IS ABA Child Abuse?

 

Every week I am fielding questions from parents who come to me scared of behavioral therapy as they’ve read or heard somewhere that it’s a form of child abuse, and because of it they’re in limbo as to what to do to help their children.
I make it known to all that what helped my daughter go from pre-verbal to sign language, to making sounds, word approximations, to speaking is because of…

 

#1 of Me her Mother
#2 Me her Mother learning ABA

 

And I was never formally trained and still am not to this day. I just learned it through living this life, seeing a therapist do it, and following suit when they were gone.

 

So at this point, I should get one of those honorary degrees but I don’t give a shit about pats on the back.

 

I want to help you and your baby thrive above all else.

 

And even though I’ve stated my position loud and clear, I get hate mail and/or shitty comments on my social media posts saying I am trying to train my kid like a dog with rewards, let the child be diverse, and shit her pants for however long she wants to, or I am supporting a therapy that hurts children mentally and emotionally for the rest of their lives.

 

The Wokeness that has become the world we live in now has created an environment where conversations of varying viewpoints can no longer be had.

 

Long gone are the days where it was fine to have different opinions or agree to disagree, and now we have a world where if you don’t go with the flow you’re canceled.

 

Just like all throughout life, there will be amazing inventions, innovations, new drugs, new therapies, etc. that come out all the time.

 

And as with all things new, even if they do improve quality of life greatly, there is a learning curve that must be navigated as we go.

 

There are many adults with autism who report that the ABA they were exposed to was nothing short of abuse. And I want to acknowledge those experiences.

 

But what if ABA wasn’t the problem and it was the therapist practicing it in a negative way?

 

How many of us have seen a shitty doctor?

Had a bad haircut?

Went to a restaurant with crappy food?

Do we stop going to the doctor, getting our hair cut, or eating out based on a few bad apples?

 

Of course not.

 

So why would we take that stance for a therapy that has proven to help many children with Autism?

 

ABA is a therapy that’s effectiveness relies on 2 things…

1. The practitioner
2. The parents to follow through

 

When I make a decision to get behind something for my kids like ABA, I like to look at 2 things…

 

#1 Has it been studied, tried, and true? 

ABA has not only been studied many times to be the most effective form of behavioral therapy, it is to this date the #1 prescribed therapy for children with Autism.

 

#2 Is it something I could see myself doing?

Whether I wanted to or not, I was down for ABA.

 

ABA not only was beneficial for my daughter, but it also made me a better mother overall to both of my children.

 

I believe behavior is the first language for all of us, and if you can understand what your preverbal baby means in their behavior, you can shape the behavior for things that you want, like potty training or communication, and hence…

 

You can teach your baby anything.

 

But if you’ve been scared of your own shadow since the diagnosis came, you’ll hear one bad story and mix that with our WOKE world, and you’ll never leave the cave to help your baby.

 

I don’t engage with haters on social media because haters don’t want to have a conversation, they just want to shame you by telling you that you’re wrong, they’re right.

 

And I am not trying to convince you that ABA is great if you already believe it’s not. But I do want to question why.

 

What if it could be amazing, to get your child potty trained, and get your baby saying “I love you”?

 

Would you be willing to be wrong about those results? 

 

The WOKE world would not, but I would.

 

I’d take the apology tour to the moon and back if it meant I cracked the code to teach my child with Autism anything.

 

But the real sin in all of this is that a scared parent stays scared and does nothing to help their baby move forward today.

 

If I can leave you with the answer to “Is ABA Child Abuse?, my answer is… to my kid and the families that are in the Masterclass…

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

 

But when you try ABA or you don’t give yourself and your child the gift of a decision that’s the real crime.

 

Staying in I don’t know or asking shitty questions you never answer keeps you stuck where you are.

 

Say no and find something else.

 

or…

 

Say Yes and dive in.

 

Whatever you decide…

MOVE FOR YOUR BABY TODAY. 

 

xoxo

Michelle

 

P.S. Struggling with this and you desperately need help with Potty Training, Communication Skills, or stopping your child’s problem behaviors?

This is what the Champions for Our Children Masterclass is all about. Book a Complimentary Consultation Call here to learn more about my program and see if it makes sense for us to work together.

 

P.P.S. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for your daily dose of Autism Momming like a Boss knowledge. CLICK HERE!