Providing Ethical, Respectful, and Effective Therapy for Autistic and Other Neurodivergent Clients – May 13, 2022
Therapist Neurodiversity Collective’s Neurodiversity-Affirming Practices Series Donnie Denome – ASAN (Autistic Self Advocacy Network) Providing Ethical, Respectful, and Effective Therapy for Autistic and Other Neurodivergent Clients Donnie TC Denome (they/them) […]
ABA is NOT Effective: So says the Latest Report from the Department of Defense
With 3,794 participants, this is the largest study ever conducted of ABA effectiveness. The 31-page report entitled, “The Department of Defense Comprehensive Autism Care Demonstration Annual Report 2020” concluded that “ABA services are not working.”
First, Do No Harm: An Open Letter to the Minnesota Department of Human Services and Education
Not only does ABA pose ethical issues that must be considered, but its efficacy is also questionable. The US government conducted outcome measures under the new T2017 TRICARE contracts and found that “76% of TRICARE beneficiaries in the ACD (Autism Care Demonstration) had little to no change in symptom presentation over the course of 12 months of applied behavior analysis services, with an additional 9% demonstrating worsening symptoms” (James N. Stewart, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, 10/25/2019).
TBI in Service Members – Real-life effects & the need for Empathetic, Compassionate & Trauma-informed Care:
Beginning in around the year 2000, the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has included Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) among their ever-increasing scope of practice, claiming that ABA is “one of the most effective treatments for managing mood, behavioral and other mental disorders associated with brain damage”.3 ABA, in its simplest form, treats the behavior associated with TBI, rather than treating the underlying neurological reasons for that behavior.