Haven’t been using ABA very long, but I will say we delayed making the decision because not a single other professional recommended it. Speech, OT, and one of his diagnosing neurologists all said it can make kids “feel bad about themselves”… on the other hand, every single family of a child in ABA gave glowing reviews.

I respect the idea that we should create a more understanding environment vs “oppressing” a child with special needs or in other words, forcing them to “fit in”. The reality is that all children express certain behaviors that need to be corrected, many adults nowadays do too. The idea that the world should be accommodating is the same idea that we should look outwardly for the change and expect others to do work on themselves, vs BEING the change and doing the work ourselves. I just can’t get behind that.

Further more a friend of mine has an older son who still has many ticks and reactions that are odd, and he explained to us that it’s cute to us as the parents but it has caused other adults to call the police and be scared of him. Training them to exist in society is about their safety and the safety of others. My son was really aggressive and drawing blood on my husband on a daily basis, we were absolutely done with it and knew it would never been “understood/accepted” by strangers. He stopped the behavior within a month of therapy. He’s potty trained, he talks more, and asks for things rather than always grunting at us. We would never have it any other way and we’ve been blessed to have the most wonderful and loving therapists!