Autistic experiences of applied behavior analysis

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Anderson, L. K. (2022). Autistic experiences of applied behavior analysis. Autism, 27(3), 737-750. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221118216

Publication date: 23 Aug 2022 Added to AutiHub: 22 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
1
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 1 (100.0%)
  1. Laura K Anderson *

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability affecting individuals across their entire lifespan. Autistic individuals have differences from nonautistic people (sometimes called allistic or neurotypical people) in social skills, communication, and atypical interests and/or repetitive behaviors. Approximately 1 in 59 children are born autistic, leading to over 3.5 million autistic Americans. Applied behavior analysis is one of the first and most common interventions recommended for autistic children. However, autistic self-advocates argue that applied behavior analysis damages their mental health and treats them as though they are a problem to be fixed. This phenomenological qualitative study examined seven autistic individuals who received applied behavior analysis interventions as children to understand what autistic adults perceive as the costs and benefits of applied behavior analysis interventions, how they feel about the applied behavior analysis interventions they received, and what recommendations autistic adults have for the future of applied behavior analysis. The findings include: Autistic adults remember traumatic events from applied behavior analysis, do not believe that they should be made to behave like their peers, gained some benefits but suffered significant negative long-term consequences, believe that applied behavior analysis is an unethical intervention, and recommend that applied behavior analysis practitioners listen to autistic people and consider using interventions in place of applied behavior analysis. Lay Abstract Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability affecting individuals across their entire lifespan. Autistic individuals have differences from nonautistic people (sometimes called allistic or neurotypical people) in social skills, communication, and atypical interests and/or repetitive behaviors. Applied behavior analysis is one of the first and most common interventions recommended for autistic children. However, autistic individuals argue that applied behavior analysis damages their mental health and treats them as though they are a problem to be fixed. This study examined the experiences of seven autistic individuals who received applied behavior analysis interventions as children to understand what autistic adults think about their applied behavior analysis interventions, how they feel about the applied behavior analysis interventions they received, and what recommendations autistic adults have for the future of applied behavior analysis. The findings include: Autistic adults remember traumatic events from applied behavior analysis, do not believe that they should be made to behave like their peers, gained some benefits but suffered significant negative long-term consequences, believe that applied behavior analysis is an unethical intervention, and recommend that applied behavior analysis practitioners listen to autistic people and consider using interventions in place of applied behavior analysis.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 22 Aug 2026 19:43.

Cited references
55
With a DOI
29
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
24
4 / 55 (7.3%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
16 / 55 (29.1%)
References with detected author names
39 / 55 (70.9%)
Without detected author names
16
Without a structured title
14
Without a stable identifier
23
References with raw author names still to review
14
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
108
From DOI or external metadata
108
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
14
28 / 108 (25.9%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 80 / 108 (74.1%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
4 / 108 (3.7%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 4 / 28 (14.3%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 4 / 101 (4.0%).
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