Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #BanABA
Most recents (24)
ABA alert, possible #CRPD/#DisabilityRights violation: Just saw mail from Dr Anchen Laubscher, Medical Director of @Netcare_Limited (well-known hospital group in South Africa). They're having a briefing by ABA providers for clinical staff on 10 May. #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
@Netcare_Limited Given that I've only heard about this now, I'm guessing that the @Netcare_Limited leadership team have not yet received #DisabilityRights training, and that they may be unaware of the implications of what they have agreed to. Disability activists are contacting them right now.
For those who don't know what ABA is and why human rights activists want ABA-based therapies banned in South Africa and internationally, here is an article explaining some of the abuses inherent in these methods.
#BanABA #ABAisAbuse
autisticstrategies.net/nonspeaking-au…
#BanABA #ABAisAbuse
autisticstrategies.net/nonspeaking-au…
The autism loudmouthed “lobby coalition” is at it again
& it’s not only despicable & slanted
It’s just So whyte!
This lobby group shut out/shut down BIPOC voices & participation from it’s inception &
Never mentions intellectual disabilities!
Crying about B.I. Again too‼️
1.
& it’s not only despicable & slanted
It’s just So whyte!
This lobby group shut out/shut down BIPOC voices & participation from it’s inception &
Never mentions intellectual disabilities!
Crying about B.I. Again too‼️
1.
Stop allowing these pro ABA, these allistic, needy, attention seeking parents to speak over and speak down to
#AutisticVoices
And do not PROMOTE the general public’s support
ABA in our publicly funded school system!
Actually ban ABA!
😡which is indeed
Conversion therapy
2.
#AutisticVoices
And do not PROMOTE the general public’s support
ABA in our publicly funded school system!
Actually ban ABA!
😡which is indeed
Conversion therapy
2.
There are voices which have been “programmed” to shut Autistic voices down, like members of a cult.
And they always get media to cover the “plight and tragedy” of their own lives!!
When was the last time an Autistic Advocate had open mic. time…
3.
And they always get media to cover the “plight and tragedy” of their own lives!!
When was the last time an Autistic Advocate had open mic. time…
3.
So let this be a reminder as Autism Awareness/ acceptance week/ month is coming up… DO NOT SUPPORT National Autistic Society in the UK. @Autism #autism #autistic #AutismAwareness #AutismAcceptance #actuallyautistic #allautistics
If you want to learn more about this therapy and how harmful it is then here’s a link to a document explaining what it is and how it’s harmful and it includes links to the research studies that prove ABA/ PBS therapy is harmful docs.google.com/document/d/11_…
@abaukdiscussion #BanABA… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
@abaukdiscussion #BanABA… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Also for YEARS the National Autistic Society’s young Autistic ambassadors have tried to get them to make a statement against PBS therapy and to STOP funding it and hiring ABA/PBS therapists but so far they’ve had zero luck. #autism #autistic #ActuallyAutistic #allautistics… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
The problem with many of the dialogues between people in #BehaviorAnalyst roles, and autistic people and their allies who support the #BanABA movement, is that there's a misalignment of goals.
Some of us don't want to talk to ABA people at all.
But those who are prepared to do so are doing it with the purpose of getting you to give up your ABA-based job and to shut down your whole industry.
But those who are prepared to do so are doing it with the purpose of getting you to give up your ABA-based job and to shut down your whole industry.
We're prepared to help you work towards alternative revenue streams, but for many of you, having a different job to go to isn't your main concern; you believe in ABA and you're determined to make ABA work.
PRACTICAL PROJECT FOR REFORM-MINDED BCBAs WHO WORK WITH AUTISTIC PEOPLE [THREAD]
#BehaviorAnalyst #BCBA #ABA
#BehaviorAnalyst #BCBA #ABA
I'm a member of the #BanABA movement. We believe that Applied Behaviour Analysis should not be the basis of any nonconsensual therapy for autistic people. We want this type of therapy to be declared unlawful.
Some of us who are part of the #BanABA movement do also talk to ABA professionals who are interested in reforming ABA (even though we believe that ABA-based approaches like EIBI are fundamentally flawed, rather than just broken).
The #BanABA movement needs a few volunteers for an occasional electronic task. You can opt out at any time. 1/
If you're interested in possibly helping out, please reply below by linking to one of your tweets from July 2022 or earlier where you have used the #BanABA or #StopTheShock hashtag. You'll need to follow me too, so I can add you to our Twitter working group for this. 2/
We don't need many people; two or three will do; but with more volunteers, we know we can possibly count on you in future.
3/
3/
Autistic activists: ABA is bad.
ABA apologists: It's just a few people who do bad things!
Autistic activists: How do you stop the bad ABA people?
Now that the House has voted to ban the shock torture of disabled people at the Judge Rotenberg Center, we need to take a look at something specific relating to that vote.
28 Republicans voted AGAINST the ban on torturing disabled people in ABA at the JRC.
They include some most notably implicated in crimes to overthrow the US government: Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Madison Cawthorn, Marjorie Taylor Greene.
ASK WHY.
They include some most notably implicated in crimes to overthrow the US government: Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Madison Cawthorn, Marjorie Taylor Greene.
ASK WHY.
Ask why these specific politicians are so invested in maintaining the option to torture people by means of electric shocks, to control their behaviour.
We told you this was an imperialist cult.
ABAI has an expansionist arm called SABA.
They are serious.
They want to set up control areas in all spheres of society.
ABAI are the people who give a platform to the Judge Rotenberg Center.
It's not just about autism.
#BanABA
ABAI has an expansionist arm called SABA.
They are serious.
They want to set up control areas in all spheres of society.
ABAI are the people who give a platform to the Judge Rotenberg Center.
It's not just about autism.
#BanABA
They want to mainstream ABA to make it completely unstoppable.
It's a strategy. If they succeed in normalising ABA beyond its current applications, we will have a much harder time trying to stop them from doing this to autistic children.
https://t.co/WV1qODuPXP
https://t.co/WV1qODuPXP
A certain autism service organisation I've dealt with for 12+ years tends to have staff and leadership churn, causing them to lose all their institutional knowledge.
This has lately resulted in me dealing with a nice, new, freshly gratuated appointee, who knows very little.
This has lately resulted in me dealing with a nice, new, freshly gratuated appointee, who knows very little.
So every few staff-churn cycles, it seems that they go, "Oh dear, we've been doing mainly children, we'd better chat to some adults to find out what services they need."
I think this one is also becoming as perplexed as the last two were who were sent to talk to that difficult activist in their jurisdiction (me).
SUPPORTING AUTISTIC PEOPLE MEANS OPPOSING ABA THERAPY [A Thread]
TW: aba, ableism, eugenics, abuse
TW: aba, ableism, eugenics, abuse
WHAT IS ABA THERAPY?
ABA stands for "applied behavioral analytics". it uses the theory of operant conditioning. the goal of ABA is to change behaviors with rewards/punishments. the purpose of these forced behavior changes is allegedly to help autistics fit into society.
ABA stands for "applied behavioral analytics". it uses the theory of operant conditioning. the goal of ABA is to change behaviors with rewards/punishments. the purpose of these forced behavior changes is allegedly to help autistics fit into society.
WHY ISN'T THAT A GOOD THING?
you might be thinking, why wouldn't autistic people want to fit in? there are multiple issues here. society as it exists right now is not made for neurodivergents. to "fit in", we must conform, we must mask. this isn't a solution for us.
you might be thinking, why wouldn't autistic people want to fit in? there are multiple issues here. society as it exists right now is not made for neurodivergents. to "fit in", we must conform, we must mask. this isn't a solution for us.
[THREAD] If an enormous number of people end up traumatised by therapists who are doing their work by the book, within the ethical framework of their profession, then maybe there is something fundamentally wrong with that type of therapy.
There are many ABA therapists who, upon hearing of the trauma of ABA survivors, will tell you that "my ABA is not like that" and "you'll always have a few bad apples".
I've heard a few autistic people speak well of their behaviour techs. So the "it depends on the therapist" principle is sometimes true, but not for the reasons you may think.
[THREAD] The movement to #BanABA in South Africa is gaining ground. We're now getting through to some of the right people in legislature.
One of the things we need (both locally and internationally) is to help people currently involved in selling, promoting, delivering and buying ABA services to make plans to move out before such bans come into effect.
If we don't start working on this now, we may meet with STRONG opposition, and even if we get the bills to pass, we may have a lot of people going underground or disguising what they do whilst pretending to not use behaviourist practices.
The founder of ABA said the following about Autistic kids:
“You see, you start pretty much from scratch when you work with an autistic child. You have a person in the physical sense – they have hair, a nose and a mouth – but they are not people in the psychological sense...."
“You see, you start pretty much from scratch when you work with an autistic child. You have a person in the physical sense – they have hair, a nose and a mouth – but they are not people in the psychological sense...."
"One way to look at the job of helping autistic kids is to see it as a matter of constructing a person. You have the raw materials, but you have to build the person.”
Lovaas strongly believed in intense behavioral modification interventions, that included harsh aversive techniques such as withholding touch and attention, isolation, and even giving electric shock "therapy"...
[THREAD] ABA AND BEHAVIOURISM
As we move to #BanABA, it's becoming clear that we need to educate ourselves and each other about what ABA actually is and what practitioners believe, otherwise people (even autistic people) may be confused about why it's abusive.
As we move to #BanABA, it's becoming clear that we need to educate ourselves and each other about what ABA actually is and what practitioners believe, otherwise people (even autistic people) may be confused about why it's abusive.
This morning one of my autistic friends told me that he attends an autism centre where people are very nice to him, and where they do PBS (a form of ABA) on the nonspeaking residents. They don't do PBS on him, he says.
How can they be abusing anyone if they're such nice people, he asks?
Teaching autistic children that smiling means someone is happy or friendly, without teaching them that there are enormous exceptions to the rule, is basically gaslighting and you deserve to be punished for it until you smile.
Putting on a brave face isn't always brave; nor is taking it down always safe either.
But USUALLY smiling means someone is happy or friendly, right? (Which is it, happy, or friendly?)
@DavidLametti The Ontario government is still SPONSORING #ConversionTherapy and has recently allocated several million dollars to training new RBTs to deliver this. Are you going to stop them?
@DavidLametti Here's one of the companies that benefit from the Ontario government's sponsorship of #ConversionTherapy for disabled children. Parents and providers have lobbied hard to keep this pseudoscience going, and the government agreed.
@DavidLametti Do you need more direct evidence? The Ontario government is sponsoring #ConversionTherapy. Will you stop them, or are you going to make child abusers exempt from prosecution if the victims are disabled?
#BanABA #FollowTheMoney
#BanABA #FollowTheMoney
The core element needed for anyone to adopt ABA for use on vulnerable autistic people is #ableism. The cult of ABA believes that ABA helps autistic children. To provide this 'help', it is important to strip the subject of their agency and to get them into self-preservation mode.
While most ABA practitioners no longer use slaps and electric shocks, all ABA regards the work of Rekers & Lovaas as part of the evidence base in support of ABA. Rekers went on to use behaviour modification against gay and trans people, while Lovaas continued with autistics.
Today there is an international movement to #BanConversionTherapy and #BanABA.
[THREAD] #AskingAutistics and allies, especially people in Africa or of African descent throughout the world: We need your help. A bad thing has happened for #DisabilityRights in Africa: ABAI has sponsored an American, Ashley Knochel, to promote ABA in Africa by formalising it.
There has been a neocolonialist trend with aggressive ABA infiltrations from America into Ghana, Kenya and other countries for some time now, including a CARD-associated organisation in South Africa; but this latest move is worse.
This American person has established a Pan-African Association of Behaviour Association along with Kenyans, and they are launching this Saturday.
facebook.com/panafricaaba/
facebook.com/panafricaaba/
“Building a Person”: Legal and Clinical Personhood for Autistic and Trans Children in Ontario (by @JakePyne)
"Despite open violence, Lovaas framed ABA as compassionate... Despite uncertain evidence, he presented ABA as scientific..."
cambridge.org/core/journals/…
"Despite open violence, Lovaas framed ABA as compassionate... Despite uncertain evidence, he presented ABA as scientific..."
cambridge.org/core/journals/…
"Psychologist George Rekers, a key figure in the world of conversion therapy (and co-founder of the notoriously anti-gay Family Research Council), used Lovaas’s techniques to treat so-called “deviant sex-role behaviors” in male children."
— @AlexKronstein nsadvocate.org/2018/07/11/tre…
— @AlexKronstein nsadvocate.org/2018/07/11/tre…
The man behind ex-gay “conversion therapy” started out trying to make autistic children “normal”:
"Both projects were based on the same fundamental view: that it’s easier to change a child’s behavior than it is to destigmatize that behavior in society"
lgbtqnation.com/2021/03/man-be…
"Both projects were based on the same fundamental view: that it’s easier to change a child’s behavior than it is to destigmatize that behavior in society"
lgbtqnation.com/2021/03/man-be…
BAN OF CONVERSION THERAPIES FOR AUTISTIC PEOPLE [THREAD]
"Conversion therapies are pseudoscientific practices of trying to change an individual’s behaviour to conform to the social expectations of a particular culture using psychological and physical interventions."
"Conversion therapies are pseudoscientific practices of trying to change an individual’s behaviour to conform to the social expectations of a particular culture using psychological and physical interventions."
"Various jurisdictions around the world have passed laws against LGTBQIA+ conversion therapy."
"However, the same underlying techniques of coercion continue to be applied to young autistic children and other vulnerable people, as can be seen in [the School of Psychology, University of Auckland] description of the scope of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)..."
Also, before I go there: if you're an autistic person who speaks, this is a reminder to please be alert to how some autism organisations will use you in their marketing to prevent criticism of their stance on nonspeakers.
They will say autistic instead of 'person with autism', because they know you like that. They will remove the puzzle pieces from their branding. They will have you do a guest blog post or video for them. They will even let you 'celebrate autism'. You will think they're listening.
Here's a suggestion: Write an open letter to the autism organisation which is supporting your cause and which is saying "neurodiversity" and "acceptance" now. Ask them whether they support the broad principles of the #BanABA movement. It's a simple question.
Autism Parents: Only speak to your experience of #Autism
Also Autism Parents: We need full control over Autism funding because Autistic people are getting too politically empowered and speaking out against services WE like
Also Autism Parents: We need full control over Autism funding because Autistic people are getting too politically empowered and speaking out against services WE like
Reminder, Canada has a group of lobbyists and parent advocates that work to advocate for ABA against the stated interests of Autistic self-advocacy groups in the country
Actions against this group have been framed by "progressive" politicians as an "attack on autism services
Actions against this group have been framed by "progressive" politicians as an "attack on autism services
Elon Musk’s “coming out” as “having AS” on SNL is just going to embolden ABAers to sell their conversion therapy even more to hypercompensate for its abusiveness and distract from the PTSD it causes. Please listen to #ActuallyAutistic people on this one. 1/
Aspergers Syndrome doesn’t exist anymore because it’s part of the spectrum of autism. It’s neither higher functioning nor less severe nor a milder form. It IS, however, frequently used by people to distance themselves from the ableist stereotyped scariness of autism. 2/
@NeuroClastic describes how Aspergers has been fraught with issues around functioning assumptions and support needs: neuroclastic.com/2018/12/30/asp… 3/
