if you have nothing nice to say (about ABA), come sit by me
But really, please do. I’ll do my best to STFU. And if you are a BCBA reading this whose feelings are hurt by someone asserting the problems ABA has caused, kindly STFU too.
When I was initially confronted with issues with ABA, I felt defensive and had the mindset of “not all ABA”. Now, I hope to be an ally who can simply listen when I’m confronted with problems with the field. I’ve learned that I was in fact complicit with that ABA that many “woke” BCBAs refer to whenever they’re deflecting criticism of their own practice. I’d like to think that I grew as a practitioner, but not enough.
I worked at FOUR companies who claimed to serve autistics, and yet none of them:
Employed autistics
Even mentioned neurodiversity
Implemented company policy of consent by their clients
And these are all companies who I’m convinced would laud their own practice, and might perhaps respond to criticism of the field with #notallaba.
If you have nothing nice to say about ABA, come sit by me. Please.