Many autistic people engage in applied behavior analysis (ABA), which has widely, and erroneously, been regarded as the only evidence-based intervention for autism. This over reliance on ABA services continues despite consistent outcry from autistic people over the course of several decades regarding the detrimental effects of ABA. The effects include loss of identity, increased symptoms of PTSD, and increased suicidality. One especially horrific component of ABA is the use of physical aversives to increase compliance, which include withholding food, acts of physical aggression like slapping or pinching, and even electroshock. 

Many autistic self-advocates have used online forums to engage with one another and process the impacts of engaging in ABA. Many of these self-advocates have also demanded changes to ABA, including the prolific #stoptheshock movement geared to banning the use of electroshock in ABA services. However, the governing body of ABA, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, has not taken substantive steps toward disallowing such practices or more broadly reforming ABA. Until large-scale changes are enacted, autistic people will continue to suffer the long-term effects of engagement in ABA services.

We therefore call on the BACB to:

1) Prohibit Inhumane Punishments and Techniques on a Policy Level

2) ABA Must not Mandate Masking or Concealing Harmless Autistic Traits

3) Center Autistic Perspectives in Ongoing Refinements of ABA

4) Equip Practitioners With More Extensive, Comprehensive, and Anti-Ableist Training