#aba tw

if you not told it ABA beforehand can you still recognize it as abusive

if you told it not ABA can you still recognize it as abusive

because while you only advocate on surface level, fields you deem safe & recommend are using same ABA & ABA-esque behavioral techniques. n ABA people getting smarter & smarter using seemingly safe words like “neurodivergent” “neurodivergent affirming” & describe self as neurodivergent affirming ABA that not abusive not force compliance in video that literal show therapist subtly but also very not subtle blocking child in seat not letting them leave & comments of video all like “this give me hope for field changing” when it literally not (will you be able see therapist actually block child with body? will you be misguided by their words?).

I have two examples here, tw for autistic self injury

I used to bite myself, I did it every single day and there were years where I had a permanent bite mark on my arm, I would do it so hard and so often that it caused open wounds and then I would pick the scabs and keep biting, there were multiple times as a kid I got infections from this but I needed it to regulate my sensory issues and anxiety. I also chewed on metal or plastic constantly, sometimes choking on it, destroying my teeth, and cutting up my mouth from the sharp ends. In highschool an autistic friend introduced me to chewy necklaces and bought me one from stimtastic and being able to redirect my biting towards things meant to bite ended me biting myself or chewing on dangerous things almost immediately

My younger brother also used to hit his head against the wall and there was once that he gave himself a concussion from doing it too hard for too long, and bruises and knots were extremely common. My parents assumed it was tantrums and punished him until he stopped and he started having daily meltdowns instead because he was severely unregulated. My grandma started filling up a two liter soda bottle with water and giving that to him every time he was hitting his head against the wall until he started asking for the two liter instead! No more injuries, no more pain, and no more daily meltdowns! Eventually he was able to redirect this to banging his head against his bed which was even safer while filling the same sensory need

We needed to be taught not to do our original stims, repeated open wounds and infections and repeated head injuries was genuinely something that couldn't continue forever, and replacing those stims with things that were physically safe was the best possible outcome for that situation! But in aba therapy, both of the safer stims we started doing would still be punished and we'd still be abused for them just because they're weird or not socially acceptable.

Cw: noncon (nonsexual) touching, noncon drugging, mentions of PTSD, control by a big organization, forced immersion therapy, forced ABA, forced conversion therapy

Whumpee was diagnosed with PTSD and under the Caretaking Organization’s decision, Whumpee was to go through immersion therapy with their assigned Caretaker.

Whumpee’s immersion therapy was to sit on Caretaker’s lap for an hour, three times a week while being hugged to overcome their aversion to being touched and held.

Caretaker was given their orders and uncomfortable with the decision made, tried to gently explain to Whumpee what would be happening from the doorway of Whumpee’s room. Caretaker received an “Absolutely NOT” from the lump of blankets on the bed and with that, closed the door and reported back.

An injectable sedative was delivered to Caretaker’s doorstep within three hours.

Caretaker took a deep breath and called to Whumpee from the doorway.

“Whumpee? It’s time for immersion therapy. The sooner we do it, the sooner it’s over.”

The lump of blankets was silent. This was generally Whumpee’s way of saying no without having to verbalize. Typical avoidance behaviors like pretending they can’t hear or looking away so they can’t acknowledge by looking in Caretaker’s eyes that they’ve been told something.

Caretaker swallowed uncomfortably, knowing what was likely coming next.

“Whumpee, I’m giving you the chance to try it out before we move on to next steps.”

The lump was silent and seemed to become quieter if that was even possible.

Caretaker walked over to the blankets, pulled them back and quickly sunk the needle into exposed flesh. Whumpee looked up in surprise and horror as Caretaker pulled the needle away and clicked the safety cap on.

In an instant, Whumpee bolted for the door. Caretaker followed, concerned they would fall down the steps. Fortunately Caretaker was able to pass Whumpee on the stairs as they slowed significantly, cursing up a storm in slurred speech. When they did end up sliding towards the floor, Caretaker was there to catch them and scoop them up. Like a small child restrained by a parent during a tantrum, Whumpee huffed and cried as they tried to wiggle away from the offending arms.

Caretaker calmly sat them both on the couch and curled Whumpee into their body as their hour together started. Whumpee cried and cried. Caretaker cried too, knowing this was not therapeutic in any sense of the word and would only cause Whumpee to lose trust in them but they had their orders and would lose their job if they refused.

As they sat, Caretaker apologized profusely through their tears and explained they had to do this lest they lose their job and Whumpee end up with someone not as caring, only in it for the money. Whumpee understood this but was so overwhelmed by the touch and shock of being drugged that all they could do was make big ugly sobs into Caretaker’s shirt.

Is that my ex best friend of 18 years has become an ABA therapist

She spent our entire teenhood subtly berating me for the way that I was, constantly trying to control my behavior in one passive aggressive way or another, making me completely miserable in the process (mind you neither of us knew I was autistic, I was just the "odd" one growing up)

And now her job is berating autistic children into "normal behavior" until they're miserable.

does anyone wanna hear about my Silly Goofy Superflex AU about internalized/lateral ableism and the struggle to be oneself in a society which condemns you

EDIT: forgot that not everyone knows what superflex is i'm talking about these guys