Is aba therapy ableist?

Question

Aba therapy is Applied behavior analysis.  It is considered the “gold standard of autism treatment” 
Medical professionals often recommend this type of therapy for a child diagnosed as autistic, along with speech, pt, ot, ect, depending on what the child’s needs are.  Aba programs are often tailored to someone’s needs, but basically the goal is to help with communication, social skills, and decrease “unwanted” behaviors.  
Many, many parents, along with medical professionals will argue that aba does absolute wonders for their child, they used to exhibit self injuring behaviors, now they don’t, eloping was an issue, now resolved, how many skills their child gained, ect.  
However, on the other hand, many autistic adults do tell a different story.  Many say they now suffer PTSD.  When my son was diagnosed, I joined a Facebook group ran by autistic adults, and they all speak about aba as abusive, “dog training”, and all it was was teaching them how to mask and how to appear neurotypical
You can find a lot of aba abuse stories on Reddit, if you Google aba Reddit.

Aba therapy has changed over the years, but many autistic adults do claim any type of therapy uses aba tactics and principles is harmful, even “new” aba. 
This leaves a pretty big divide between autistic adults and parents with autistic children.  
Autistic adults claim ABA is abusive and ableist, but many autistic parents claim that their child needs aba for the “best outcome in life”.  autistic adults claim this type of thinking is very dismissive to their experience, while the parents really do feel they are doing what is best for their kids since it’s so heavily pushed.  
What is your take?

Answer

“Ableism is the discrimination of and social prejudice against people with disabilities based on the belief that typical abilities are superior. At its heart, ableism is rooted in the assumption that disabled people require 'fixing' and defines people by their disability.”
Yes, it is ableist and I believe it deserves the criticism it is getting, however I’m not entirely opposed to the use of it either.
I agree with the article, humanistic approaches are better (imo) in almost any situation where they can be applied.  ABA is very much conditioning, like how you would train an animal…this isn’t necessarily ‘bad’ though and we use these tactics on ourselves frequently.  Eg. go to bed too late, natural consequence we are tired the next day and don’t feel great, we learn going to bed at an earlier time is better for our health and wellbeing, make the connection and adjust our behaviour (go to bed earlier) for a better outcome (reward).  
Applying this can be extremely useful for keeping people safe, alive (ex. self harm stimming) and having a more fulfilling life.  However I do take issue with it being used for things like eye contact or non harmful types of stimming…this is a societal issue that can be easily changed with acceptance…although unfortunately it might keep someone alive in a situation with police. 
I think part of the problem is any belief that ABA is a holistic approach to wellbeing.  It might be a piece of it, for specific things, but it does not address emotional health (imo) at all and should not be used because as a society we are uncomfortable with behaviour that might not be typical but is not harmful.

Answer

I think people need to start listening to the people who experienced it and says that it is.

Answer

I want to preface this by saying that I’ve been in the field for about 8 years, and I just got my MS in ABA. Yes, ABA absolutely can be ableist and abusive, and I have definitely done things that were absolutely horrible. However, I feel like my current company does an amazing job at preventing ableism. Some things we focus on are:
- client assent. If a kid tells me no, then it’s no. Obviously there are somethings that HAVE to happen, but for the most part, no means no. That also means I get a clear yes as well. For less vocal kids, this can look like “I’m gonna help you”, I bring my hands closer to them, and wait to see if they move away. If they do, I model “no thanks” and move away. If they keep their hands where they are, I say exactly where I’m going to touch them and why. I remind them if they want me to stop, I will. 
- parent training with an emphasis on ND education, especially when it comes to stimming. 
- ensuring goals are important to the kid  
There are several comments so far from people in the field claiming that it’s not ableist because they haven’t seen ableism. However, telling an autistic person that something isn’t ableist IS ABLEIST.

Answer

This is such a hot topic on one of my other forums.  Personally, I've actually seen nearly as many autistic adults speak in favor of it as against it.  It just makes me wonder maybe not all ABA is administered the same, or you know, perhaps autistic people are individuals.  
As for it being conditioning compared to animal training, I can see that, and I can also see that as both harmless and harmful. ABA aside, I think all parents use some conditioning to encourage compliance regarding social norms. But I think most parents walk that fine line of wanting "well behaved" children that can function in society without breaking their child's spirit or losing who they are. Some parents go overboard and it's traumatic.  I can only surmise that ABA therapy has a similar potential. 
So, no, I don't think "training" children to function in society is specific to autistic children and I don't think treatment is ableist.

Answer

Yes, it is, and it can be abusive. 
I’m not one to suggest it always is awful or that parents are bad if that’s the route they take. Fidgets.and.fries speaks a lot about ABA and the nuance for marginalized people. She also makes the very astute point that the root of ABA (human conditioning) is everywhere. You cannot escape the practice. You can escape practices of ABA, like 40 hour structured days to teach how to “correctly” play or try to suppress stimming, but X happens if you do Y human conditioning is omnipotent. 
Aside from voices of those harmed, ABA has been found to be ineffective long term. Many psychologists and cognitive researchers have been saying the type of teaching at ABA is short-term…and some research has shown that. Other research has shown that kids naturally progress and learn to adapt to their environment/community regardless of ABA, kids just need some time to have their brain develop. 
I do think ABA as a practice is ableist at the core, therefore extremely prone to abuse. ABA is also I’d argue exploitive and classist. The schools tend to be extremely expensive, a cash cow for insurance and use fear tactics to lure in parents.

Answer

I think that if you are using it to stop your child being killed or injured then it's different/ as without it they might not live to have an opinion on it!

Answer

There’s lots of really great comments already. 
The techniques behind behavioral therapy aren’t inherently ableist, but it often was, and still is, applied in an ableist and abusive way. 
Keeping children safe is always important, as is making sure they can be as independent as realistically possible. That said, anytime the goals are making autistic people more “normal” hella red flags. 🚩 🚩🚩
We should always be listening to the community of those that interventions are for. Their feedback is the most important, and sadly the least heard far too often.

Answer

I think aba therapy can be helpful if some appropriately. For instance, yea bing an alternative way to seek sensory input that isn’t self harm. I fully understand why aba has gotten to be such a controversial topic and have personally seen how detrimental it can be, how it can easily stray I to an abusive practice. But I’ve also seen therapists who are using it properly to help better the lives of others. In all cases, I think there needs to be oversight by others to make sure it’s appropriate. 
Speaking from many many years in social services and as foster mama to a child who utilized aba positively.

Answer

1.  I don’t judge parents that opt for ABA.  It is HEAVILY pushed by doctors, and they do use fear tactics, like someone else mentioned.  “Your kid will never function independently”, “early intervention is the key to success”.  They really REALLY hammer it in, like you NEED to do ALL the therapies or your kid is fucked in life.  Also, if your kid is hurting themselves, or being aggressive, something needs to be done.  I understand that.  
2.  I don’t judge parents that DONT opt for ABA.  Because we can’t forget-  parents that DONT do all the therapies are looked down on too. (How will your kid ever be ok as an adult?? Don’t you know how important early intervention is? Why don’t you do what’s best for your kid?) 
So, enough about the parents.  Let’s get to what the autistic people have to say.  The ones living as autistic adults, many that have gone thru ABA.  I am neurotypical, so my opinion doesn’t really matter on if I think it’s abusive (I know you said ableist, but they go hand in hand).  The overall consensus in the autistic community is that ABA is abusive and ableist.  Autistic people have been straight up begging pleading with neurotypicals to listen to what they have to say.  And so many of us don’t. (Remember Sia’s movie, music?” 
ABA therapy isn’t always bad tho.  Like I said before, sometimes when you are a desperate parent and your kid is hurting themselves and others, what are you supposed to do to keep them safe? But it does seem that is it changing.  For example, a lot of ABA centers no longer force eye contact, no longer prevent stimming, no longer use punishments.  Also, I don’t know how it is in other places, but the hours offered thru early intervention in NY dropped significantly.  I believe and I could be wrong, but the max amount is 5-10 hours a week, while it used to be recommended 40. That alone is huge.  40 hours of therapy for a 2 year old is absolutely crazy.  
So with that being said-  I think it really depends on the place.  Understand when the autistic kid is at their limit. If a kid is having a meltdown understand they need a break and aren’t being uncompliant.  And don’t teach masking or how to be NT

Answer

I think it depends on the child in question. Not every child with autism is the same. They need different forms of help, whether it be Speech and Language therapy, occupational therapy, ABA. The issue is for me when I had my daughter I felt pressured into doing all therapies I knew nothing about. I wasn’t given a full picture of what was going to happen during ABA. Your child gets diagnosed, as a parent I felt helpless, I had no idea what to do. I needed help. Suddenly I had this child who would bang get head on the floor and run for her life every time we went out. So I said yes to the ABA.

Is aba therapy ableist?

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