THE NEGATIVE TREATMENTS: 
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Applied behavioral analysis (ABA):

(TRIGGER WARNING: SENSITIVE CONTENT)

Applied behavioral analysis, or more commonly known as ABA, is the longest standing form of autism therapy that requires as much as 40 hours a week of one on one therapy. The idea behind ABA is a scientific approach to understanding behavior. The basic principle is that an autistic person will be rewarded for a desired behavior such as greeting a peer, or punished for an undesirable behavior, such as acting out. It operates under the assumption that an autistic person simply won’t do something unless they get a reward rather than often they simply can’t do something. This is essentially the basic principle on how people train animals. The issue with this is that generally, when an autistic child is acting out, they aren’t actually misbehaving, they’re more often trying and failing to cope with the barrage of sensory input they are subjected to by their sensory processing disorder. For example, if an autistic child is overwhelmed or uncomfortable, they may scream, have a meltdown, or try to remove themself from the situation. Teaching an autistic person to hide the symptoms of their discomfort rather than tackle the root physiological or cognitive cause is simply teaching them to mask. They may act better behaved, but they’re still uncomfortable and distressed on the inside. During therapy an autistic person might be exposed to something uncomfortable that may even cause them sensory pain and be rewarded for a lack of reaction. Some ABA practitioners may also punish self regulatory behaviors such as stimming, and pressure nonspeaking autistic people to talk rather than providing assistive technology. This therapy technique may also make children more susceptible to sexual abuse as it often pressures the patients to accept physical contact even they feel uncomfortable and punishes them for setting boundaries. According to a 2018 study by Advances in Autism, nearly half (46%) of autistic people who experienced ABA earlier in life exhibit post traumatic stress symptoms from having to hide their distress. What’s more, ABA therapy has a dark past and not just because of the physically abusive methods that were once popular. Sometimes called “autistic conversion therapy,” this form of treatment was developed by Ivar Lovaas, who believed that “…you start pretty much from scratch when you work with an autistic child. You have a person in the physical sense – they have hair, a nose and a mouth – but they are not people in the psychological sense. One way to look at the job of helping autistic kids is to see it as a matter of constructing a person. You have the raw materials, but you have to build the person.” He was also involved in the creation of actual gay conversion therapy, helping develop the Feminine Boy Project that both ABA and conversion therapy are based on. Therapies under this umbrella include pivotal response training and discrete trial teaching.


Also stay away from dangerous, quack, and pseudoscientific methods that can seriously harm and autistic child:
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(TRIGGER WARNING: SENSITIVE CONTENT)
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These include:
  • Detox
  • Supplements 
  • Bleach
  • Chelation
 
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Some better alternatives:

​There are also a lot of therapy techniques that have the potential to really help people with autism.
 
These include:
 
  • Occupational therapy or sensory integration therapy: “Occupational therapy” can help autistic people to develop their vestibular and motor skills by use of vestibular or fine motor tools. It can also help people with autism to better deal with sensory processing disorder when “sensory integration therapy” techniques are integrated. This involves creating a diverse and stimulating “sensory diet”. A sensory diet may consist of structured exposure to sensory input as well as movement or balance treatments among other things. However as a disclaimer, research on the usefulness of these treatments is as of now inconclusive.
 
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): “Cognitive behavioral therapy” (CBT) is defined as a type of psychotherapy in which negative patterns of thought about the self and the world are challenged in order to alter unwanted behavior patterns or treat mood disorders such as depression. This therapy style has helped a lot of people with their mental health, and does work well for some autistic people. However, some research shows that this type of therapy may be less effective at helping those with autism with their mental problems due to autistic people having different thinking patterns than their allistic peers. It is also ineffective at treating sensory processing disorder as it is a largely physiological disorder, rather than purely psychological. It is recommended to speak with a therapist or counselor about this and other techniques. If they suggest and support cognitive behavioral therapy, then it might be worth a try. Really though, it’s up to the autistic individual. There are positives and negatives to this type of therapy, though it won’t hurt you to give it a try. 
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  • Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT): “Dialectical behavior therapy’s” (DBT) “...main goals are to teach people how to live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, regulate their emotions, and improve their relationships with others. DBT was originally intended to treat borderline personality disorder (BPD), but it has been adapted to treat other mental health conditions. It can help people who have difficulty with emotional regulation or are exhibiting self-destructive behaviors (such as eating disorders and substance use disorders). This type of therapy is also sometimes used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).” It can also be helpful for autistic people. “The strategy for using DBT with people with … [autism] is to identify different types of coping strategies that help the negative emotions, thoughts, and reactions.” “... DBT is a form of therapy meant to help vulnerable people to empower themselves.” “DBT uses validating environments to encourage self-driven change meant to improve individual quality of life. It helps us regulate our emotions and navigate social situations.”
 
  • Brain balance: An autistic person may also benefit from “brain balance”, a form of therapy to strengthen connections between different regions of the brain.
 
  • Counseling or therapy: It can be good for an autistic person to have some form of counseling or therapy to help them deal with both the struggles of autism itself and the ableism and resulting mental health problems they may experience. If the counselor or therapist is a psychiatrist, they may also be able to prescribe helpful medication, though often people may have a psychiatrist and a psychologist separately. Either a counselor, a therapist, or a psychiatrist can also refer their patient to other potential treatments, such as occupational therapy.
 
  • Floortime therapy: “The ‘floortime or Developmental, Individual-differences, Relationship-based (DIR) model’ is a developmental model for assessing and understanding any child's strengths and weaknesses. It has become particularly effective at identifying the unique developmental profiles and developing programs for children experiencing developmental delays due to autism… or other… disorders.” “The Floortime Model is a developmental intervention focusing on affection, with a fundamental assumption that emotions are the foundation of a child's development. It involves meeting a child at his or her current developmental level, and challenging them to move up the hierarchy of milestones outlined in the DIR Model. Once the child connects with the adult specific techniques are used to challenge and entice the child to move up the developmental ladder.” “Evidence for the efficacy of DIR/Floortime includes results from randomized controlled trials of DIR/Floortime and the DIR/Floortime-based P.L.A.Y. Project; because of various limitations in these studies, the existing evidence is deemed to "weakly support" the efficacy of Floortime.”
 
  • Social skills training: “Social skills training” is a form of therapy recommended for those with severe social anxiety. It uses behavioral rehearsal, corrective feedback, instruction, positive reinforcement, and weekly homework to build a variety of skills. The therapists will also pay specific attention to whatever areas of weakness they discover when evaluating the patient’s needs. The skills taught may include assertiveness, verbal and nonverbal communication, confidence with introductions, accepting or receiving compliments, speaking on the phone, and active listening skills.
 
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