your child loves, turning them into rewards to be earned. In many cases, they train children with less compassion and humanity than I train my dog.



Please. Reconsider.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ABA was originally designed for children who didn't readily imitate and weren't very socially motivated to please others. It focused heavily on compliance and even used punishment as one of its main enforcers. Today there are more variations of ABA, but you still have to be very careful about who administers it and how they use it. ABA is not a "cure" for autism although it's often sold that way, which guilts parents into using it.

Given your description, I wouldn't focus on ABA at all. I'd focus on creating the right settings (nurturing, small amount of kids) for my child where he thrives. For behaviors, you can do a Functional Behavior Assessment and create Behavior Plan to keep him on track instead of using ABA, which is often referred to as dog training.

That is a very ignorant, hateful statement.

Behavioral psychology has broad applications beyond animal training, and is incorporated into the most broadly used psychological therapy used in the USA today (CBT).

Anonymous wrote:

ABA was originally designed for children who didn't readily imitate and weren't very socially motivated to please others. It focused heavily on compliance and even used punishment as one of its main enforcers. Today there are more variations of ABA, but you still have to be very careful about who administers it and how they use it. ABA is not a "cure" for autism although it's often sold that way, which guilts parents into using it.

Given your description, I wouldn't focus on ABA at all. I'd focus on creating the right settings (nurturing, small amount of kids) for my child where he thrives. For behaviors, you can do a Functional Behavior Assessment and create Behavior Plan to keep him on track instead of using ABA, which is often referred to as dog training.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all of the feedback. Sounds like I am not crazy to question the DRs recommendation. What kind of professional would I reach out to for a Functional Behavior Assessment? Would that person consider ABA among other approaches when crafting the Behavior Plan? I love the idea of a professional helping me put ABA in context among other approach options.

Anonymous wrote:I am of the mind that the more ABA you can do, the better. Admittedly, we were pretty extreme for our DC -- began ABA at age 2 and did at least 40 hours a week (7 days a week). But it absolutely changed his path. If it's done right, the program will be tailored to his particular needs and goals, so it will be very productive. Best of luck.