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<meta name="description" content="Some call ABA abuse because of how it was done decades ago. Achieving Stars Therapy explains the difference between old-school ABA and modern, play-based ABA in 2026.">
<title>Why Do Some People Call ABA Therapy Abuse? | Achieving Stars Therapy</title>
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<div class="hero"><div class="hero-inner"><span class="location-badge">Topical Insight</span><h1>Why Do Some People Call ABA Therapy Abuse?</h1><p><strong>Some people call ABA abuse because of how it used to be done decades ago.</strong></p></div></div>
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<section><p>Back then, kids were forced into compliance, punished for stimming, and pushed past their limits. At Achieving Stars Therapy, we don't run programs that way. We never will.</p>
<p>The autistic adults who lived through the old version have every right to name what happened. We take their feedback seriously. Modern, play-based ABA is built around what they told the field to fix.</p>
</section><section><h2>What the older ABA actually did</h2>
<p>A behavior analyst on r/Autism_Parenting, who is herself autistic and a parent to an autistic teen, broke it down with 20 years of field experience: "ABA has used some questionable techniques in the past. For example, forced compliance is when they would physically force clients to follow a command (example of this is physically holding a child in their seat)." (<a href="https://reddit.com/r/Autism_Parenting/comments/1m48qgl/why_is_aba_considered_abuse_to_some/">source</a>)</p>
<p>Another commenter added: "I never went through it myself, but the ABA of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s tended to be more about forcing things. Going by friends who went through it, many had deep seated trauma related to activities in it they didn't unpack until years later in therapy." (<a href="https://reddit.com/r/Autism_Parenting/comments/1m48qgl/why_is_aba_considered_abuse_to_some/">source</a>)</p>
<p>That's the source of the abuse claim. It's not invented.</p>
</section><section><h2>Why the criticism still gets attached to modern programs</h2>
<p>Three reasons, all of them fair.</p>
<p>First, some clinics today still run high-pressure, compliance-focused programs even though the field has moved on. They exist. Parents and autistic adults are right to warn about them.</p>
<p>Second, the field hasn't apologized cleanly for what it did. That silence keeps the criticism alive.</p>
<p>Third, the same name covers both versions. A 1995 ABA program and a 2026 play-based ABA program share an acronym and almost nothing else.</p>
</section><section><h2>What modern, ethical ABA actually looks like</h2>
<p>The 2014 BACB Ethics Code changed the rules. A 2020 review in Behavior Analysis in Practice pushed the field harder toward assent-based, child-led teaching.</p>
<p>In practice that means: stimming that isn't dangerous is left alone. Eye contact is never forced. Punishment-based procedures are out. Parents are in the room, learning the strategies alongside the technician.</p>
<p>Achieving Stars Therapy runs this model in family homes across <a href="/location/states/aba-therapy-colorado">Colorado</a>, <a href="/location/states/aba-therapy-kansas">Kansas</a>, <a href="/location/states/aba-therapy-new-hampshire">New Hampshire</a>, and South Carolina, every program BCBA-led, every session built around play.</p>
</section><section><h2>What another parent learned by setting ground rules</h2>
<p>A parent in the same Reddit thread shared this: "We ended up doing ABA for my son but only 4 hours a week and focused on communication. It was AMAZING. She would come to our house and I talked openly with her ahead of time to ensure she understood that I would not allow any negative reinforcement stuff — only positive reinforcement and doing things play based. She 100% agreed. My son loved it." (<a href="https://reddit.com/r/Autism_Parenting/comments/1m48qgl/why_is_aba_considered_abuse_to_some/">source</a>)</p>
<p>That's the right way to interview a provider. Ask the hard questions before sign-up. Get the answers in writing.</p>
<p>Achieving Stars Therapy expects parents to ask those questions. The BCBA welcomes them on the intake call.</p>
</section><section><h2>How to tell the difference at intake</h2>
<p>Ask the provider these five questions before signing:</p>
<ol>
<li>Will my child be punished for stimming that doesn't hurt anyone?</li>
<li>How do you handle a session my child clearly doesn't want?</li>
<li>How many hours a week are you recommending, and why?</li>
<li>Do parents see every session, or are sessions closed?</li>
<li>Will the BCBA join sessions directly, or just supervise from a distance?</li>
</ol>
<p>Good answers sound like the modern model. Bad answers sound like compliance-first thinking.</p>
</section><section><h2>The honest takeaway</h2>
<p>ABA as a field has a real history that hurt people. Modern, <a href="/guide/play-based-aba-therapy">play-based ABA therapy</a> run by ethical BCBAs is a different practice, and parents have every right to demand the new model, not the old one.</p>
<p>Achieving Stars Therapy won't tell parents the old harm wasn't real. The job today is to make sure no kid lives through that version again.</p>
</section><section><h2>FAQ</h2>
<div class="faq-item"><h3>Are there autistic adults who say modern ABA harmed them too?</h3><p>Yes, some. Their feedback is taken seriously inside the field. It's why the assent-based model exists.</p></div>
<div class="faq-item"><h3>Is play-based ABA real, or marketing language?</h3><p>Both exist. Ask the BCBA to walk through a real session minute by minute. If it sounds like play, it usually is. Read more on <a href="/guide/play-based-aba-therapy">play-based ABA therapy</a>.</p></div>
<div class="faq-item"><h3>What about RBTs (the people running most sessions)?</h3><p>RBTs train 40 hours and work under BCBA supervision. The BCBA writes the plan. A good provider has BCBA contact built into every week.</p></div>
<div class="faq-item"><h3>Does in-home ABA help with the abuse concern?</h3><p>Parents see every minute. Read the full <a href="/guide/in-home-aba-therapy">in-home ABA therapy guide</a>.</p></div></section>
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<h2>Talk to Achieving Stars Therapy</h2>
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