Perhaps I should have been more clear. ABA "works" in the sense that, yes, it can be used to
teach specific
skills. I've seen it done, for toilet training amongst other things. If you read "it works" as "it
makes the child's
autism go away," please accept my apologies. Anyone who claims this is lying (and I include
Ivar Lovaas and co.
in this category) as well as ethically questionable. There are other methods of teaching skills
that also "work"--
some of which are actually discounted in the lousy legislation that this court case about age
discrimination in
Ontario concerns. For example, floor time play therapy can also "work" to teach useful skills
like shared
attention and turn-taking, and it's a whole lot more respectful of the personhood of the child
you are working
with.
Everything else you've written I agree with wholeheartedly. The ABA industry's "research" is
internal, self-
referential, and generally uses carefully selected populations to prove a point. There is also
substantial evidence
of harm being done, including cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and even deaths,
when withdrawal of
food has been used as an aversive(!). It is also based on a fundamentally normalising
philosophy--Lovaas's
"successes" are described as being "indistinguishable from their peers." I do think it's
important to teach
children skills that will allow them to live as independantly as possible as adults, make their
own choices and
communicate them to others, etc. But how we do this matters hugely.
Mitzi
----- Original Message -----
From: Larry Arnold <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 11:11 pm
Subject: RE: Court says autism therapy age limit is not a form of discrimination
> I would not agree that it works, there is no independant peer reviewed
> reserch that says it does, that which has been done has been by its
> progenitors and is about as valid as any reserch that shows that Crest
> causes fewer fillings or Persil washes whiter.
>
> Certainly what has not been reserched is the possible harm this has
> causedto adults who have been traumatised by it being inflicted on
> them as
> children.
>
> Furthermore in terms of philosophy it is a normalising philosophy
> the kind
> of philosophy which sent out missionaries to put trousers on the
> south sea
> islanders, and that forces amputees to wear cosmetic prostheses,
> oralisesDeaf people, and exterminates minority languages like Welsh.
>
> Larry
>
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