Date of Submission
Spring 2022
Academic Program
Psychology
Project Advisor 1
Sarah Dunphy-Lelii
Abstract/Artist's Statement
This paper investigates the empirical evidence and discourse surrounding a popular therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) known as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). While studies over the past 60 years have shown ABA to be a highly effective therapy for decreasing unwanted behaviors and increasing compliance in people with autism, many autistic adults have expressed that the therapy had long-term harmful effects on their mental health and wellbeing. Using a combination of works written by autistic voices and psychological studies, I argue for a reconsideration of the benefits and costs of ABA, and emphasize the importance of including actual autistic people in the development of further research and treatments.
Open Access Agreement
Open Access
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Kurlander, Campbell K.C., "Don't Make Me Say "I Love You": A Dive into the Complicated Discourse Surrounding Applied Behavior Analysis" (2022). Senior Projects Spring 2022. 235.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2022/235
This work is protected by a Creative Commons license. Any use not permitted under that license is prohibited.