Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) involves providing punishments and/or rewards to encourage or extinguish behaviours. The Autistic community has long voiced concern around the short and long term impacts of ABA. ABA therapy is associated with worse long term mental health outcomes including PTSD and suicide. People who have undergone ABA are also more vulnerable to abuse throughout their lifetime.
Even in Speech Pathology sessions you may see occurrences which should set off alarm bells for ABA practices. For example:
Providers who don’t want you to watch therapy sessions
Purposefully setting up frustrating situations in an attempt to get a child to talk
Using phrases such as “use your words” and not acknowledging other communication methods
Describing behaviour as attention seeking, escape behaviour or a tantrum
Using the terms “tact” and “mand”
Encouraging you to ignore a child’s behaviours which indicate they are in distress to attempt to “eliminate” the behaviour
Telling you to ignore a child, not comfort your child or stop giving them attention
Doing repetitive activities constantly which seem to practise the same skill and can seem pointless
Giving rewards, especially food rewards, after correctly performing a task
Using hand over hand without asking for consent
The long term effects of ABA are clear. If you see your therapist using these strategies on your child, open the conversation with them to gain clarification and if necessary, advocate for your child.
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