Thread by @AutisticCoach_

Like many #ActuallyAutistic comrades, I was subjected to ABA as a child. The damage it inflicted on me, my sense of self, and my day-to-day behavior is still very much felt today. ABA instilled in me that I was bad, that I was small, that I was a burden, not good enough🧵🧶

Of course one doesn't need to go thru formal ABA to have these feelings. Those who became self aware or dx later in life have also gone thru behavioral modification, simply via a different process and using different tools. The methods different, the results the same.

Today we are afraid to take up space, afraid to be ourselves, afraid to take our hands out of our pockets, afraid to sing whenever it damn well pleases us. It takes years to undo all of this negative programing and self defeating talk.

What makes it harder is that many, a GREAT many, openly autistic people in the world today think ABA is great. They think looking at ourselves as broken is normal. People forget that those of us dx before the 21st century didn't grow up with a sense of pride in being autistic.

We were shamed. We felt shame. The #neurodiversity movement was in its infancy. Those of us who are 30+ straddle both worlds. Many of our autistic comrades look at us as strange. They look at ABA as the gold standard. They think AS is doing great work.

This is distressing. As an advocate and professional working in the space I have to interface on a daily basis with pro ABA, pro AS, anti-autism autistic people. They attack us in the #ActuallyAutistic community viciously. They purport to represent all autistic people.

As much as it pains me to speak over any autistic person, as I believe we are unified as a group in some way, especially regarding our civil rights, I cannot do anything but reject their worldview. We are not broken. We do not need a cure. We are not a puzzle piece.

We are not the problem. Being different in a world filled with sameness is a beautiful thing. Do not let anyone convince you otherwise. Do not let anyone tell you that ABA helps autistic people. Killing your sense of self and those of your community isn't helpful. It's giving up

If you agree with me, please RT this thread. Our community needs to know what we are up against. Advocating for ourselves is more important than ever.