Autism: Challenging Behaviour (Controversial Autism Treatment Documentary) | Real Stories

[Music] this is where he's frustrating because I really really want to know what he's trying to tell me this is very telling and I just think Oh understand he doesn't know that he's going for the first time he's always seemed to be in his own world Jeremiah and Jack have both been diagnosed with autism a lifelong developmental disorder which affects 1% of the population they're about to start at a school which uses a BA an intensive intervention which aims to change autistic behavior [Music] Midianite about a B but we found out that parents are moving from Belfast to Liverpool Manchester to this area to put their children into the school we're hoping there will be a lot of changes in him I like to think that he doesn't have autism he goes a treat over two years on the line you'll be okay my job as a professional is to choose the method that has proven to have the best effect an ebay is that nothing oh sorry sorry sorry right this time so long I just know it's the wallet I can see from a parent's perspective that ABA might be attractive but when people devise interventions I don't think they really think about the potential harm [Music] try this copy mate we shuffle their cards yeah buddy you can have a Chris there we go so we build their Lego we build their Lego fantastic try this on copy me can rebuild their Lego fantastic doji can have a sweet well done applied behavior analysis or ABA uses a system of rewards and consequences to modify behavior it is based on the discoveries of psychologist BF Skinner and his experiments with rats and pigeons at Harvard University [Music] ABA was first applied to children with autism in California in the 1960s and 70s ever since it first appeared it has raised questions about the rights of children with autism if I had a child who was three years old and appeared to be a violin prodigy and I thought okay we're gonna do 40 hours a week of violin drills social services would be knocking on my door but if I have a child with autism it's okay what do you want [Music] when I first knew of a bi I remember think you know I don't really like these like dog training having seen it now and seeing how you motivate children and the kind of results you can get if a child as well motivated so if a child isn't motivated at all now I'm the opposite I think anything goes use what they laugh to get them doing what you want them to know ABA has changed radically since its early experiments and is now used widely in the US but not here Jack and Jeremiah are starting their first term at treetops which is the only state school offering a full ABA program when the children first start with us we fill in all of the things they like to get me to want to come to school to enjoy being here you know it's all based around phonics autism heaven because they're getting everything that they love it's impossible to know how Jack and Jeremiah will be affected by autism as they grow up the condition develops differently in every child during this time we're doing assessments of the children eventually then we'll start actively teaching him new skills I mean a lot of people would look at this shell and not really be able to say that much traits abilities I mean they found I actually felt my son painting here because why use us now I couldn't come for him it was awful and that's what nearly just put me to break down those I always very close very close during his fighting period very close to break down kind of child that you say that's engaged in their own world nobody can really get in on the fun or interact with them because they haven't been taught any other skills sometimes you have to lock that social stimulus to behave otherwise you can't engage them in anything else I won't be able to learn anything you know I'm not very good at looking after him five minutes is enough for me you know I get really really stressed there's no speech no eye contact it doesn't follow any instructions at all and he doesn't know when he when he's hungry when he wants lots of alter or anything like that and what for you is the thing that you find most stressful it's very difficult to say anything about it yes and call me Dada you know it's he hasn't said mama one of the features of jeremías autism is that he finds it difficult when asked to move from one activity to another what's happened is he's got used to people following him around and people not really knowing the skills that you need in order to be able to engage a child all you need to do to change behaviors is to reward the behaviors that you want to say and don't reward the behaviors that you don't want to if you ask a child to do something and they cried to get out of doing it make sure the crying or the biting doesn't get them out of doing the task in a demand situation the demand just stays on the child nothing else happens in your world nothing else fun is gonna happen until you follow through with my request sometimes that might take five minutes sometimes it might take three hours it might take three hours and one day the next time it'd be less time and then soon you get a child that's complying with all your demands before coming to treetops Jeremiah was at a mainstream nursery where he made very little progress 70% of children who have autism are able to go to mainstream schools only those that are more severely affected attend special schools 15 miles from treetops st. Christopher's also has a large percentage of children with autism like the overwhelming majority of special schools in the UK it is rejected a BA I think it's the rigidity that perhaps ABA offers over other approaches and without your no individual that we're all individual and it's about educating those people around them whether that's in school and home in society I think it's important about learning to accept people that are a bit different the fundamental question about the education of children with autism is whether to accept these autistic differences or try to push children to learn new skills is a huge clash of ideologies many people believe that autism is a different way of perceiving the world and that we shouldn't necessarily believe that there is one normal developmental trajectory that people should be following and on that view you understand that the child has differences and that's okay the Amen is to support that child in negotiating the world without trying to fundamentally take the autism out of them Ricci in ABA at least historically one of the main aims was to make autistic children indistinguishable from their peers and so if that's your perception of what autism is something that needs to be fixed or something that needs to be cured or made normal then ABA would be the route to go down guna Fredrickson is an independent a be a practitioner who works with families all over Europe he believes it is possible for some children with autism to be brought out of the condition I don't appreciate autism I cannot see anything good about it to be honest I think we should fight against it by all means as early as possible and as intensively as possible yeah yeah awesome Oh son my son okay Club Tobias has no language and finds it difficult to engage with the world around him Ghana has been working with him for four months yes sir what kind of changes have you seen over the last few months yes open this ice and there's old nice ears so nice yes sir it's easier to give them short message just like come here sit down give me that stuff like that and there's a lot better with the eye contact to be upset no because a lot out there in the autism industry trying to sell to parents you can change your child the autism is a kind of medical separable attended that alt ISM is the broad way your brains wide the way you your brain was developed you can't remove the alters and without removing the person altogether he seemed to be angry at me when I offered him sugar milk and that's quite unreasonable when a nice man of you shook me you shouldn't start to cry or beyond you should be happy but he wasn't but I I enjoy that because I want him to be more angry I want him to show his temper more because he gonna use that to learn and pick up new things we work with children with autism which have a very very serious problem with a very very bad prognosis you cannot be afraid of conflicts it cannot be afraid of crying and happy children resistance to more towards demands then I suggest that you do something else the use of punishment by early practitioners gave ABA a reputation for harshness that has been hard to show but while punishment is no longer used many in the autistic community continue to question a BAS basic principles the science is based on is the increase or decrease in a behavior deemed appropriate or not by non-autistic people it can teach the child that it's not okay for them to be as they are and that they have to act differently not like themselves not naturally in order to be loved and rewarded from the people around I can match good boy hello son Jeremiah can you match Matt let the boy well done Jeremiah there we go you can have babes and you can have your right there oh boy Jeremiah can you match excellent up the babes yourselves and you can have a sweet good boy Jeremiah excellent I think my mom bought me out behaviorally without knowing it if she asked me to do something I had to do it there was no choice about that if I was good I'll cut things punky deep 10 spouse but me ruch right you can have your full team fatigue so we have some mushrooms it's a very scientific approach but when it's all broken down to me it just makes sense he's just you know he's just good parenting he's good teaching teach the children to gain skills and to be free of some of those behaviors that are enslaving them boy Jack copy me though Jack has good social skills like many children with autism he struggles with routine and has problems with food is dire within two weeks that's a lot game good boy well done what would happen if you fed Jack anything other than that now he would project over me yeah definitely it would just come out I have tried so many different things grinding food ah he just try me with right a bit of egg egg on toast cutting it really small there's just no end of things I've tried it just thanks and that's it it's just sick I just want to see Jack eating foods that children his age will be eating he can't he can't be on this JA food not only six things you know I mean he's just gonna go on and on and on and you feel it's better for the school to tackle this definitely I've dealt with many things with Jack but the phone situation is is a very very difficult one I'd like to be able to take my son to a restaurant which is just not possible at the stage Leslie started using a BA at treetops 11 years ago to make it possible on a state school budget she recruits unqualified tutors and she trains and supervises herself the people that we've got working with the kids are not super highly trained people I think you can teach the science to almost anyone if they're intelligent enough but you can't teach people to be around kids a Liedtke so I try and find people that are naturally good with kids the school now has 70 pupils on one-to-one programs I do show parents when I come round not all of the children are gonna speak we're not going to cure your children but I don't think everyone's reaching their full potential and that's that that's the important thing so once all these Sally cc's no thanks enough well then if whatever time can bring it any Sandy's there isn't sometimes a really visceral response when you say ABA some people just really hate it and others obviously don't think it's been highly effective with their child but because ABA is so intensive you often have to work one-to-one with a therapist and child it's therefore expensive so it costs either parents if they go privately or local authorities the taxpayers money a loss of money in order to deliver ABA to autistic children and what did you do yesterday yesterday where did you go yesterday did daddy what's that I go it starts with a what did you see tell me you went to see some fish where did you go I'm Crimean we tried to teach him recall which is quite hard it's new concepts he's 13 and he has a functional age of a seven-year-old so we have cut away but did you know we have all the time don't we Reuben for parents like Jews who don't live near treetops and want ABA for their child the only options are to set up a home program or fight to get funding to attend one of the few ABA private schools my son went to a local authorities special school he was failed very badly I got him out of there and started on an ABA program and he started talking so and I you know he's been there now many many years and he's doing very well as you can see he's doing a lot of writing but I know a lot of parents who didn't have who don't have the resources to either run the home program to get the evidence that they being works and then to mount a tribunal appeal specialist a B school yeah yeah I know a bit Matthew he was at the same school that my son was at and he was there for six years and he made absolutely no progress at all a team in fact he regressed and his mother wanted a BA but didn't have the resources to make it happen and now she's taken him out of that school and she's home I'm teaching him and trying the best that she can [Music] do you feel that Matthews been let down yes he's been in the school six years with no progress so I have to give up everything I'm oh great yeah what has happened since 2005 is been in that school what have you done a child who was able to count up to 17 now well you can count up to ten independently that's not progress by now but you should be able to cut off 204 magic and not only one to ten eight 14 year old now well I just want it will be a program for my son you know I need them funding which I have on goats I'm just trying here and there to get some funding which is not coming through I want you to be independent and be able to pay back to the society that's what my aim is to be its fully part of the society not excluded and the mouthpiece for him he didn't ask for this ability to car which happens so the least you could do is help him if you talk to people with autism or if you for those who can't speak if you spend your time observing them what you'll see is a different cognitive style a different way of learning which is overlaying a different sensory perceptual system it's not wrong it's just different these differences can vary dramatically over a wide autistic spectrum it was only when we start to go to nursery school and I really noticed that he was crying he was all about the floor it was climbing under desks he would get very upset he would have meltdowns he used to wash out I'd been called into school lots and lots of causes the problems and the speech language therapists that down she said just probably has something called Asperger's said she said well you'll know because you're autistic as well and I was like no no I'm I'm not I'm not autistic she said you are autistic and you need to get checked now I had no idea what autism was for me when I got the diagnosis it made everything make sense with jokes it made things easier all I knew was he was gonna grow up knowing he was just great who he was and he was his the one weak person I wasn't gonna change him I wasn't gonna force him to be something or someone he wasn't you experience the world differently I'm being social right now I'm conforming right now and you see me almost things too that I might not look at you I might walk more hand flapping I'll still do or know what groans in tiny circles or my hands and go I think so it seems to happen when I'm under stress so it must be doing something or I wouldn't my body wouldn't naturally do it repetitive and self-stimulatory behaviors are defining characteristics of autism whenever you look at what the goals of an ABA program are you'll see things on there about lessening or eliminating repetitive behaviors these are things like hand flapping watching your fingers the things that mark someone out and parents find them embarrassing or strange and that's considered a perfectly good thing to use ABA to get rid of on the other hand if you talk to people with autism you'll find out that these behaviors are actually functional the things that allow them to cope with sensory perceptual difficulties that they're having they allow them to cope with stress the behaviors work goona has now been working with Tobias for six months [Music] just the self entertainment without any progress or developments other people might think that this is a necessary activity for the children so leave them doing it the point is having worked with a lot of kids I can't see it makes them happy I can't see it causes development and I see a lot as he loads of motivation problems and learning problems Gunnar has trained the parents so that they can work intensively with Tobias as his tutor [Music] [Laughter] it was fantastic is a receivable he is for your instruction and your includes yeah you watch you choose to watch this you a lot just a few times you say with me and you can set the immunity yeah yeah you're not a parent of I tried doing all the day so it's much better to work and see the progress on some days you go back and I don't say that I smile every day but it's much better than we see be hoping then I see him being worse every day I try to learn parents to be focused on defining the behaviors are they reasonable or unreasonable and if it's unreasonable behavior you should demand some other baby from the time some people might think that you're being on these I don't think so I think I'm quite reasonable the point is he has to perform he has to do something to gain the reinforcer or the wanted object and I don't care if if that stresses him today because the goal is not today the goal is many years ahead and if he cried towards me at the age of three and a half year when he is six that doesn't matter he even never remember it even so see the dilemma halfway through Jack's first term Leslie is ready to start tackling his food issues whole food thing is a really difficult issue you can't force children to eat food against their will we wouldn't want to do that but sometimes you have to encourage children to do things they don't want to do in order to be able to move them on [Music] the first thing that we're doing is getting Jack used to sitting at the table with food in front of him he needs to be able to tolerate the food being there without panicking we have seen quite a few cases where we shouldn't want to only ate orange food I'm only left there thinking he may have might have gone for that you do after consider it's a little child it's a person and who doesn't want to do something they're not just being difficult they may have sensitivities or feel or think of things differently to how you do but I don't think you can let that stop you trying to teach them new skills I think you just have to be careful how you introducing [Music] [Music] so in christopher's take a different approach to children's issues with food cameron is one of the few that refuses to eat anything he's never eaten a solid thing in his whole entire life so he has six milkshakes a day that bulk him up he will be given the exactly the same as all the other children and then it's down to him to then make those choices of if he wants to put it to his mouth if you try and push the children too much you they lose that trust with them so we try and take the steady steps with them to build that trust and allow them to sort of make further progress like that like there was some only so I guess that can't carry on no I mean he's 11 years old now so mum is discussing about medication anxiety medication and trying to reduce the anxieties around the food hopefully we'll be able to then take that window of opportunity to make him feel comfortable enough to then try and eat solid foods but it probably will end up being that he'll be tube fed [Music] [Music] [Music] treetops have been working with Jack on his food issues for three weeks but at home his eating has got worse it wouldn't even touch a custard it just worried chipped it rather side so that you know he couldn't then eat it so have you spoken to the school about it I do I work to do and they said about coming out and showing me what to do at home because I didn't want to know but I just didn't quite realize he's got to sit there he's not allowed to be sick and they do if he's sick he doesn't get his custard as a reward tell me what happened was he sick yeah and the two times that I tried to do it it it was just checked over I mean you know it wasn't good just don't know young son but it's knowing you to go to Vietnam no just don't know what to think but he won't eat something so you're giving that chocolate custard and nearly and then you decide what else he wants to me and he's coming along lovely that's what I want so then when you try an ordinary food he's not gonna lose trying new air well they said he's doing I can't stall but I don't need to go in and say that from or so to decide to everyone will continue the program because I can't do it if he's the way it was here Friday I just can't do it by now and it's gone come here [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] June works as a volunteer advisor for parents of children with special educational needs so you stayed in touch with patients since Matthew and Reuben were at school together yes majesty so he's really two years ago but you know what Matthew started he as you said he could count to 20 mm-hmm Reuben didn't couldn't mm-hmm he didn't know his numbers I maybe one two maybe you know he had he had maybe five words he'd learned fantastically you know as you see you know he can read he can write see this is one of my worry why I don't want him to go to any more special schools where by picks up more negative behavior and then it will be very unmanageable so that's why I said I think you know you've got him at home but he's not and because you don't have the money to have tutors in he's doing nothing it son you know he is just bored we do work yeah all this you spend some cutting yeah we do but patience is a lot of work because you know you know he needs to be stimulated six hours a day if you imagine a a child at school you can't manage it at home because a woman you don't even have the funding you need to push that side you do you obviously work with loads of parents and I wonder how unusual patients experiences it's uh it's not unusual at all it's becoming more frequent and there are lots of families around the country doing home programs and funding it themselves so you don't hear of them at all but they are there there's this kind of hidden community of parents doing a B at home [Music] guna considers one of his most successful home programs to have been with a family who live in Stockholm on the sale of richard to be this boy 16 he got an autism diagnosis at around age three the official system told mom dad not to be too optimistic and they should prepare himself for sending Richard to a special school but the parents folk advice I mean there's practicing anything you have to know a little you're out there take me out here in the morning else by Sierra means Richard plays badminton for the Swedish National Junior team the parents contacted me and we started to work when he was three and a half it was a struggle most of all it was a struggle for the parents not always agreeing and how to do things to our sister Rebecca Dora some of our terminal is who left some hair to be updated via to do Cassandra and Lara also for the recap efficiency Erlich adorned with the fingering a team for my panelists minority born so me in the camp rose hips can connect on the Sierra David almond would think at Hangtown Shah in Tacoma cohort at Linehan can forget and yet normal women on a often show you what the VAD to of this barrier there a ring around Africa for contact Malika a manly hall okay never do what we heard at all some good Nigerian direct definitely protein Thea had her chance we were youthful not and Robert Betty under so the interval are born at BT on the money and return the year and see it could be tienda there were found throughout your son had the Rose what Navi Triana the flat your kind of live at less than a blonde also ago not too many the water at the birthday mm-nah dramatic anatomic for her return under a problem due for the wave to know for the circle helps on the antenna tongue assault no Vanessa Marshall brain another know I guess the do sober okay joint the hats etomidate you're happy whoever knows what to make up something of him it's putting you off you may not be broken so this is this is two year birthday this is in a November he's born in aprons do you know how and such this point speak no no no no not at all [Music] Oh deceit and enough [Applause] in the mirror he doesn't want to watch he's Elena's happy child right now and it's great that you have done this but it's yeah hard to see it was very surprising and I never think it was so hard and I think I was a sick person not so sick he had a condition that tells him to try to avoid demanding situations it was very difficult to find anything we could use as a proper reinforcer it was a couple of things we could like but nothing he was willing to climb Mount Everest to get a zoom in so enemy had to be firm if not he wouldn't take you seriously but seeing the result today I don't personally feel very very bad about it listening to Richard telling that he really doesn't recall actually anything from that period so it's a little bit in a hospital in the guitar it looks like a mess it's blood all over you know in sweat the tears it's service then they fix you [Music] [Music] [Music] why did he give me all that grief you know the region in the book but is he's not been sick for the past two days so obviously is he he's gotta be made and yet he's gonna be a long process and that emotional attachment makes it so much harder because you don't want to see him upset and distressed and you know and he's not used to to you doing things like that with him you know so easy Saul most he's got a whole new learning process where's that to Michaela you food now is just go and sit over there with McCain when Eddie finished people have to think very carefully about exactly what compliance is teaching their children because you're giving way to an adult you are complying with an adult all the time and that can leave you very extremely vulnerable extremely vulnerable I think the argument is is the child's right to say no but we believe that it's a child's right to be able to experience other things and they don't really know what they're saying no to because I've got a barrier so it's about removing those barriers and retraining the brain so that actually they can access a whole lot of other things and enjoy a much fuller life [Music] [Music] although I wasn't diagnosed as a child it was obvious that I was different you know there's no blame there's no hard feelings but they strive to make me look up here behave think feel experience everything that in a normal way was a broke me inside it is a form of cruelty to deny a person here they are there was no cruel intent there there was the best interest was always there but it wasn't right for me and I couldn't put just into a system or a program that wasn't designed for him I couldn't rob jaws of who he was of his soul of his essence and if part of that was autistic then fair enough it's not necessarily a bad way of living but there's other people who are profoundly autistic and I can't I can't speak for them [Applause] [Music] today some people suggest that the goal of ABA is compliance with social norms with rules and that is in fact true but everybody expects that from their children nobody wants chaos we are who we are due to some genetic endowment but most of who we are is in fact the result of a set of environmental events completely out of our control and unwittingly applied by people around us but the fact that we're unaware of it doesn't make it any less effective dr. Vince Carbone is a leading ABA practitioner and researcher from New York he constructed the program that treetops follows and visits the school twice a year who's that it's jack that was funny yeah Jack look at that up sign in the book nice jack I think it's important that people pay attention to what people with autism say about ABA therapy but we're not trying to change the soul or the the essence of the the person what we're attempting to do is change their behavior patterns so that they gone or more reinforcements during their life than they do negative attention and Punishment from the social community and a biscuit was done [Music] I'm not regretting what I did because then any mother in my position will do the same you break my heart to watch him grow you know you know not getting any better [Music] we love my child is it drys nothing else is I love that I have for my son that drives me to do anything anything that takes if I don't fight for him nobody does [Music] nighttime nighttime for 4 3 2 1 home time sometime [Music] I'm glad you know much I'm going bye-bye I'm [Music] [Music] you never look at me even if you call for him using nobody succumb things changed to me he does let us come to Mina I'm much happier than when I was that stress level is you know reduced enormously the changes are always going to be slow there is no quick fix but the changes are very positive and if he is going to a mainstream school I don't think it would have happened do you feel that you're just able to communicate yeah should be skits with biscuits bubbles nose eyes [Music] there is this fine line about knowing when to allow children to kind of step out of their comfort zone and when not to and this is I think the case for all children but it's particularly difficult for children autism who are often very set in their ways can they be pushed at this moment in time in order to experience something new or should we just kind of hold back and parents and teachers are making these really subtle ethical decisions all the time yeah I know it'll be here in a minute dinner come onmy we watch the children first then mommy's gonna touch it up for you [Music] [Music] okay my never thought you started pants never nothing likes you took anymore it's just absolutely fantastic [Music]

Channel: Real Stories

Views: 1,098,092

Keywords: family, Full Documentary, Full length Documentaries, controversial treatment for autism, 2017 documentary, parenting, TV Shows - Topic, Channel 4 documentary, Documentary, Documentary Movies - Topic, Amazing Documentaries, BBC Three documentary, Extraordinary people, Real Stories, kids, health, medical documentary, Documentaries, medical, BBC documentary, Amazing Stories, Autism, BBC 3, BBC Three, autism documentary, autism treatment, parenting documentary, aba therapy, aba autism

Id: g71FXJA0C6I

Length: 58min 49sec (3529 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 08 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/Headshothero]

Tough love approach? I've never heard ABA be classified as that.

It's a behavioralist approach. Try and determine the function of a behavior and provide the function in an appropriate way, prior to the inappropriate behavior.

For example: Child with Autism begins hitting his parents after lunch. ABA determines that each time the child does this, he is sent to his room with weighted blanket - child calms. Purpose of behavior = regulation support. Solution - teach the child to request the weighted blanket or give the blanket immediately after lunch.

It's nothing wild or outlandish.

[u/MontavillanMike]

I am a school social worker who works with a couple of kids who receive ABA services outside of school. I am wondering if anyone’s ever come across “high functioning” clients/students who receive this treatment then learn to expect for every little thing that they do they should now get a reward. I have students who consistently ask “what do I get now” or “what’s the point” and have limited capacity for gestalt thinking. I would also describe these students as “prompt dependent”, meaning that without an external cue or reinforcement, they have very little to no stamina for independent school work.

[u/[deleted]]

ABA is pretty well known in the US mid-Atlantic, and does a lot of good for certain folks.

‘Tough love’ seems like a poor and misleading description tho, get ya sensationalizing titles outta here.

[u/mysuckyusername]

What’s ABA? Daughter is sleeping next to me and can’t watch the video.

[u/Kreenish]

Having been around some severely autistic children I can tell you that the short exposure you have to it viewing a video is nothing like living with them. Their behavior can be draining and isolating for their parents.

I don't think it's possible to make an autistic child indistinguishable from others as the one man said, but I don't see the autism as a part of their personality. Their autistic behaviors always seem to me like an uncontrollable urge their brain makes them act on, and it doesn't seem like the children enjoy getting caught in these 'broken record' behaviors.

[u/Odinmma]

One of the issues with autism/children with autism is their parents who, from a place of care, treat them like babies well past that time. They enable their selfish/one-track minds and their lack of understanding social norms by not being firm with them due to their sympathy for the child.

The argument of the man saying that autistic children should be allowed to be 'themselves' as teaching them to act positively with those around them is a way of taking away their personality and showing that they only deserve love if they are behaved is a nonsense premise. This is what everyone learns. If you are horrible to those around you and throw a hissy if you don't get what you want then no, people don't have to accept it and still like/love you and indeeed, quite often they won't care about people like that.

[u/J1--1J]

ITT: people who think they understand behaviourism from reading a few webpages.

[u/Adam657]

Imagine a skill or hobby you once took up, or were pressured to take up, but were so terrible at, clearly not cut out for and you grew to resent, be a sport, language, mathmatics, learning an instrument or whatever.

Let's say playing the piano. Now imagine I force you into a building for 6-8 hours a day, and make you practice piano. I sit next to you, forcing your fingers to the keys, yelling 'no' at what seems like arbitrary times, and giving you a sweet at other times. To you everytime you press a key it sounds bizarre, like nails on a chalkboard, just slightly different each time. Not only that, as I'm teaching you, randomly telling you off or praising you, 10 other people are learning various instruments in the same room. The noise. And there's random lights flashing in your face every so often. If you try to get up I just pick you up and put you back down in front of the piano. Any self comforting behaviours you do like sighing or biting your nails at all this stress, I scream NO and stop you.

When you leave the training each day, piano music is all that plays on the television and radio, and it is all people talk about around you or to you. All you want to do is relax with some more self comfort, ice-cream, a soap-opera, even a glass of wine. Someone else screams NO and stops you again.

Eventually you learn that when you press the keys in a certain manner, I reward you more, and punish you less. You get better at the piano, though it all still sounds like noise to you. You're even able to join in with piano conversations with others and people look pleased, but it's meaningless and bores you to tears. Is this living? Are you now cured of your hatred for piano?

This is my issue with such practices. Of course we have to use such techniques to teach all children, including those with autism, some basic behaviours, especially those that prevent harm or injury. My problem is people with autism aren't wired to enjoy or need social interaction the way we do. We should conform to their needs beyond a basic level. Stopping someone from self-stimming by hand flapping is helping who? Who is it harming? You because you are embarrassed? These types of practices are so selfish and care zero for the individual at hand. You can't force people into your category because that's what's 'normal'. I don't give a damn if what is presented here isn't representative and it isn't about 'punishments' anymore. It's the overall theme which is wrong.

[u/swisscriss]

Isn't this technique actually pioneered BY an autistic person? Temple Grandin specifically?