This is a change of pace. Typically, this blog is aimed at practitioners, with harsh truths and demands to do better. This time though, I want to talk to the caregivers: The parents, the grandparents, the foster families, the relatives of children who have just been discovered to be autistic.…
Inappropriate Behavior Posts
CW: Ableism Halloween season is upon us, so let’s talk about that blue pumpkin thing that’s going around. If you’re not familiar, the idea is that autistic children should be given blue pumpkins or buckets to carry when trick-or-treating, so they can be identified as autistic when they hold it…
This is in response, and speaking directly, to the creator of this video. Edit: On 9/23/22, Soup Emporium actually contacted me about this article, and his classy AF response is below. Folx, this is how scientists should behave. Thank you, Soup, for your humility and openness to learning. Everyone else,…
This post is in response to the announcement shown below from ABA International’s Facebook page on 9/7/2021. The announcement came as a bit of a surprise, to me at least, considering how long the autistic and ABA Reform communities have been reaching out to them to say or do– well,…
This is the conclusion to a two-part series on Appropriate Play. Before continuing, please make sure you’ve read Part I. Play as a tool For the sake of argument, I will be discussing the benefits of symbolic play as it would pertain to a person who is living in society…
This one was a doozy, kids. I’ve spent over a week combing through research across psychology, general education, special education, and ABA, trying to answer this question: What is appropriate play and is it even important? There is no simple answer to any of it, but then again I think…
Featured picture credit: WCVB-TV CW: abuse, child abuse, restraint, torture, suicide, shock At this point, if you are in any way involved in the autistic community, there is no way you haven’t heard of the Judge Rotenberg Center and the #StopTheShock movement. For those of you coming to this issue…
CW: child abuse, ableism, torture Ivar Lovaas: The father of ABA. Lovaas’ 1987 study is an ABA grad student’s second most important resource other than the White Book. It’s the source of the “40-hour rule,” which is usually in the context of early intensive behavioral intervention (IEBI) meaning it is…
https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/3/19/22339228/intellectual-disabilities-challenging-curriculum I came across this article and wanted to highlight it here. Because it deserves a click and your full attention, I will be discussing it with the assumption that you’ve read it and will not be summarizing it. In this article and the related one about The Celery Story…
CW: Abuse, grooming, sexual assault What does it feel like when you tell a child to do something and they just don’t? When they look you dead in the eye and do the opposite? What about when they just flat out tell you “no” and stare back at you with…