ABA, Modeling, and Abuse

There's pushing kids to try a little harder, to go a little further, than would on their own. Then there's pushing them past their tolerance limit, pushing them into pain or panic. One is a healthy part of raising or teaching a child. The other is child abuse... I know that much of the damage done by therapists is done without malice. Most of it is done with good intentions, even. I don't bring these things up to make anyone feel bad about what they are doing or have done. I do it to help you learn, as I learned, for the sake of the kids we're all trying to help.

Fever Dreams and Philosophical Musings

Last night, I fell asleep with a mild fever. My life chased me into my dreams. *** In my dream, my client breaks something while I struggle to help his mother in the kitchen. His ABA team makes him stay up all night cleaning, and in the morning a troop of therapists convenes to discuss…

Proposed Guidelines for the Safe and Ethical Application of ABA Methods

Please note: This post is a work in progress. **** Behaviors targeted for modification or extinction must meet the following criteria: The behavior creates a physical safety risk for the client or other people, or causes significant damage to the surroundings. Behaviors may not be targeted for elimination/modification on the grounds of being atypical, embarrassing,…

When ABA Gets It Right: Collaborating with a Client

There's one ABA team I work with who are, on the whole, pretty awesome. I'd like to give a few examples of things that make me happy about them: - They acknowledge, in front of the client, that they know she understands a lot more than she is capable of expressing to us. They say…

Breaking Down ABA

[A note, December 2021: Time passes and I learn things. I hope we all do. I ran across a link to this series of posts recently, and came back to re-read them. And realized that they contain statements I no longer agree with. I have, multiple times, defended limited use of Behavior Modification methods, including…

Open Letter to ABA Folks: On the Word “No.”

If you have not done so, please read the introduction to this letter series before continuing: https://restlesshands42.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/an-open-letter-to-aba-folks-intro/ Overview of this letter: Section 1: About the word "no" and why it is important Section 2: Observed ABA practices in teaching "no" and why they are problematic Section 3: Brief recap of section 2 Section 4: Practical…

An Open Letter to ABA Folks: Introduction

Dear ABA therapists and technicians, I've met a good number of you over the years. The majority of you love the kids you work with, and want to do well by them. So, for the sake of those children, please listen to some critiques of your methods. Before I start: 1) I do not categorically…

Interconnectedness, science, ABA, and autism

[Quick amendment: the term "ABA therapy" actually refers to a fairly broad category of therapies based on the science of Applied Behavior Analysis, a branch of Behavioral Psychology. Because so many different approaches and programs are referred to as ABA, there is a good deal of confusion about the term within both the autistic community…

Thoughts on Accommodating Autism with the Application of ABA therapy

Disclaimer: I'm not a licensed ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapist. I have a BS in psychology and have taken classes on behavior modification, of which ABA is one form. I have not worked much with autistic children, but I spend a lot of time communicating with autistic adults. I do work closely with a child…