June 2021 part 1 - ABA is abuse.

okay, so the "part 1" in the title is there for a reason. I'd already decided I wanted to cover ABA today, but then it occurred to me that there's another topic to cover, so there'll be a 2nd post coming just after this.

firstly, let's start with what ABA is. Applied Behavioral Analysis, or ABA, is a form of Autism therapy used to help neurodivergent children behave in a way similar to their neurotypical peers.

sounds great, right?

now let's get onto the other names for it

- the therapy that makes you need therapy

- autism conversion therapy

- torture

- abuse

hhhm. Doesn't sound so good now, does it?

ABA is punishing Autistic children for being themselves. This can be by revoking their access to food, taking away personal time such as break time, etc. for things such as:

- stimming (flapping hands, bouncing knee, fidgeting, etc.) - a common Autistic trait to help with overstimulation.

- being nonverbal

- meltdowns

- any other autistic trait you can think of

in the worst cases, such as that at the Judge Rotenberg Centre (JRC) they even use electric shock therapies (declared as illegal and torture) in order to train the Autistic traits out of children.

does this help them? No. It causes them to need therapy later in life to get over their PTSD, or alternatively, it causes them to commit suicide.

I'm not going to hide that fact, or sugar coat it, Autistic people kill themselves because of the torture ABA put them through as children, and the nightmares that come from it.

but neurotypical parents who don't know any better think it's just glorified playtime, where they can get all their learning done in a more informal environment that would be great for them! (this actually would be a good way of helping Autistic children, and some clinics that act under the name of ABA for insurance but are not at all ABA actually do that, but that's an entirely different topic)

also, fun fact: ABA is based off of the psychology study by Ivan Pavlov which researched classical conditioning by training dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell instead of when food was presented in front of them. A study which he himself said was NOT TO BE USED ON HUMANS.

oh, and for those of you who hate the guy already, ABA was created by the same person who created gay conversion therapy, who described Autistic people as incomplete templates of humans.

but hey, don't just take it from me, take it from the hundreds of polls run by Autistic people on twitter with the same question! (including the first one, which I ran myself)

the next post is by @AutSciPerson - out of over 1000 votes, an overwhelming majority voted that ABA should not be used on Autistic children, with only around 10-12 people total voting that it should.

how about @NeuroRebel's post? - also over 1000 votes and an overwhelming majority. Only around 37 people said that ABA is not abuse on this post.

I could keep going and I have plenty more sources saved up for something entirely different I'm writing, but I think my point comes across nicely just in these 3 images.

if you are a parent of an Autistic child and someone recommends you to ABA, please do your research first! ABA is abuse and only leads to trauma and suicide!

enjoy June everyone! Part 2 coming shortly...