Autism Treatments

For those on the spectrum with verbal skills, I strongly advise against ABA therapy. Parents may be instructed to pursue or even have schools insist on ABA therapy but it is really just behaviorism (think rats pushing a bar to get a treat) and is mostly designed to stop the "negative" autistic behaviors that interfere with teachers or administrators at school. While rewarding good behavior is not negative, the idea of trying to force neurodiverse individuals to stop things neurotypical people find disturbing or odd is not helpful. As an example, "stimming" behaviors (flapping, repetitive movements, vocalizations, etc.) might be "disturbing" to a teacher but forcing a child to stop a coping skill that works for them to lower anxiety is, I believe, not ethical.

For more on this topic, see this article: https://www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/controversy-autisms-common-therapy/

#autism, #ABAharmful, #neurodiversity