jonahsmom wrote:
DW, I probably in the smallest minority around: an autism advocate who has delved into the ABA world. (I have put on my flameproof suit prior to saying that out loud here.)
You know, a lot of people demonize the ABA stuff, but in my own opinion it is the parents who consent to what goes on who should be demonized. It probably depends on the team with which one works, but my own experience has been that I have a team of caring adults to work with my children on a regular basis throughout the day on all of the things I wish I could be doing all day long....social stories, social skills, community outings to practice what we've been working on, etc. I do work on these things with them, too, but there is only one of me and there are four children and a house to keep.
Besides, I have so much fun arguing with the psychologist who runs the program.
Anyway, I only mention it because I would like parents to know that if you are strong enough to stand up for what you want (and don't want) for your child and you can find an agency that is flexible enough then you can make ABA work for you and your child in a positive way.
I think this forum is more "proceed with caution" on ABA than "don't do it." I used to post at Aspies for Freedom and they likened it to Pavlov's dogs, but I haven't seen that strong opposition here. Just questions about what is being taught and why - to keep the focus on helping the child, and not on getting him to conform.
It's kind of a non-issue for us because my son was older when diagnosed and didn't have the sorts of issues I understand that ABA is generally used to address.
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Mom to an amazing young adult AS son, plus an also amazing non-AS daughter. Most likely part of the "Broader Autism Phenotype" (some traits).
30 Mar 2009, 12:31 pm
. At the same time, however, it is thinking I just can't connect to, and I find the effort really stressful and frustrating. It often feels like we're in the minority, just trying to understand and help our kids. But maybe it's just a very quiet majority, too busy working with our kids to get ourselves onto the talk show circuit.
