Ekaterina:

''I don’t think there’s a more troubled professional field than Applied Behavior Analysis ABA. How did it happen that such a necessary, logical, humane, intelligent, and well-thought-out therapy for children with autism and other developmental disorders became the target of so much misinformation, hysteria, and fraud? On the other hand, the louder the attempts to discredit it, the more they highlight its true value. Good tools are worth their weight in gold. No one goes to great lengths to discredit something that’s clearly worthless—its value speaks for itself.

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For some, money knows no bounds. My colleagues and I conducted a quick survey of “ABA therapy” courses that pop up through ads. They’re cheap, and yet it’s nearly impossible to identify who’s actually teaching them. These courses, often promoted by commercial “education” vendors, offer a poor substitute for genuine, professional training, misleading an audience that genuinely seeks to understand behavioral science and theory.

It would be easy to disregard the actions of fraudsters— “not our problem,” as the saying goes—if fraud didn’t have another side: the deceived victims. It’s one thing when the victim is an adult who can make their own decisions, but quite another when vulnerable children suffer under the guise of ABA therapy. After attending courses promoted through Google Ads, these children end up subjected to therapy that is, at best, ineffective, and at worst, harmful. 

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Another issue is with those who discredit ABA therapy without truly understanding it, confident that their degrees in fields like medicine, law, or even acting can be easily applied to a completely different field of science—one that has earned multiple Nobel Prizes. Let me share just a couple of examples to illustrate the consequences. A mother is seeking treatment for her child at a trendy clinic, where she’s told ABA therapy isn’t necessary until her child transforms into some kind of “superman” (here implies to becoming ‘’perfectly healthy’’). They assure her this will happen because they are the "greatest" experts, while everyone else is apparently illiterate in the field of autism. She believes that eventually, her child will overcome autism, shatter his limitations, and become a well-adjusted, social member of society—perhaps even with a career in banking.

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With this rosy picture in mind, the mother continues on. But something still nags at her. She instinctively senses, even if she doesn’t fully understand it, that raising a child is a long, tedious, and exhausting process. She knows that well-adjusted people don’t just appear out of nowhere. So, secretly, she begins taking her child to therapy sessions. And thank God for that, you might say. If only it weren’t for one thing: she can’t handle the child.

As you can see, even the most advanced treatment isn’t a magic trick. It doesn’t transform a child overnight. It never has, and it never will. Even in movies, when it happens, such films are rarely taken seriously. A child who receives help remains complex, temperamental, and sometimes exhibits maladaptive behavior. While this behavior may lessen in frequency and intensity, progress is always gradual. You can be thrilled with a pointing gesture that suddenly appears, or the fact that the child finally solved a math problem they were struggling with or managed to put on their pants when before they would just fall down. These are real achievements that are worth celebrating. But overall, the child remains challenging. Even highly restored teenagers, excelling academically or in complex hobbies, still struggle with social adaptation. Their social age often lags behind their biological age, and if you haven’t learned how to manage this, you won’t succeed.

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You might have excellent test results; you might feel that your brain’s protective mechanisms are functioning well. But life is about the daily interactions with your child's process of growing. The mother I mentioned earlier sometimes resorts to physically punishing her "progressing" son. Not because she’s a bad mother, and not because the therapy is ineffective, but because she’s a real person. No one is born knowing how to raise atypical children (or even typical but troubled ones). These skills need to be learned, just like knitting, driving, or playing the trumpet.

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The basic skills of ABA—understanding the laws of behavior—can literally save lives. ABA teaches you how to respond to crises in ways that prevent escalation. Behaviors that exhaust you don’t always involve extreme actions like head-banging; they could be endless whining, repetitive nonsense, or handling household items in ways that frustrate you but can’t be changed. The more inappropriate your reactions, the higher the chance the behavior will persist, draining you to the point of suicidal thoughts. Meanwhile, the child may be physically healthy. Even if the autism level or neuro-trauma was mild, and developmental delays have been reduced, trauma still exists. And trauma doesn’t disappear without a trace. Even a broken finger, if healed properly in childhood, will remind you of itself at 60. A bullet that didn’t kill you still passed through your body—and you’re not the same as someone who’s never been shot.

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But as I said, restorative treatment, even when a child has strong compensatory resources, never transforms a child from a "little devil" into Oscar Wilde. “Bad” behavior, formed in the context of illness, doesn’t just vanish on its own. The child will improve—his stomach pain will stop, the fog in his mind will lift—but the behavior will remain. It was his way of interacting with the world and getting what he wanted. He didn’t know any other way. But even when you finally realize that the idea of your child with ASD suddenly becoming a perfect, well-adjusted person is just a fantasy, and not your reality, you still won’t know how to handle it.

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There are many cases where mothers, with the best of intentions, seek treatment (which is absolutely necessary!) but are misled into thinking their child is just a collection of proteins and metabolites, rather than a complex system of interacting physical and emotional needs. Without a basic understanding of behavioral principles, these mothers end up physically punishing their children. And, of course, those who resort to violence—whether through their own actions, medical arrogance, or exploiting misinformed parents—will face their own reckoning.

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All of this still needs to be addressed. But for now, rely on the trusted tools that are available. First and foremost, professional training should only come from courses approved by the IBAO commission—a reputable institution that evaluates ABA training programs. If it’s about improving parental literacy—learning how to avoid reinforcing negative behaviors due to improper reactions and ineffective behavioral management—seek training from those affiliated with IBAO-approved educational materials. Don’t trust online ads or anyone offering advice on complex matters like space while specializing in digging holes. Such advice is clearly irrelevant. Focus on treating your children without resorting to physical punishment.''

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