WHO IS KAISHAWNA?
Hello there. My name is Kaishawna (they/them) and I’m an African American Deaf Low Vision Autistic Black woman who is 23 and uses AAC, sign language and sometimes unreliable vocal speech to communicate.
I enjoy playing video games, talking about disability, going out shopping, going for nature walks, and watching Hulu and YouTube.
I strongly advocate for disability rights and attend college to study to become a teacher. When I’m done with school, I’d like to teach disabled students and also non disabled individuals.
WHAT IS ABA/ IT’S ORIGINS?
ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) is a method of teaching built off of behaviorism, with the goal to get learners to behave in certain ways.
ABA began in the early 1900s with Ivor Lovaas, B.F Skinner (and many others). ABA began as conversion therapy, with the goal of turning LGBTQIA people into heterosexuals, becoming celibate and following the rules of Christianity. ABA then became a therapy for autism, with the goal of treating autistic children to become more neurotypical, fitting into society and following the norm.
ABA later morphed into more modern methods of teaching, such as supporting autistic people in reducing harmful behaviors and redirecting those behaviors into more appropriate behaviors to seek help from others.
IS ABA HARMFUL? WHAT ARE EXAMPLES & WHY IS IT CONTROVERSIAL?
ABA has very controversial origins and is still controversial because of how it is often practiced to try to “fix” or make autistic people more “normal.”
ABA has and still is deemed harmful based on how it’s often implemented towards autistic people and their traits. These traits include things like stimming, needing to move, using other forms of communication, talking about a favorite item or interest, and more.
Shaping behavior is a powerful tool and can be especially harmful when used in the wrong way or when it’s used to change something that is not actually harming the person (like stimming).
Most of the ways ABA has been taught in the past are the opposite of neuro-affirming.
CAN ABA BE HELPFUL? IN WHAT WAYS?
For some, ABA is crucial to their livelihoods.
Sometimes ABA can help with limiting harmful behaviors like self harm or aggression towards others.
Some support services can help with balancing life skills. ABA can help with various skills and life development if applied properly and in supportive ways. If an autistic person wants therapy to help them with certain skills, that’s not a bad thing. It’s harder when that ABA is against an autistic person’s will and forces them to change.
Parents, Occupational Therapy, speech, Physical Therapy, etc. all use behaviorism to some extent. Heck, we humans use it everyday. Behaviorism is a part of life which most people don’t understand.
Depending on how ABA is used, it could either help or harm individuals.
AS AN AUTISTIC PERSON,
DO YOU HAVE LIVED EXPERIENCE WITH ABA?
Yes, but I was young and barely remember it. I had ABA tactics used during Speech Therapy when I was young that were harmful.
But most behaviorism tactics used on me as I grew up were from my family, including suppressing my thoughts of questioning their actions and words.
WHY DO WE NEED TO REFRAME HOW WE THINK ABOUT ABA WHEN IT COMES TO BLACK FOLKS AND OTHER POC?
The main point boils down to safety and avoiding death from law enforcement.
ABA can help Black and other BIPOC autistic kids learn appropriate ways of interacting with others. This is not for the sake of making them hide their traits, but instead to teach them that they will always have to interact with the world in such a different way than white people.
From a safety standpoint, there is more nuance about the ABA topic.
IS THERE A POSSIBILITY FOR ABA TO BE REFORMED?
HOW CAN SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES AND AUTISTIC PEOPLE BOTH OCCUR?
So while we know ABA has and still does harm autistics, some people in the ABA field are trying to reform it to become neuro-affirming.
I believe that it can be changed. I say this based on how ABA therapists are working to better understand autism and to understand how to be supportive to those who learn in different ways. ABA and other therapies definitely have work to do to be supportive of diverse brains.
I personally neither support or am against ABA. I support families and autistic people. Support for families and autistic people can occur separately and together.
FINAL THOUGHTS
ABA is a sore spot for many autistic people and that cannot be ignored. Feelings about ABA being harmful are valid. There is real trauma and harmful practices being used on autistic children every day in order to suppress stims, force eye contact, and cause autistic burnout while forcing autists to mimic neurotypical people.
But I also acknowledge the struggles of families with autistic kids (especially BIPOC autistic kids) looking for anything to help them. Black autistic kids have to face more than white autistic kids. ABA for them can be crucial for protecting their lives.
So while ABA has a long way to go, it is not okay to chastise or bully parents and caregivers for using a therapy that is helping their child at that moment in their life.
And some people have been helped by ABA. For some, ABA has helped them reach independent goals. For some, it helped with certain behaviors other therapies could not. Let’s acknowledge that sometimes help for some may not look like help for all.
And let us acknowledge there are gray areas and nuances within this topic.
WHERE CAN OTHERS LEARN MORE FROM YOU?
You can find me advocating on Instagram here!
