“…a fade to extinction for ethically questionable approaches that disregard neurodiversityNeurodiversity is the diversity of human minds, the infinite variation in neurocognitive functioning within our species.NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodiversity is a biological fact. It’s not a perspective, an approach, a....”
As autisticAutistic ways of being are human neurological variants that can not be understood without the social model of disability.If you are wondering whether you are Autistic, spend time amongst Autistic people, online and offline. If... physicians, we agree with the position of Dawson et al1: the neurodiversity movement regards autistic individuals to be both neurodivergentNeurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.”NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodivergent is quite... (diverging from the neurotypicalThe existence of the word neurotypical makes it possible to have conversations about topics like neurotypical privilege. Neurotypical is a word that allows us to talk about members of the... majority) and disabledThe label "disabled" means so much to me. It means I have community. It means I have rights. It means I can be proud. It means I can affirm myself... by environments not designed for autistic flourishing.1 Neurodiversity-informed therapeutic interventions therefore emphasize modification of external factors to better fit the autistic person.1 Therapeutic attempts to alter factors within the person must be done with utmost careThe activities that constitute care are crucial for human life. We defined care in this way: Care is "a species activity that includes everything that we do to maintain, continue,... to maintain the person’s autistic identity while helping support integration in the neurotypical world.1
Applied behavioral analysis (ABAUltimately behaviorism provides a simplistic lens that can’t see beyond itself.Why is the doctrine of behaviorism still being used, at all?How can ABA be the gold-standard for autism when it...) is a common intervention for autistic children. It seeks to modify socially significant behaviors in a measurable way.2 Operant conditioning theory is central to ABA, which views human behavior as intentional and contingent on interactions with the environment.2,3 ABA is delivered by board-certified behavior analysts, who use techniques such as modeling, shaping, reinforcement, and punishment to increase skills and so-called socially desired behaviors and reduce behaviors that are considered socially undesirable.2,3 ABA is foundational to other widespread behavioral interventions for autismAutistic ways of being are human neurological variants that can not be understood without the social model of disability.If you are wondering whether you are Autistic, spend time amongst Autistic people, online and offline. If..., including positive behavior support.4,5
Surprisingly, board-certified behavior analyst certification competenciesAll healthy and resilient institutions have a well-functioning competency network (Laloux 2014; Wilson 2015). A good way to understand competency networks is via the notion of trustworthiness and the nurturing... do not include demonstration of any clinical or theoretical knowledge of autism.3 Neither is neurodiversity considered.3 ABA therapy therefore lacks a genuine capability to determine what socially significant behaviors are for autistic people.1 Board-certified behavior analyst competencies do not provide guidance on how to preserve autistic autonomySelf-determination Theory (SDT) is... — a model, a macro theory, of human motivation. It’s one of several models of human motivation, but it’s one that has been confirmed over and... in the delivery of behavior modification.3 Added concerns about ABA include lack of reporting of adverse outcomes,2,4 undisclosed conflicts of interest,4 and the use of punishments, including extreme practices such as aversive electric skin shocks.4
Although ABA has been shown to deliver modest positive effects, as in a recent umbrella review2 of autism intervention meta-analyses, the studies are of low or moderate quality. ABA and other behavioral interventions offered no measurable advantage compared to other nonpharmacological interventions for autism.2 With little clarity about which aspects of behavioral intervention might lead to positive effects, it was encouraging to see a recent high-profile recommendation to downscale the use of positive behavior support as an intervention for autistic people.5
As members of Autistic Doctors International, we hold a unique dual position as medical professionals and members of the autistic communityWhat I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.Community is magic. Community is power. Community is resistance.Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-First-Person-Stories-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B082ZQBL98/ https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-Adapted-Young-Adults-ebook/dp/B08VFT4R9T/.... We believe therapeutic interventions for autism should be neurodiversity affirmative. We anticipate the rise of neurodiversity affirmative interventions with a fade to extinction for ethically questionable approaches that disregard neurodiversity.
“Ethically questionable approaches that disregard neurodiversity” describes the autism industry and much of Special EducationThe word “special” is used to sugar-coat segregation and societal exclusion – and its continued use in our language, education systems, media etc serves to maintain those increasingly antiquated “special”... and ed-tech.
We encourage the fade to extinction of behavioristUltimately behaviorism provides a simplistic lens that can’t see beyond itself.Why is the doctrine of behaviorism still being used, at all?How can ABA be the gold-standard for autism when it... approaches. Here are a few pieces on the problems with behaviorismUltimately behaviorism provides a simplistic lens that can’t see beyond itself.Why is the doctrine of behaviorism still being used, at all?How can ABA be the gold-standard for autism when it....
Instead of behaviorism, “emphasize modification of external factors to “better fit” the autistic person…maintain the person’s autistic identity”. Consult these pages for more on neurodiversity affirming approaches.
2/4 We discuss our concerns about ABA, as doctors AND members of the autistic community
“…concerns about ABA include lack of reporting of adverse outcomes and the use of punishments including extreme practices such as aversive electric skin shocks”
We anticipate the rise of neurodiversity affirmative interventions with a fade to extinction for ethically questionable approaches that disregard neurodiversity.
#ActuallyAutistic retired technologist turned wannabe-sociologist. Equity literate education, respectfully connected parenting, passion-based learning, indie ed-tech, neurodiversity, social model of disability, design for real life, inclusion, open web, open source. he/they
View more posts
Neurodiversity is the diversity of human minds, the infinite variation in neurocognitive functioning within our species.NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodiversity is a biological fact. It’s not a perspective, an approach, a....”
Autistic ways of being are human neurological variants that can not be understood without the social model of disability.If you are wondering whether you are Autistic, spend time amongst Autistic people, online and offline. If... physicians, we agree with the position of Dawson et al1: the neurodiversity movement regards autistic individuals to be both neurodivergent
Neurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.”NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodivergent is quite... (diverging from the neurotypicalThe existence of the word neurotypical makes it possible to have conversations about topics like neurotypical privilege. Neurotypical is a word that allows us to talk about members of the... majority) and disabledThe label "disabled" means so much to me. It means I have community. It means I have rights. It means I can be proud. It means I can affirm myself... by environments not designed for autistic flourishing.1 Neurodiversity-informed therapeutic interventions therefore emphasize modification of external factors to better fit the autistic person.1 Therapeutic attempts to alter factors within the person must be done with utmost care
The activities that constitute care are crucial for human life. We defined care in this way: Care is "a species activity that includes everything that we do to maintain, continue,... to maintain the person’s autistic identity while helping support integration in the neurotypical world.1
Ultimately behaviorism provides a simplistic lens that can’t see beyond itself.Why is the doctrine of behaviorism still being used, at all?How can ABA be the gold-standard for autism when it...) is a common intervention for autistic children. It seeks to modify socially significant behaviors in a measurable way.2 Operant conditioning theory is central to ABA, which views human behavior as intentional and contingent on interactions with the environment.2,3 ABA is delivered by board-certified behavior analysts, who use techniques such as modeling, shaping, reinforcement, and punishment to increase skills and so-called socially desired behaviors and reduce behaviors that are considered socially undesirable.2,3 ABA is foundational to other widespread behavioral interventions for autism
What I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.Community is magic. Community is power. Community is resistance.Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-First-Person-Stories-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B082ZQBL98/ https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-Adapted-Young-Adults-ebook/dp/B08VFT4R9T/.... We believe therapeutic interventions for autism should be neurodiversity affirmative. We anticipate the rise of neurodiversity affirmative interventions with a fade to extinction for ethically questionable approaches that disregard neurodiversity.
