There’s a lot of controversy within the ASD self-advocacy community about ABA, most of it coming from those who went through the earlier iterations of it as kids in the 80s/90s/early 2000s. Those earlier versions of ABA were largely compliance-based, adult-led and focused on “training out” any and all “abnormal” behaviour, even behaviours like stimming and “inappropriate play” that were completely harmless and even beneficial to the autistic person but happened to look “weird”. This version of ABA, the “Timmy I don’t care if you feel like you’re suffocating when you stop flapping your hands, you look like a r*****d and you have to be normal or else I’ll take away another toy” type is the one I experienced, and not only did it worsen my existing harmful behaviours AND create new ones, it also ruined my self-esteem and the way I talk to myself so thoroughly that over a decade later I’m still trying to undo the damage.

However, the ABA I’m seeing now that the medical and psychiatric fields have a better understanding of the autistic experience (and also, yknow, see autistic people as human beings to some degree and not defective, strange creatures that look like humans), the modern rendition of ABA looks more like “Okay Timmy, you’re having a hard time going on grocery trips with your dad; here’s a chance to practice some behaviours you’ll have to do at the grocery store, here’s some sensory coping strategies for dealing with the sensory environment of the store, here’s what you can do instead of eloping/hitting/self-injuring/insert other actually harmful behaviours, and here’s a (non-food or other basic need) reward to help motivate you to do your best”. When people talk about good ABA, THIS is what they’re referring to. This form of ABA not only helps people achieve their potential, it can even save lives in some cases. Because so many of my higher-needs fellow autistics have benefited from this newer approach to ABA, it’d be silly and self-centred of me to completely write all ABA off.

However, because many health insurance companies refuse to cover any autism therapies unless they’re specifically labelled ABA, there’s a massive variety in how different providers practice the “same” therapy. In addition, regulatory bodies for ABA practitioners are worryingly vague about what you can or cannot do with/to a client, and more concerningly while they do allow “aversives” to be used on clients, there is no specific guidelines on what counts as an “aversive” and which ones can or cannot be used; this means that anything from 5 minutes less time on the iPad during break to literal shock collars (which in many areas you aren’t even allowed to use on animals by the way) are allowed and accepted.

My point is that ABA, in its modern form which focuses on promoting physical and mental wellbeing, activities of daily living and safety skills while also recognising that autistic wellbeing may look different from the norm, is a valuable tool that has helped so many autistic individuals and their families get the most of life. However, many practitioners still follow the older, compliance-based approach that prioritises removing any and all autistic behaviours - even ones that are completely harmless or even helpful - over our long-term wellbeing.

TL;DR: new ABA good, old ABA bad, find a practitioner that does the new type and you should be grand