National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) Adopts Resolution Opposing Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)

On July 21, 2021 the NCIL announced that it “opposes [ABA] in all its forms; and…supports the autonomy and freedom of people with autism to live and make individual choices without having their behavior controlled or colonized through therapeutic intervention or coercion.” In particular I appreciate the NCIL’s articulation of the fact that the practice of ABA puts individuals “at risk of believing they cannot say ‘no’ to a person when told to do something; and…the inability to say ‘no’ and to articulate one’s own needs and desires puts a person at risk of being abused or taken advantage of by others, especially by those in positions of power over them or by romantic partners.” Click the post title to read the full text of the resolution.