Has Aba ever been Abusive in the UK?

[Senmommauk23]

I had an interesting chat with an educational psychologist who is uk based yesterday who said Aba has never been abusive in the Uk, so why are some people stuck in 1970s USA when Aba has evolved even in the USA?

The topic is divisive. Some (including some EPs and other professionals) believe it was &/or is abusive. Others (including other EPs and some other professionals) don’t. I think you probably knew that already though since you felt the need to NC.

I've not NC actually I've literally just posted my first post ever in this forum but I know it's divided. However, I'm interested to know if the ep is correct in saying Aba was never abusive in the uk. Feel free to ignore if you don't know the answer

I have answered. It depends on your opinion, some people do think it was/is abusive, others don’t. So, whether the EP is correct depends on who you ask.

You'd need to define terms. There is abusive in the sense of administering electric shocks, pulling hair and slapping children. And there is abusive in the sense of trying to train autistic children out of natural self-calming behaviours like stimming, which autistic adults are now describing as trauma-inducing.

Whatever your position on ABA, it's a sad indictment of the teaching of Psychology, that people can work as professionals in the field, without awareness and understanding of really major debates on ethical practice.

What Cabotchat said.