Autism ACTUALLY Speaking: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

What is Applied Behavior Analysis? What is wrong with it? I break it down as best I can. Do I live anything out? Do I get anything wrong? Leave a comment down below!

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[LaraKim]

I can't believe that this hasn't got more views, it's a really good explanation of why we don't like ABA, but said in a much nicer way than I could ever say it.

[HappyHoney]

Thank you again. I am 60, and grew up like that; without the shock therapy, (but with occasional spankings.) Being conditioned, like Pavlov's dogs. It's like your every move is being watched and judged. Every second, you are being watched by others. It teaches you to 'act right' for the other people, but really increases your stress; particularly social stress. Every movement/action is judged. The way you walk, the way you talk, no rocking/stimming. Every interaction with people gives you the intense feeling that everything you do must be perfect. I can't speak to someone for more than 2 minutes, without hearing in my head someone yelling 'look at me when I am talking to you!' You must not embarrass the family. I think this may be why some of us react negatively to even slight criticism. As a child, my whole existence was constant criticism. I am done with acting for everyone else. I retired and am rarely going out of the house. It's the only way for me to relax and not have to pretend to be something I am not.

[leannestrong]

The worst thing is that we don't even train DOGS to behave or communicate in ways that are more appealing to humans. Yes, we do teach dogs to respond to commands such as "sit, " "stay, " "lay down, " "leave it, "drop it, " "quiet, " etc., and then only offer a treat or other desired item once the dog complies with the command. But we don't work with dogs on learning to tolerate being petted, or at the very least, learning to verbalize that it doesn't want to be petted.

[sweetlolitaChii]

I'm in kind of a unique situation, being both autistic (found out way after college) and having taken both introductory EBA and ABA at university, also having gone through the RBT (registered behavior technician) process after college. No surprise that I left the field after getting that certification because of the second thoughts I was having towards the program and training, but it had me for while.

You're right. No matter how much the field tries to eliminate banning punishments and working to cover up the history, the result is the same. The goal is using science to shape a child into what society and their caregivers would deem acceptable and easier to handle. And that's a problem. Well done 👏 and thanks for bringing more attention to this

There are a few inaccuracies with your video, but they are so small that it doesn't really matter or take away from the message and main arguments (like pronouncing it behavioral instead of behavior analysis, behavioral analysis is actually something else in the criminal justice field I believe, and describing negative reinforcement as what is actually called positive punishment. Negative reinforcement is taking a negative thing away to increase a behavior, positive punishment is adding a stimuli that decreases a behavior)

[jannifer]

I appreciate this video as ABA is being offered for my youngest child. He doesn’t have any destructive stims and we are not looking to change any of his stims. We are only considering working with the organization so as to take advantage of their social groups. You’ve given us more info to consider. Thanks! Side note, my eldest is in the process of getting an Autism Service Dog to include behavior interruption for his skin picking stim. Some of your older videos helped with our research into this option for him.

[leannestrong]

The only issue is that even those of us who have never received ABA might've received this very same message at home, school, or other places where we are supposed to feel safe being ourselves. The message is that we are not ok just as we are.

[wristdisabledwriter]

I was wondering what happened to you. Glad your back.

While you were gone, I graduated from my university with computer science degree. Took 26 years but got it

[rebeccawhite]

Hello Nathan. I managed to stumble onto your channel while doing some research on Autism. Oddly enough, I believe you may have gone to school with my son. Anyway I am raising my grandson, who was recently dx, and ABA therapy was one of the many therapies suggested by his physician. My research into it left me confused. This video was so very informative and helpful. Thank you so much.

[AlexKawa]

I'm happy to finally see this video! Like I've said before, I have strong feelings on ABA as an autistic myself (although, like you, I was never put through it), and I basically entirely agree with your argument. One aspect of ABA I would like to add is the fact that it -- whether it be implicitly or explicitly -- encourages autistics to mask their identities, which obviously can lead to massive psychological problems. Also, when you have organizations like Autism Speaks -- which have made it their mission to treat autism as a disease that must be eradicated -- supporting it, that says a lot about the practice itself.

Anyway, fantastic video, and well worth the wait! I hope to see you soon!

[TheAutisticEducator]

The carrot becomes the stick in positive behaviour therapy. It's damaging no matter what people try to say positively!

[JonathanHinterberger]

Hey Nathan welcome back! Just wanted to offer some encouragement getting back to making videos with everything else that you've been fighting and working through isn't easy. It will take a while for the algorithm to catch up with you. As someone who's just recently self diagnosed and am realizing how to accommodate myself and rethink how I approach life in a way that doesn't spur me towards burnout I find the advice and validation immeasurably helpful. Thank you

[OfficiallyLydiasLife]

Yes this video is so true! Besides for just 1 little thing, your -R example 😅 The example u gave, telling a dog to sit, they don't sit, so u smack them, would be a +P (positive punishment). Because you're Adding a negative stimulus. -R is when something is taken way to increase desired behavior & decrease the negative behavior. So this example would be, a dog pulls on a prong, it hurts or is uncomfortable, so therefore the dog comes back to a heel & stops pulling taking away the unpleasant feeling. (It's negative reinforcing because the pain/discomfort only stops when they do what is wanted) It's just a little thing u got mixed up, the dog trainer in me just needed to clarify it tho 😅 and example with people (this isn't a real situation bc I can't think of one I work with dogs lol 😅), but would be if like u pitched a person for doing something unwanted, but the moment they start doing what u want, u release the pinch. A smack would be a +P, which is adding in a negative stimulus in hopes to decrease a negative behavior or physically correct or punish an unwanted behavior. But great video!

[scottwascher]

Thanks.

Clearly identifying that adults’ desires are the basis of their drives for behavior control is a key understanding of what’s actually happened to the behaviorally-modified brain.

[prinxej]

This is super interesting! My mom wanted to put me through ABA when she found out I was autistic, but we never got around to it. I always wondered what it actually was

[JerekBilbar]

Great to see the show back! Been with the channel since Cap Obvious.

[draco]

nice to see you back doing videos. yeah, i always thought that electric shock therapy was always brutal and totally unacceptable as a therapy treatment. i always thought that it would do more harm then good. when therapists use conversion therapy on gay people, the therapists are making a mockery out of themselves and their profession.

[TheAutisticEducator]

Very nicely explained, matey! Except it is not electroshock therapy, it is shock torture now.

[leannestrong]

OT (occupational therapy) can be helpful for sensory input, and for certain stimulatory behaviors. My parents put me in OT when I was growing up.

[Mountain-Man-]

This is a very articulate and concise explanation of the problem with ABA. Thank you sir.

[feather]

I went from chewing my hand/wrist, to chewing my shirt or sweatshirt sleeve, to chewing my hair, to chewing the inside of my cheeks (still have a habit of doing this), and then finally accomodating myself by chewing gum or a chewy necklace