Author Archives: Staff

This is a list of every English language article opposing ABA. We continue to curate this list periodically to ensure that it is a resource that includes everything there is, 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 whenContinue reading “The Great Big ABA Opposition Resource List”

Sesame Street has been an important piece of countless childhoods for 50 years. Characters like Elmo, Big Bird, Grover, and Cadabby resonate well with children and parents love how educationally-focused the show is for little ones. In October of 2015, Sesame Street debuted their first-ever autistic muppet- Julia in an online storybook. Since then, JuliaContinue reading “Sesame Street, Autism Speaks, and why Autistics have had enough”

As more and more information becomes available about the dangers of ABA, behavior analysts and ABA providers are beginning to abandon their jobs for less harmful alternatives. Behavior Analysts are often minimally trained individuals; certifications are available but schooling is not required. “My official title was ‘Behavior Technician’ which in itself is really telling. IContinue reading “why professional behavior analysts are leaving the field”

One of the most compelling complaints from parents who are seeking treatment for their autistic children is that the children are aggressive and harm themselves or other people. Can ABA help? Short answer: No. autistic meltdowns Autistic meltdowns are an inevitable part of autism. We can reduce them, but we cannot eliminate them altogether. BeingContinue reading “Aggression: can ABA help?”

Language acquisition and establishing a means of communication are key pieces of most ABA therapy. Many people enroll their children in ABA therapy specifically because they are nonverbal or minimally verbal and they have an immense desire to be able to communicate with their children. Verbal speech is not the only way to communicate withContinue reading “ABA vs Speech Therapy”

Bold claims of the ability to turn an autistic child normal or make them “less autistic” are among the most popular reasons that parents choose ABA. There are many issues with this argument- firstly, a child who is autistic has always been autistic. It’s inaccurate to imply that they could “return to normalcy” when theyContinue reading “can ABA “bring back” normalcy?”

Many non-autistic people have a lot of misonceptions about “stimming” (also called self-stimulatory behaviors). Some of them believe that stimming is a result of boredom, while others believe that autistics stim for fun… and yet others are still hopelessly confused as to why autistic people behave so “strangely.” Everyone stims a little bit, and itsContinue reading “the importance of stimming”

If traumatized autistic voices are not enough to make people understand the truly horrible ramifications of ABA therapy, perhaps a proven link between ABA and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is. In a recent study, 46 percent of participants exposed to ABA met the diagnostic criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD. The ABA exposed respondents alsoContinue reading “ABA and PTSD”

Aversives used in ABA therapy span a wide range from strategic ignoring and verbal disapproval to smacking and spanking to electric shocks. “There’s nothing in the [Behavior Analyst Certification Board] ethics code that says you can’t use electric shock. In fact, it doesn’t say anything at all about what type of ’aversives’ are acceptable.” –Continue reading “aversives and torture in ABA”

The origins of ABA for Autism are extremely dark and disturbing. ABA and Gay Conversion Therapy Created at the same time as Gay Conversion Therapy, and by the same co-creators, ABA seeks to train the autistic person to behave as if they are not autistic, just as gay conversion therapy seeks to train the gayContinue reading “the origins of ABA: O. Ivar Lovaas, the father of ABA and gay conversion therapy”