Applied Behavior Analysis

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Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA (not to be confused with the American Board Association) is called the "gold standard" for ASD by ABA, despite all the studies to the contrary.

History of ABA

History of ABA (e.g. Ole Ivar Løvaas), its development alongside Gay and Trans Conversion Therapy.

Problems with ABA

Most studies on the effectiveness of ABA is done by ABA practitioner

The autism community (mostly parents of autistic children) tend to push this "therapy" while the Autistic Community (autistics themselves) tend to vehemently oppose it.

Advocates for ABA tend to say, "That's the old ABA! The new ABA is kind and gentle!" There is a multitude of problems here, not the least of which is the ones saying this are often ABA providers/workers (aka, conflict of interest). Also, this is similar to the Moving Goalpost fallacy, where those in the "new ABA" are too young to speak up (even online), and by the time they can speak up, what they went through will be considered "old ABA".

While the "new ABA" may or may not utilize punishments, they often withhold food, toys, communication devices, etc. until the child complies. It also relies on rewards, or "positive reinforcemnt", which has been shown to decrease intrinsic motivation (meaning they are less likely to do the thing when there will be no reward)

ABA often includes "teaching" autistic kids to do stuff that is not natural to them, which leads to masking, or camouflaging. This can include making eye contact, selecting appropriate topics, expressing emotions, and more. Masking has been linked to increased risk of anxiety, PTSD, and suicidality.

There are also ethical concerns:

Assuming for the sake of argument that ABA is effective at changing people’s behavior, it either does so via changing their underlying thought structures or values (“deep change”), or it does not (“superficial change”). If ABA is “successful” by way of deep change, then ABA violates autonomy insofar as it coercively closes off certain paths of identity formation. If ABA is “successful” by way of superficial change, then ABA violates autonomy by coercively modifying children’s patterns of behavior to be misaligned with their preferences, passions, and pursuits.

Maybe insert studies here refuting it, such as the Department of Defense's recent report on it, etc. Also, add a section for the Judge Rotenberg Center.