#154 - The ABA Debate

Doctors tell parents of autistic kids not just to do ABA therapy but a lot of ABA therapy and as early as possible.  Meanwhile, autistic self advocates are loudly saying under no circumstances should ABA be a therapy option. Who is right? About the Guest: Brian Middleton, M.Ed, BCBA, LBA Brian Middleton started Bearded Behaviorist as an effort to make understanding behavior fun and interesting. Dedicated to open-source education, Brian is a founding member of the Open-Source Educational Resources special interest group of ABAI. His social media pages and website are dedicated to dissemination of behavior science as well as pushing for inclusion of trauma-informed care standards in Applied Behavior Analysis and other human services. He  is the host of the Oh Behave! Podcast, and open-source licensed podcast. Brian is a proud autistic adult, loving husband, avid lover of sci-fi/fantasy, a “nerd” with something better to do, enjoys the great outdoors, cooking, musicals, puns, spending time with friends and dogs, and making up silly songs. He is also the Chief Creative Officer for Legend Masters LLC, a print and design company. He holds a Masters of Education and a Post-Master Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis. After being a special education teacher for 7 years, Brian became a BCBA. He is working to make Trauma-informed Care the default approach within the field, and believes the path forward is to own the mistakes the field has made and commit to do better. This episode is part of a 12 episode series in Season 5 rethinking the what, when, where, why, and how of the therapies we choose.