cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/17147012
"Sometimes people use “respect” to mean “treating someone like a person” and sometimes they use “respect” to mean “treating someone like an authority”
and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person”
and they think they’re being fair but they aren’t, and it’s not okay."
-a 15yo autistic girl experiencing ABA therapy
Even if there are behaviours which the autistic person wants to have fixed, aba is a bad way about going around it.
It (and conversation therapy, which is based on the same idea) are based on an outdated theory that everything is a "behaviour" and can be cured by forming habits. That is, you can cure autistic traits with practice and repetition in the same way that you can force yourself to walk every day to make that a habit.
That's not the case; they aren't behaviours that can be "trained away". The "cure" should be working with the person to find effective coping strategies.
Imagine you had a broken leg, and rather than getting it put into a cast, they instead forced you to walk for a mile a day on because "not being able to walk interferes with your ability to live a fulfilling and happy life".