I just want to say that I quit working in ABA when I learned what it was really about. I was a therapist for a short time and was extremely affected myself by the way they treated the children. No one is doing it like it is supposed to be and I don't think it is right to do any of this regardless. I am not on the spectrum. I have utter reverance and respect for those that are and am completely horrified by the state of ABA. No person can ever know what another might need or feel.
This whole ABA thing is gross and just as an idea feels deranged and inhumane. I've been in a shock since I quit awhile back and am now reading up on more of the autism community's statements on it. This has been a kind of support while I have been recovering from the experience. I examined the so called evidence base for ABA today and saw that the research is for something so different than what is done in clinics today. I'm not surprised by the fraud of therapies in the US at this point, but I'm still horrified by the lies and reality.
Maybe there is a way I can help the autism community as an ally in advocacy against ABA? I finished the whole Masters degree and the sham of a supervision.
I'm trying to find out if the right thing is for me to stay as a special Ed teacher, be someone who is educated about the real voice of the community. Be at least one safe space for people.
Im really stuck as a member of the exceptional population myself, with special needs of my own, and very few resources right now. But I will never ever harm a human and I won't ever take a paycheck from an abuser calling themselves therapy like ABA. I'm looking for something else and I don't even want to go near anything that funnels people into ABA.
I am a very very good teacher and I have an advanced education, better than any BCBA I ever met. I thought maybe teaching special Ed would be correct, but I'm afraid to do that too now. For one, I'd want to inform every parent about the dangers of the fraudulent, harmful treatments out there and I'm afraid that will get me in trouble. Bosses got very mad at me for standing up for the kids before. I won't back down on speaking out for what's right so I tried to quit the whole work entirely. No one can interfere with what I say in my personal life. But then I found out the other job options were all corrupt too.
Can I be a safe special Ed teacher? Is school safe for people with special needs? How can I even be sure I'm doing anything right? All this research is lies, I don't trust anything I read anymore! And I don't want to deal with any parents who dont meet my standards for proper care of their kids. What if I do something that hurts those kids and they can't say it until they are older like this ABA? I can't put a vulnerable person at risk.
I want to do something that matters and the only teaching I am suited for is special Ed. With so many children suffering from bad teachers, is the right thing for me to go and be the safe, smarter teacher they need?
I know I'm writing so much and I hope this is okay. I have so many feelings about this and so many questions. The danger of ABA and the people suffering from it makes me frantic. Reading more today has been absolutely awful, I have been through something similar to these stories from adults who were victims of ABA and am just chilled to the core by these accounts. I feel like I have reconnected with something very right today, at least, my assertions of innallieable human rights and a community of people speaking out. Finally, this is right.