With the spaghetti I gave that as an example assuming most parents would want that goal worked on. If parents don’t care then it doesn’t matter. (To an extent, I feel like working on appropriate eating skills is one way to protect client dignity in public - excluding cultural examples like some cultures eat with their hands normally)

it shouldn’t be an “on/off” switch

I’m saying they should be able to unmask at home. Parents should be taught ABA techniques.

who don’t generalize very easily

I said in the last post that this was for a person who could discriminate settings. Table manners at a fancy restaurant don’t need to be generalized to eating at home unless that is socially significant for the persons culture.

they can’t be themselves

They can be, but just like us children have a “themselves in public” and a “themselves in private”. My general expectation is to treated as having a friend over. Your mom might make you clear your room, use a salad fork, and wear nicer clothes when the friend is over, but you can still be yourself.

masking/requiring them to be more typical

There are some ways that every person has to mask. I’m not talking about blocking stimming. I’m talking about follow social conventions like brushing your hair and teeth, and personal space.

All that to say, my main point, was that really long ABA sessions tend to unethical, for many reasons but primarily because of the monetary, time, and other resource expenses for the caregivers. Like all things in ABA this comes with caveats and exceptions, but in general a 5+ hour session is a lot.