CW: Post discusses ABA and possibly Trauma, internalized ableism

Hello there! I’m currently researching the issue of ABA. I’m reading a lot about the criticisms, but most of the resources I found so far are (likely) made by level 1 autistics. As level 2 and level 3 autistics are not as well represented within autism self-advocacy, I would like to understand their position better on the topic. A usual defense for ABA is that it can help high-support-needs autistics to learn important skills, but I would like to read about that from an autistic perspective.

So if there are resources on the subject you can recommend, I’ll be grateful! thank you

edit: I’m updating because users in this thread changed my view on this issue. I’ve been caught up in functioning label, which at the end of the day “levels” of autism still are. Here is what changed my mind:

Those needs you are looking for in an autistic person are completely and utterly irrelevant to you as a reader of their experience, and as far as you’re concerned any or all of the people who have already written about their experience of ABA fit in to your narrow and ignorant category, they just didn’t mention it because again - it isn’t fucking relevant.

There is no reason for me to specifically look for “level 2 or 3” autistics since their experiences are valid, regardless of them disclosing their support needs. It is ableist to expect them to disclose to me how “disabled” they are in order for me to validate their experience. Thanks @[email protected] and @[email protected] for helping me understand this. So in a way I found the answers I was looking for, and now I have some thinking to do

  • DessertStorms@kbin.social
    3·
    9 months ago

    I think it is important to say that some autistics feel more disabled by their autism than others. Support need vary, and there should be a way to express that. If you have another term that is better, I’m all open to hear that!

    You don’t need terms. Autistic people are as individual as everyone else, and you have zero need to know an autistic persons’ individual needs. If you need to discuss your own needs with a healthcare professional, you go ahead and do that without placing yourself on a scale in comparison to others.

    Did you actually read any of the links, or just thank me for them?

    Either way, here are a couple of others you could probably use:

    https://www.neurodiverging.com/what-is-internalized-ableism-neurodivergent-people-need-to-know/

    https://www.autisticparentsuk.org/post/overcoming-internalised-ableism

    If you really want to insist on ranking yourself, no one is going to stop you, but you don’t get to rank others, nor to pretend that ranking yourself is completely benign and not tied in to ableism, internalised or otherwise.

    As for the last part - I didn’t misunderstand you at all. Those needs you are looking for in an autistic person are completely and utterly irrelevant to you as a reader of their experience, and as far as you’re concerned any or all of the people who have already written about their experience of ABA fit in to your narrow and ignorant category, they just didn’t mention it because again - it isn’t fucking relevant.