The Great Big ABA Opposition Resource List

Inspired by an anonymous question, here’s a list of every (English language) anti-ABA article that we know of, all in one place, so it’s easy for you to send the whole list or pick and choose which articles will be most useful when talking to different people about this issue.

This post will be updated as new resources become available and resources we missed come to our attention.

Note (4/11/21): This list will be maintained periodically despite the dissolution of the group and page we previously managed.

general information

• ABA Therapy: Treatment, or Torture? | Marie A. | Adultistic
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• What is Applied Behavior Analysis, and why is it so terrible? | Ask An Autistic | Stop ABA Support Autistics
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• My Thoughts on ABA | Amy Sequenzia | The Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN)
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• ABA | Unstrange Mind
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• Touch Nose. Gummy Bear: What is ABA and Why Does it Suck? | Love Explosions
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• Breaking Down ABA | Restless Hands
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• Breaking Down ABA, Again: Introduction | Restless Hands
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• Breaking Down ABA, Again. Part 1: Ethics, Standards, and Side Effects | Restless Hands
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• Facebook Post | Neurodefiant
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• Beware of ABA | Fierce Autie
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• What’s the Big Deal With ABA Therapy? | Kaylene George | Autistic Mama
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• Why ABA Therapy is Bad: A Brief Summary | Ask An Autistic | Stop ABA Support Autistics
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• Problematic and Traumatic: Why Nobody Needs ABA | silentlyspeakingvolumes | Autistic Self-Advocates Against ABA
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• Not An Autism Mom’s Thoughts on ABA: Part One | Meghan Ashburn | NeuroClastic
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from autistic people who were subjected to ABA therapy

• On Hurling Myself into Traffic to Get Out of ABA Therapy | NeuroClastic
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• Personal stories from those formerly enrolled in ABA | Ask An Autistic | Stop ABA Support Autistics
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• An Open Letter To The NYT: Acknowledge The Controversy Surrounding ABA | Fay Fahrenheit | NeuroClastic
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• It was Behavior Therapy All Along, and I had Absolutely No Clue- Until Now | Alex Sprague | NeuroClastic
  • Summary: Alex Sprague reflects on their childhood experiences with a behavior therapy program (a “special needs” gymnastics class using ABA techniques) which was never presented to them as behavior therapy as a child. They discuss the abuses they faced and how two of their former “teachers” were arrested for sexually assaulting children/teenagers, as well as the owner of the facility having been arrested for the same type of crimes which had been perpetrated decades prior to the arrest (before Alex Sprague attended the facility).
  • Key takeaways:
    • ABA attempts to extinguish normal bodily functions that are culturally deemed rude and shame children for not having full control of their bodies
    • ABA seeks to stop children from expressing discomfort, pain, or distress
    • ABA is akin to grooming a child, there is often a lack of consent, including when adults touch children without their consent
    • ABA professionals punish autistic children for acting and thinking like they are autistic
    • ABA places children in vulnerable, dangerous positions and places behavior technicians in an equally dangerous position (allowing them access to vulnerable children to groom)

from parents who abandoned ABA

• Why We Stopped Most Therapies | Court Alice Thatcher | Respectfully Connected
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• An Open Letter to Families Considering Intensive Behavioral Therapy for Their Child with Autism | Virgynia King & Bob King | Astrea
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• An Open Letter to Families Considering Intensive Behavioral Therapy for Their Child with Autism Part 2 | Virgynia King & Bob King | Astrea
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• Tackling that Troublesome Issue of ABA and Ethics | Ariane Zurcher | Emma’s Hope Book
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• Grappling with the Right Thing to Do | Ariane Zurcher | Emma’s Hope Book
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• Unapologetically Non-Compliant: A Neurotypical Mother’s Perspective After Leaving ABA | Holly Rowe | NeuroClastic
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• Alone? Frightened? Worried? | Ariane Zurcher | Emma’s Hope Book
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• Why We Quit ABA, Pt. 1 | Ms. A | Be a Teaching Unicorn
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• We Quit ABA: What We Do Instead | Ms. A | Be a Teaching Unicorn
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articles from former ABA providers/behavior analysts/behavior technicians

• I Abused Children and So Do You: A Response to an ABA Apologist | Birdmadgrrl | madasbirdsblog
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• Why I Left ABA | Socially Anxious Advocate
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• Tumblr Post | Ink and Daggers on Tumblr
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• My Name is Christine and I Work with Children with Autism | Tumblr Post | voltron-da-eclair on Tumblr
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• Becoming an ABA Registered Behavior Technician Before Knowing I Was Autistic: Part 1- Restraint Training | Terra Vance | Neuroclastic
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• Becoming an RBT When I Thought I Was Neurotypical: Part 2- The Certification Course | Terra Vance | Neuroclastic
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• I Worked at an ABA Clinic. It Was Abuse. | Neuroclastic
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• I am a Disillusioned BCBA: Autistics are Right About ABA| Jo Ram | NeuroClastic
  • Summary: Jo Ram, BCBA, discusses the harmful lack of collaboration and dangerous isolation that is encouraged in the field. They discuss at length the harmful, abrasive way BCBAs and others in the field of ABA respond to criticism from autistic people, including to gaslight them. Jo Ram also insists that “good” behavior analysts/technicians must condemn the harmful actions of others in the field and suggests that autistic people need to be part of ABA discussions.
  • Key takeaways:
    • BCBA regrets their role in harming autistic children
    • Calls for radical changes to ABA
    • ABA providers and others view Autistic people as “less than”
    • Parents and autistic children are manipulated in standard ABA process
    • Compliance from children subjected to ABA is a trauma response
• Spectrum Magazine Missed the Point I Wanted to Express about ABA: Here’s What I Said | Terra Vance | NeuroClastic
  • Summary: Terra Vance has publicized her emails to Emily Sohn which show an interview between the two for an article later published in Spectrum Magazine. Terra Vance discusses her brief experience performing ABA as part of a psychology program, and the ways in which she disagrees with ABA.
  • Key takeaways:
    • Terra Vance opted to forgo ABA for her own child, which was somewhat influenced by her experiences (but moreso because of her own fundamental beliefs and understanding of psychology)
    • ABA tasks are often meaningless
    • ABA professionals refer to atypical communication as “meaningless”
    • Spectrum Magazine wrote an article that did not convey her core beliefs about ABA, which had been discussed repeatedly in the emails

articles from other providers and scientists

(speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physicians, etc.)

• A Letter from an SLP to a Parent, Immediately After an Autism Diagnosis for a 5-Year-Old | Julie Roberts | SLP Neurodiversity Collective
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• The Hidden Costs of Planned Ignoring | Mona Delahook | Mona Delahook, Ph.D
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responses to ABA providers

• Tumblr Post | Neurowonderful on Tumblr (this post contains a question from an ABA therapist and response from an autistic advocate)
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• A Note to (What Feels Like) Every ABA Therapist Ever | Neurowonderful on Tumblr
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• A Challenge to Autism Professionals | Ido in Autismland
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information on aversives and torture in ABA (and the FDA’s stance on aversives, torture, and electric shock)

• Aversives and Torture in ABA | Ask An Autistic | Stop ABA Support Autistics
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• Association for Behavior Analysis International Endorses Torture | Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)
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• ASAN Statement On JRC At Association for Behavior Analysis International Conference | Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)
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• AWN Statement on Potential FDA Aversive Shock Therapy Ban | Amy Sequenzia | Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN)
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• FDA to Finalize on Shock Devices Used on Those with Special Needs | Michelle Diament | Disability Scoop
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• Stop the Shocks: New Toolkit Builds on Autistic Community’s Anti-JRC Work | Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN)
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• Myths and Facts About Aversives | Autism National Commitee (AutCom)
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• Statement Condemning Applied Behavior Analysis’ Aversive Practices | thecreativeautistic | Neurodiversity for Music Therapists
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ABA and the link to PTSD

• ABA and PTSD | Ask An Autistic | Stop ABA Support Autistics
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• Evidence of Increased PTSD Symptoms in Autistics Exposed to Applied Behavior Analysis | Henny Kupferstein | Advances in Autism (medical journal, hosted on Emerald Insight)
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• The Art of Stimming: ABA Has Left a Legacy of Traumatized Kids. Why is This Still the Standard of Treatment? | David M. Perry | Pacific Standard
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consent (or lack thereof) in ABA

• ABA and the Thorny Problem of Control and Consent | Think Inclusive
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• ABA and the Refusal to Teach Children About Consent | Ask An Autistic | Stop ABA Support Autistics
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child abuse in ABA

• Invisible Abuse: ABA and the Things Only Autistic People Can See | C.L. Lynch | NeuroClastic
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• How Much Compliance is Too Much Compliance: Is Long-Term ABA Therapy Abuse? | Aileen Herlinda Sandoval Norton | Cogent Psychology (medical journal, hosted on Taylor & Francis online)
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• Hidden Camera Reveals ABA Therapist Interacting “Roughly” With 4-Year-Old Boy | Leah Hendry | CBC
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• Would You Accept This Behavior Toward a Non-Autistic Child? | Heidi LoStracco | Speak For Yourself AAC
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• The Shocking Truth About ABA, Autism, and Abuse | Carol Millman | NeuroClastic
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articles about ABA being a conversion therapy focused on assimilation

• Is ABA really “Dog Training for Children?” A Professional Dog Trainer Weighs In | Carol Millman | NeuroClastic
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• BCBAs Respond to the Dog Trainer Who Called Out ABA | Carol Millman | Neuroclastic
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• Why Applied Behavior Analysis Harms Your Autistic Child | Frank L. Ludwig | Autism Appreciation
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• Is ABA Really Like “Dog Training for Humans” ? | Ask An Autistic | Stop ABA Support Autistics
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• Autistic Conversion Therapy | Amy Sequenzia | Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN)
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• Compliance is Not the Goal: Letting Go of Controls and Rethinking Support for Autistic Individuals | Amy Laurent | Ted Talk
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• The Cost of Compliance is Unreasonable | Love Explosions
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• Treating autism as a problem: The connection between Gay Conversion Therapy and ABA | Alex Kronstein | The Nova Scotia Advocate
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the terrifying origins of ABA alongside the now renounced gay conversion therapy

• Origins of ABA: O. Ivar Lovaas, the Father of ABA and Gay Conversion Therapy | Ask An Autistic |Stop ABA Support Autistics
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• #RealAutismQuotes | Wibbly Wobbly NeuroUnlogical Stuff
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• Disturbing Behaviors: O. Ivar Lovaas and the Queer History of Autism Science | Margaret F. Gibson & Patty Douglas | Catalyst
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• Breaking Down ABA, Again: Part 2: Goals and Underlying Philosophy | Restless Hands
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• Why Autism ABA Goes Against Everything B.F. Skinner Believed In | Carol Millman | NeuroClastic
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To read some of Lovaas’ own deeply upsetting words from his “clinical trial” of ABA/behavior therapy on children in the 1970s, look no further: Some Generalization and Follow-Up Measures on Autistic Children in Behavior Therapy | O. Ivar Lovaas, Robert Koegel, James Q. Simmons & Judith Stevens Long | Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis

Be warned: the language used in this article is incredibly disturbing and dehumanizing.

articles to address that ABA is “evidence-based”

• Behaviorism is Dead. How Do We Tell The (Autism) Parents? | Carol Millman | NeuroClastic
  • Summary: Carol Millman discusses at length the ways in which ABA is an outdated science that fails to account for a slew of important changes in psychology.
  • Key takeaways:
    • ABA and the behaviorist techniques it is based on are dated and no longer relevant
    • ABA uses principles that are known to be harmful and hinder development
    • ABA education fails to teach important information about behaviorism, neurology, and other fields of psychology to people performing ABA on children
    • The science behind ABA was outdated even when ABA was created
    • ABA ignores science that has helped us understand autism
    • The study methods used in ABA are questionable at best compared to other fields of science

articles about ABA therapists behaving inappropriately (in general)

• ABA therapists are at it again | Sara Meyer | Medium
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• ABA Providers Making Fun of Autistic People | Amy Sequenzia | Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN)
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• Misbehavior of Behaviorists | Michelle Dawson | No Autistics Allowed (Explorations in Discrimination Against Autistics)
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articles to help you spot the red flags

• How to Tell if an Autism ABA Therapy is Harmful | wikiHow (note: all ABA is harmful, this explains why in a fundamental way)
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• Facebook Post | Ask An Autistic (this post stresses that all ABA is harmful)
• What Does Helpful Vs Harmful Therapy Look Like? | Unstrange Mind
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• Autism Therapy Red Flags All Parents Need to Know and Watch Out For | Karin George | Autistic Mama
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articles to adress the “but what about…”

• Appearing to Enjoy Behavior Modification is Not Meaningful | Real Social Skills
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• But What About the Good ABA Therapists | Unstrange Mind
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• 5 Important Reasons Even “New ABA” is Problematic | Kaylene George |Autistic Mama
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• International Day of Protest Against ABA: Gentle ABA is Still Abuse | Oswin | Autistic Spectrum Parenting
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• Another post: what’s wrong with modern ABA? | Sara Meyer | Medium (to address the idea that modern ABA is somehow different and non-harmful)
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• Behavior Modification Therapy Does Work | hellomichelleswan
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• On ABA: Evidence-Based Doesn’t Mean Good Therapy | Aprenderaquererme | NeuroClastic
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• But My Child Loves ABA and their Therapists: ABA, Religion, and the Status Quo |Terra Vance | NeuroClastic
  • Summary: Terra Vance discusses her upbringing in a fundamentalist Evangelical Christian region, church, and culture. She makes comparisons between ABA and her upbringing and cult religion and talks about the harm that desperate attempts to stick to the status quo caused to her and many others.
  • Key takeaways:
    • There are parallels between ABA therapy and staunch religious sects
    • Children love their ABA therapists for the same reason they love their parents and other adults in their lives: because they don’t know that the person is harming them
    • ABA is always abuse, no matter how gentle

published articles/journal articles/scientific evidence

• Facebook Post (details the clinical failure of ABA) | SLP Neurodiversity Collective (contains a .pdf of a published article)
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• Disturbing Behaviors: O. Ivar Lovaas and the Queer History of Autism Science | Margaret F. Gibson & Patty Douglas | Catalyst
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• Evidence of Increased PTSD Symptoms in Autistics Exposed to Applied Behavior Analysis | Henny Kupferstein | Advances in Autism (medical journal, hosted on Emerald Insight)
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• US Government Reports that ABA Doesn’t Work. | Alternative Teaching Strategy Center
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• Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Literature Review | Fernandes FD, et al. | PubMed
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• So What Exactly Are Autism Interventions Intervening With? | Damian E M Milton | Neurodiversity Connects
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• US Government Reports that ABA Doesn’t Work | Alternative Teaching Strategy Center
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miscellaneous articles

• ABA Treats a Problem Your Child Doesn’t Have | Peaceful Mom | Peace I Give
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• Is the “Gold Standard” Too Much for Such Young Children? | Ask An Autistic | Stop ABA, Support Autistics
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• A Mother’s Fight Against Court-Ordered ABA | NeuroClastic
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• More on Unscientific Un-Query | Tracey Kedar | Ido in Autismland
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• On ABA and Rethinking Effective Behavioral Interventions | Dusty Jones | Think Inclusive (please note: this article is problematic in a number of ways, but does delve into the issue of why ABA is harmful)
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• ABA Rhetoric, Difficult Choices for Parents | AutisticScienceLady | NeuroClastic
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• Tumblr Post | Neurowonderful on Tumblr (this post is a quick breakdown of ABA)
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• Double Standards: ABA vs Facilitated Communication | Ren Everett | NeuroClastic
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• On ABA Therapy, Self-Determination, & Healthy Psychological Development | Ren Everett | NeuroClastic
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• Evidence-Based Practices and ABA | Aprender a Quererme
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• ABA, Abusive Bullying of Autistics | autisticzebra
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• Autism: does ABA therapy open society’s doors to children, or impose conformity? | Sydney Parker | The Guardian
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• Autism and Behaviorism | Alfie Kohn
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• Why Autism ABA Goes Against Everything B.F. Skinner Believed In | Carol Millman | NeuroClastic
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• The Great Behavior Fallacy: Why The New York Times is Wrong to Think That ABA Can Treat Autism | Wendy | Neuroclastic
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• ABA and Neurotypical Bias | Aprenderaquererme | Neuroclastic
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• Emotions Go Both Ways, Unless It’s ABA | Jeni Canaday | Neuroclastic
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• Parental Learned Helplessness and ABA | Jeni Canaday | Neuroclastic
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• Culture and Politics, or Why a Neurodiversity Paradigm is Left of Centre | Michelle Sara | NeuroClastic
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• Autism Speaks and ABA: Same Harmful Methods, Different Coat of Paint | Sebastianthedude | NeuroClastic
  • Summary: NeuroClastic writer Sebastianthedude discusses Autism Speaks’ new campaign, the “Year of Kindness,” including unpacking their newer videos which encourage the use of ABA. They also discuss some ethical and moral questions about ABA and whether it is appropriate.
  • Key takeaways:
    • Autism Speaks “rebranded” last year but are still fear-mongering
    • Autism Speaks (known hate group) is encouraging ABA use
    • ABA token systems are not useful
    • ABA leads children to associate their favorite items (or food) with trauma because they are used as rewards
• Banning Autistic “Conversion Therapy” in NZ | Jorn Bettin | NeuroClastic
  • Summary: Jorn Bettin briefly discusses ABA’s links to conversion therapy as well as several New Zealand publishings about autism, ABA, and conversion therapy. At the end, there is a form wherein you can attest to your dislike of ABA.
  • Key takeaways:
    • New Zealand pushes ABA therapy like the US, UK, and Australia
    • ABA has significant ties to Gay Conversion Therapy

posts about alternatives to use instead of ABA

• Alternatives to ABA | Facebook Post | Autistics and Allies Against ABA Ireland
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• If Not ABA, Then What? | Maxfield Sptharrow | Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism
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Last updated on April 14th, 2021