An easy way to know if a therapist is crossing boundaries is to ask yourself whether you’d be ok with them doing it if your child were neurotypical. I wouldn’t do ABA therapy if Charlie’s therapists weren’t caring and loving. Here are the arguments you will hear against ABA and my thoughts on each of them: This is probably the argument you’ll hear the most about ABA. I just took the client to a room and made sure my boss couldn't see what how he was playing with the toy (i.e., spinning the toy). Patients at the Lakeland Insane Asylum in Kentucky were being tortured by the attendants. That means less meltdowns and the ones he does have are shorter. Glad to hear you have had a favorable experience! DTT (Discreet Trial Training) – It’s a method used to teach a skill broken down into steps as opposed to teaching it in one go. Not everything is all black or all white. Autism and vaccines: Why I vaccinate my children. By Lorenzo Jensen III, October 12th 2016. Full disclosure: I have worked as a ABA therapist before, but many years ago. I guess it depends how much you value the voice of people who went through it as patients and how much you value making autistic people look not autistic. In my case, I found ABA treatment Miami, where they have in-home ABA therapy and parent training, which is so helpful for parents who work. Also, what products/resources did you use that were not helpful? Page display settings Hide my news feed. Thank you for responding. Your email address will not be published. I’m not trying to “fix” my son, therapy is here to make his life easier and keep him safe. I have scientific objections to any therapy which doesn't take the cognitive revolution into account. This is an important decision that will hopefully change your child’s life for the better. Thank you for this! Hospital Horror Stories: 30 Workers Share Their Creepiest Real-Life Tales. And, unfortunately, I, in my sanctimoniousness, could not continue to be a part of it. That said, if you don’t feel comfortable around your son’s therapists, that’s an indicator to me that they may not be the right fit. He now knows what stop means and over time with practice the skill will likely generalize. If this story is true, Applied Behavior Analysis is a cult. I was lazy…I couldn’t do in a year what she did in a week. Doing anything else can be quite foreign to the dog. Autism Awareness Day: Put down the weapons. My son has benefitted greatly from ABA therapy. But I also want Charlie to have all the opportunity he can possibly have, even if that means helping fade out some of the more awkward behaviors he has. Hi Keren, If I try to stim, I feel like I’ve been walked in on using the bathroom. But is it ETHICAL to do those things, that is the question. If it sticks in your mind, try it. Positive and negative comments are welcome. Beautiful kid of whom I’m very proud. For those reasons and more, we asked eight women for their most hilarious and horrifying therapy stories ever. ABA is the number one therapy recommended by medical experts for children on the autism spectrum, however many autistics reject that conclusion. She wanted to break his spirit…if I had been anywhere close to have known that, I would have never had anything to do with her. Autism boy’s thirty foot fall. Mine is now in the final year of his degree and I couldn’t be prouder. How do you help a person with an intellectual disability achieve a higher quality of life? I'm really glad to hear that ABA is working for your family. Now, something that bothers me is when therapists prevent the child from doing things like lining objects up. It does seem very difficult to find the motivation for a behavior, especially if the client has difficulty communicating. All the advocates said so, and I was angry, in a way, that she couldn’t see how evil she was. Even so, it remains controversial in some people’s eyes. What’s advertised as ABA therapy may not actually be real ABA therapy. I wonder if I can just tell my boss I am not going to do the things I am uncomfortable with, or if maybe my opinions were wrong. Hi, I’m studying to become a BCBA and get quite down at times because of all of the negativity hurled towards ABA. Recognizing the Difference. A BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) is the person generally in charge of the case designing the therapy programs for the client and training the therapists on them, and the therapist is the one working with the client implementing those programs. Worked his way through tech school and is a machinist, works on antique cars and steam engine and anything else mechanical. I love horror movies, so it takes a lot to spook me, but this one had me checking and rechecking my basement, door, and window locks multiple times a night." From this perspective it's not surprising to hear that some people have had truly poor outcomes from ABA training, perhaps they did learn skills, etc but at the cost of increased anxiety and lower quality of living. Though less and less common, that may explain some of why you sometimes hear horror stories about ABA. Dog barks less with strangers walking past. It’s a tricky question with an answer somewhere in the middle. There are definitely good therapists and not so good therapist like with anything. ABA can be intimidating at first. ... help Reddit App Reddit coins Reddit premium Reddit gifts. They made me stop flapping by physically moving me, and now I am completely unable to stim with other people around, which is really bad. An autistic child grows up into a world comprised almost completely of neurotypical people and they have to learn how to function in it. I am so sorry. Obviously some of these people had bad past experiences (like you mentioned), but I find it disdainful that they projected their judgements onto parents who use current day practices & clearly have their child’s best interests at heart. If your son’s therapists are doing something that you don’t agree with, don’t be afraid to speak your mind and ask them questions. On some level I saw what was happening but it was simultaneously too late to do anything to stop it. Once he falls into a routine, things should get easier. — jessicad4b02081cc 4. It’s become a full time job for my wife who makes pecs cards at night when everyone goes to sleep. What’s advertised as ABA therapy may not actually be real ABA therapy. ABA is not “one size fits all” and a good BCBA will work hard to develop the best program for you child. The ABA is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. 6 comments. You don’t need ABA for your child’s aggression. 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