Showing posts with label Behavior Therapy (ABA). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Behavior Therapy (ABA). Show all posts
Autism Space seen as profit making space by Private Equity
Autism Space seen as profit making space by Private Equity
This is a continuing and troubling trend in autism.
'...private equity investments per year tripled or quadrupled from 2018 to 2021 compared to 2015.
...expected investment to continue at breakneck speed
“...They needed to start showing profits and revenue that match their valuation. … So at some point, [investors] need to start seeing a return on their investment,”
...autism therapy space could be at the point of the investment life cycle where investors are pressuring operators to shift from scale to efficiency and profitability.
...opening clinics that reach targeted patients while being “financially healthy,” Marsh said.
Power dynamics of ABA
Some points that resonated in this article.
The problem with reinforcements.
- "tablet time” is used as reinforcement. This is a problem because many autistics rely on their tablets for communication. Many autistics are non-speaking, and to take away their means of communication is one reason increasingly aggressive or “challenging” behaviors persist — they are not being heard or understood and the only way left to communicate their discomfort, pain, or any other needs has been taken away."
The loss of childhood.
- "A child is typically expected to participate in 25-40 hours of ABA therapy each week; that is 5-8 hours a day of repetitive, uncomfortable, or potentially painful demands and broken down tasks, of few or no breaks, of being presumed incompetent, and of not having adequate accommodations. A full-time job is expected of kids under the age of 4, and there is no strong evidence to suggest that it is effective or beneficial. Children should be allowed to have a childhood, and that is not possible when they must sit through 25-40 hours of therapy each week. This level of intervention leaves little time for rest, play, and learning outside of therapy, which can wreak havoc on a child’s mental health."
- "Many ABA practitioners are Registered Behavior Technicians (RBT)s, which any 18-year old with a high school diploma could be by taking a 40-hour training and passing an exam."
- "A survey of 460 autistic adults and caregivers of autistic children evidenced that 46% of those who participated in ABA therapy met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, and 47% of those meeting this diagnostic threshold experienced severe symptoms (Kupferstein, 2018)."
- "Yet ABA is still widespread throughout the United States and it is recommended under the premise of being an effective evidence-based practice. However, there is weak evidence that ABA is an effective behavioral treatment. Rated on the GRADE system the quality of evidence is low to very low (Reichow, Hume, Barton, & Boyd, 2018). In fact, “of the 58 studies done on Lovaas’ ABA therapy, only one was found to meet the U.S. Department of Education’s standards for scientific evidence."
Related Posts
Who has the dx, and who is the professional
This week I heard of an instance where an ABA therapist got offended at a something his autistic client did and quit over the autistic teen not following directions.
The autistic teen had been asked to wait at a library, looks like that teen hung around for a while, and then decided to just walk back to his home alone after a while.
I want to ask, who has the diagnosis here, who is the professional "behavior-therapist" here who is supposed to help shape behaviors instead of walking off in a huff.
Why have the word "behavior" in applied-behavior-therapy if you don't want to even help with or deal with behavior in the first place.
Autism Space seen as profit making space by Private Equity
This is a continuing and troubling trend in autism.
'...private equity investments per year tripled or quadrupled from 2018 to 2021 compared to 2015.
...expected investment to continue at breakneck speed
“...They needed to start showing profits and revenue that match their valuation. … So at some point, [investors] need to start seeing a return on their investment,”
...autism therapy space could be at the point of the investment life cycle where investors are pressuring operators to shift from scale to efficiency and profitability.
...opening clinics that reach targeted patients while being “financially healthy,” Marsh said.
This is 2023. Why are shocks still part of Autistic Behavior Therapy?
This is 2023: Shocks are being used on autistics as part of ABA Therapy. The UN calls it "torture". Read this article by Eric Garcia in the Boston Globe.
1965: The images show a Photo Essay that appeared in the 1965 issue of Life Magazine about ABA therapy being done on Autistic Kids with Dr Loovas. Shocks were used as aversives - the floor is laced with metal strips and the autistic girl in the picture is barefooted.
Moser, D., & Grant, A. (1965). Screams, slaps & love: A surprising, shocking treatment helps far-gone mental cripples. Life Magazine, 90-102
A link to the full article is at https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/d/16656/files/2018/11/Screams-Slaps-and-Love-Life-Magazine-13javg3.pdf
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