The Debate of ABA
ABA is the most common recommended therapy or service provided for children in the Autism Spectrum. However, it is not the only therapy or program available for children on the spectrum to help them succeed. In fact, there is a lot of controversy as to how efficient it can be. There are adults in the Autism Spectrum that are against ABA. Claims of abuse and counteractive results causing PTSD and are a common theme among the adults with Autism community. Nevertheless, there are other adults in the Autism Spectrum along with a larger population of parents who do not share the same views or experience and have seen ABA provide a positive outcome in their lives.
ABA has been around for decades, it was originally introduced in 1970s by Ivar Lovaas and Robert Koegel. For many years ABA was used to “normalize” behavior, to reduce stimming, to force eye contact, with the intent to remove the “autistics” behaviors so others cannot tell the individual is autistic and seem “normal” or neurotypical, all this without regard of emotions of the person receiving the therapy which is one of the main complaints for causing PTSD in adults with Autism as they recall this as a form of abuse, taking their voice away. Many of the videos found in the internet such as YouTube for ABA especially those from the 80s and 90s can reflect the extreme structure almost robotic way of teaching through ABA. It is completely understandable how anyone who has experience such structure of ABA can feel it has caused them harm.
Evolution of ABA
Moving forward, decades later there seem to have been a change in the approach of ABA instruction, even though some cases follow through discrete trials to keep track of the success/failure rate of the goals, the interaction between the instructor and the student is not restrictive or robotic. Thanks to autism self-advocates, advocate parents, service providers, field professionals and organizations and anyone sharing stories, we are able to learn more about stimming, sensory issues, meltdown triggers and coping mechanisms among other subjects that helps us better understand strengths and struggles of people in the autism spectrum. Autism awareness has increased tremendously compared to decades earlier, but there is still a long way to go.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a form of teaching a concept, any concept, to anyone, whether they are in the spectrum or not, regardless of their age and background. ABA breaks down the sequence of steps of the concept to teach into small attainable goals and building up on them until the overall goal is reached. Understanding which concepts are going into the goals of the therapy can have a main impact on the implementation and success or failure of the therapy.
ABA is also used outside of Autism cases, for example, in the business world ABA is known as Organizational behavior management (OBM), where individuals or employees participate in performance management to determine productivity, motivation, goals, rewards. This may or may not be so visible, but everyone participates one way or another in this when they are given a performance review to go over goals, bonus and raises. Through Behavior System Analysis individual’s behavior and their consequences are analyzed to determine the impact in them and the organization performance and set modifications plans for improvements. Most companies will also have a behavior-based safety that looks at the overall work environment physical and emotional component reducing injuries and promoting safe behavior, offering interventions and counseling.
Regardless if the person is considered Neurotypical or Neurodiverse, ABA foundations are commonly used by everyone, to achieve a goal that most of the time comes with a reward. Students study to learn and earn a good grade (a reward), which leads to obtaining a job or skill which will produce a salary (a reward), which can be used to buy things from the money earned (reward), and if they excel at their work they will be rewarded with a bonus, or raise (rewards). The reward changes as we age, therefore the rewards for children to learn a goal is based on their own preference, bubbles, a toy, a sticker, screen time (TV/iPads/Videogames), etc. the reward itself is relative to the needs and wants of the individual to promote motivation and this motivation will change overtime. However individuals who study ABA take this knowledge to a deeper level and expertise and use metrics to track or measure of the success/failure and adjust goals and strategies.
Finding Common Ground in ABA
Both, autistic individuals that support ABA and those against ABA agree that they are not to be “normalized”, this means that Stimming (a common autism trait), it’s a behavior that should not be changed just because it may not seem normal or acceptable to everyone else. Instead, understanding the need of why the person is stimming and addressing that need can be more effective than stopping the stimming and causing more overload.
Just like Stimming, there are other Autistic traits that should not attempted to be removed as part of goals in ABA Therapy, such as forcing Eye Contact, forcing the individual to tolerate sensory overstimulation with disregard to their emotions to satisfy the peace of mind of everyone else around them without providing accommodation for their needs.
However, both parties like everyone else want to be respected as human beings, and welcome the support provided to gain skills and independence as well as inclusion and acceptance. So what can be done in ABA to reach goals without disregarding Autism is part of who they are and not all they are?, when it comes to ABA, focus on goals that improve communication skills, non-verbal communication is also a type of communication, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it must be verbal, let the student set the pace and method of learning that best works for them, integrate self-help skills, life skills, social skills, all skills taught to the individual should be help them gain independence, confidence and a voice of their own that is acknowledge and respected.
Regardless of what therapy or service the child receives, ensure to vet the therapist/teacher working with the child, whether is an ABA therapist or not identify they share your goals to help your child succeed and not change who they are, but provide the child the support they need, respect their personal space and recognize their feelings and emotions so they are not overlooked during therapy sessions. If you or your child is not comfortable with the way the therapy is going, you have the right to find someone else even if the service is provided through a government program or agency. In many cases organizations who provide ABA services do not recommend mixing therapies such as speech therapy as they feel is counterproductive to teach different methods of learning as it may cause confusion to the child, however since every case of Autism is unique and since parents know their child better than case managers, the parent can advocate for the child if they feel their child can benefit from additional therapies and make a case or request for other therapies such as OT, Speech, PT, Play Therapy, music therapy, etc. In addition, parents can request or obtain Parent Training if not already offered and ensure there is open communication among the therapist as a team to share progress to find common ground of success. Be open to therapist feedback, exchange ideas and follow through with what you learn and carry it outside of therapy time as well in order to provide consistency and support.