Alternatives to ABA

[Outsider]

I have read several threads covering the ABA subject, and it became clear to me that the majority of participants have a negative opinion about the treatment.

My autistic brother was subjected to the ABA treatment in the past and it had a neutral effect on him – the technique neither helped nor hurt him.

Are there valuable alternatives to ABA? I haven’t heard about them.

 

[UberScout]

Here's mine

1. Don't take belongings away when there is no reason to punish or invoke disciplinary action

2. Don't just automatically assume someone is lying when they try to explain themselves

3. Hear them out

4. DON'T. TREAT. AN AUTISTIC PERSON. LIKE. A. CHILD.

This is not directed towards anyone in particular, I am just writing my thought process about ABA. It put me through a lot of emotional hell because it was done the wrong way with me. (If you recall my previous ramblings about my uncle and aunt you'll know what I'm talking about.)

 

[Neonatal RRT]

It put me through a lot of emotional hell because it was done the wrong way with me.

I think this is the core of the problem. It was done the wrong way. Within the context of education, HOW it is done is far more important than WHAT was taught.

1. There needs to be a fundamental understanding of how that child's autism presents in terms of how they process information. You have to individualize the teaching method to the child. You cannot run off of a "script" and expect good results.

2. The reward system in the autistic brain is different than a neurotypicals. This idea of the "carrot or the stick" may work for neurotypicals, but not us. Again, you need to individualize this to the child.

3. How autistics typically communicate is (1) I express my thoughts to you, and you are not allowed to interrupt, and (2) I shut up and listen to you without interrupting. Which is different than how two neurotypicals communicate which is more like a tennis match with the conversation being batted back and forth continuously.

4. Intelligent, autistic children can certainly learn all manner of skills, and at a very early age, but the instructors need to get out of their way by allowing the child to process it all in their own way, as opposed to the instructors getting frustrated when the child is unable to learn by some preconceived method.

5. Teach them life skills and how to manage their autism but also allow them to be who they are. Otherwise, all you are doing is teaching them how to hide who they are. Masking. What you don't want is this underlying message that "you are not allowed to be you", that "who you are is not acceptable". Imagine the damage that can be done to a kid.

 

[Rodafina]

Are there valuable alternatives to ABA?

That would depend on the purpose.

A quick internet search suggests:

The purpose of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is to:

1. Improve social skills by using interventions based on principles of learning theory.
2. Increase positive behaviors and decrease negative behaviors in individuals with autism and other developmental disorders.
3. Help individuals learn and manage behaviors for a safer and more fulfilling life.

I believe "alternative methods" that could serve the same purpose would look more like a constellation of support over a long period of time. There is no 1:1 substitution for ABA therapy.

Achieving goals like improving social skills, decreasing negative behaviors, and leading a safer and more fulfilling life can only truly be achieved when the autistic person is in a supportive, understanding, and nurturing environment. Firstly, that environment will look a little different for each person and so a blanket approach is likely to be detrimental to some.

Some ideas of things that would help achieve the same goals:

- Autistic people need a chance to learn that they may operate differently and face different challenges than others without feeling like there is something inherently wrong with them that needs to be fixed. Working with a social worker practicing the Strengths Based Approach may help an autistic child foster self esteem, learn to self soothe, and acquire skills like flexibility and resilience that can help them manage some of their challenges.

Strengths Based Approach

- Another idea is to offer education, training, and support to the parents of autistic children. Parents need to be well informed about the challenges that autism can present and the most useful ways to help autistic children adapt to the world. Parents may also benefit from support from other parents of autistic children. Helping parents acquire the resources they need to be the best teachers of and advocates for their children could have a positive impact on the whole family.

- School counselors could help autistic children learn coping skills and work with the school to make sure they have appropriate resources and education for the teachers. Schools could be adapted to be more autistic friendly where sensory time outs, calming rooms to take a break, and the use of adaptive equipment are all a normal parts of the school culture.

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One of the problems with ABA is that the approach fails to consider the individual challenges that an autistic person will face over a lifetime and tends more to be used as a curative treatment for certain autistic traits. It is essentially a tool of assimilation in my opinion.

Instead of teaching autistic people how to be their best selves, ABA attempts to teach autistic people to change everything that they are so that they can fit in to a more narrow notion of normal. Autistic adults are more than welcome to take this approach, but in the formative years, I think it is much more important for children to go through a process of self discovery than having their first messages be that they are disordered and in need of fixing.

 

[Tom]

People generally don't like going to the dentist either.

 

[RemyZee]

I haven't had much experience around aba besides my autistic nephew having been through it. In college now, he says it made him feel very different from other kids
Like he didn't feel different enough as it was. He experience it in very negative ways. The other time I saw aba being practiced, at my job--the woman aba practitioner was working with a 4 year old on eye contact and she kept putting on these huge glasses with googly eyes, trying to get him to look her in the eyes. The poor kid just seemed really confused by it all. It was before I knew anything about aba but even without knowing about the practice seemed terribly intrusive.