The Dark Side of ABA: Why It Can Harm Neurodiverse Children (And How We Can Do Better)

Written by : Nikoo Chamani MA| AThr Registered Art Psychotherapist | Learn to Play therapist | Clinical Supervisor 

While Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) gained prominence in the 1960s as a leading therapeutic approach for autistic children, contemporary understanding reveals significant concerns regarding its potential to conflict with the fundamental needs and rights of neurodiverse individuals. It is crucial to critically evaluate ABA, acknowledging its potential for harm, and champion therapies that prioritize well-being, respect neurodiversity, and empower children to thrive authentically. Below is a list and description of some of our concerns:

Understanding the Vulnerabilities: Sensory, Emotional, and

Communicative Differences

Neurodiverse children often experience the world differently:

• Heightened Sensory Experiences: Sensory sensitivities are common, meaning everyday stimuli can be overwhelming. ABA's structured environments, can inadvertently overload the sensory system, triggering distress.

  
  

• Emotional Regulation Challenges: Autistic children may struggle with emotional regulation, making them more susceptible to stress and anxiety. ABA's focus on compliance can suppress natural emotional expressions, leading to internalized distress and potential trauma.

  
  

• Communication Differences: Communication differences are diverse. ABA methods that prioritize specific communication styles can disregard alternative forms, like nonverbal cues or assistive technology, leading to frustration and misinterpretation.

  
  

The Essential Need for Choice and Control – and Humanistic Approaches

In contrast to approaches that prioritize compliance and normalization, a humanistic approach is paramount when working with neurodiverse children. This perspective emphasizes inherent worth and dignity, fostering a therapeutic environment built on empathy, respect, and unconditional positive regard. Rather than focusing on eliminating "undesirable" behaviors, a humanistic framework prioritizes understanding the child's unique experiences, sensory sensitivities, and communication styles. It champions self-determination, empowering children to develop autonomy and self-advocacy. By valuing individual strengths and fostering a sense of belonging, a humanistic approach supports the child's emotional well-being, promotes self-acceptance, and facilitates genuine growth, allowing them to thrive authentically within their neurodiversity. This approach also requires that the clinician take the time to understand the child's mental health, and any potential co-occuring conditions, to best serve the child.

• Autonomy and Self-Determination: Neurodiverse children, like everyone, deserve autonomy. ABA's rigid structure can strip them of control, fostering feelings of powerlessness.

  
  

• Reduced Anxiety and Increased Well-being: When children have choices, they feel safer and more secure, reducing anxiety and promoting well-being.

  
  

• Building Self-Advocacy: Allowing children to make choices cultivates self-advocacy skills, crucial for navigating a world that often fails to accommodate them.

  
  
  
  

The Power of Creative Therapies

• Expression and Exploration: Creative therapies, such as art, music, and play therapy, provide neurodiverse children with alternative avenues for expression and exploration. These therapies can help children process emotions, develop self-awareness, and build social skills in a non-threatening and engaging way.

  
  

• Sense of Control and Agency: Creative activities allow children to exercise control and agency, which is particularly important for those who may feel disempowered in other areas of their lives.

  
  

• Sensory Regulation: Creative therapies can also be used to support sensory regulation. For example, engaging in sensory-rich activities like painting or playing with clay can help children regulate their sensory input and reduce anxiety.

  
  

• Facilitating Communication: for those who struggle with verbal communication, creative therapies can provide a bridge to communicate thoughts and feelings.

  
  

Advocating Against Ableism: A Call for Change

To truly support neurodiverse children, we must fundamentally shift our approach, moving away from the ableist "deficit model" that views autism as a disorder to be fixed, and instead, embrace the neurodiversity paradigm, recognizing neurological differences as natural variations. This necessitates challenging the compliance-driven focus of ABA, which reinforces harmful societal expectations, and prioritizing therapies that foster self-development and respect individual interests. Critically, we must center the voices of autistic adults who have experienced ABA, as their firsthand accounts provide invaluable insights into its potential harms and guide us toward more ethical practices. By promoting neurodiversity-affirming psychology support and other modalities such as Creative Arts and Music, and play therapy implemented with a humanistic and creative lens, we can create a therapeutic environment that truly supports well-being and empowers neurodiverse children to thrive authentically.

Prioritizing Well-Being, Autonomy, and Creative Expression

Prioritizing the well-being and autonomy of neurodiverse children requires a critical examination of ABA and a commitment to respectful, supportive, and neurodiversity-affirming therapies. By advocating against ableism, listening to autistic voices, and embracing humanistic and creative approaches, we can create a more inclusive and equitable world for all. We must move away from therapies that attempt to normalize, and move toward therapies that celebrate neurodiversity and foster genuine self-expression.

Example of Integration

"ABA often operates from a 'deficit model,' viewing autism as a disorder to be fixed. This ableist perspective ignores the strengths and unique perspectives of neurodiverse individuals (Chapman & Bovell, 2022)."

"Many autistic adults have reported negative experiences with ABA, describing it as traumatic (Anderson, L. K. (2022). Autistic experiences of applied behavior analysis)."

"There are those within the ABA community that are working to change practices to be more neurodiversity affirming (Mathur, S. K., Renz, E., & Tarbox, J. (2024). Affirming Neurodiversity within Applied Behavior Analysis.)"

Important Considerations: The field of autism research is constantly evolving. It's essential to stay up-to-date with the latest findings.

key sources:

Here's how we can weave in some key academic references:

On Neurodiversity and ABA Critiques:

   * Chapman, R., & Bovell, V. (2022). Avoiding ableist language: suggestions for autism researchers. Autism, 26(3), 570–578.

   * This source helps to reinforce the concept of the neurodiversity paradigm, and the problems with ableist language which is present in some ABA practices.

   * Anderson, L. K. (2022). Autistic experiences of applied behavior analysis. Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221118216.

     * This source provides direct information regarding the lived experiences of autistic individuals that have gone through ABA therapy.

   * Mathur, S. K., Renz, E., & Tarbox, J. (2024). Affirming Neurodiversity within Applied Behavior Analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice.

     * This article discusses the ways in which ABA practices can be changed to become more neurodiversity affirming. This is a very important inclusion, because it shows that there are those within the ABA community that are attempting to make changes.

 * On the Importance of Autonomy and Well-being:

   * Research in humanistic psychology and client-centered therapy supports the importance of autonomy, choice, and self-determination for mental health.