“Has anyone ever berated you for being “obsessed” with a certain subject or are you neurotypical?”
So read one of the most viral tweets I ever posted. After the massive response to it, something occurred to me about hyperfocus and #ActuallyAutistic people who exhibit it; something concerning that wolf in sheep’s clothing that neurotypicals lovingly call “Applied Behavioral Analysis.”
I thought more deeply about how people react to our “obsessions,” as NTs are more inclined to call them. But then it occurred to me, isn’t that one of the ultimate goals of ABA — to forestall #autistic kids from having “obsessions” that their parents and many NTs object to?
And then I thought, we develop special interests because we tend to hyperfocus on these subjects that fascinate us so. Based on the replies to that tweet, NTs have issues with it mainly because they tire of hearing about these topics after a while. So it wouldn’t at all surprise me if suppressing special interests is a component of ABA. Perhaps one of you poor souls who has endured it can confirm this.
Ah, but if suppressing hyperfocus is heading off a kid’s tendency to have special interests… what’s that doing to their ability to focus overall? How is that affecting their neurodevelopment? Is it positive?
I seriously doubt it. I feel in my fur that such attempts to curtail hyperfocus affect those areas of the brain that control ANY focus. Like, a developed brain, with an occupation (like mine) that requires acute attention to detail, can’t concentrate on the task at paw because it’s been conditioned to think, “oh no, this is wrong, I can’t devote all my attention to this, I have to think about something else!”
We know too well ABA causes mental health problems — this is just another example. And it got me thinking, in point of fact, that maybe it even leads to other neurological conditions like ADHD or executive dysfunction later in life. We know what effect these co-occurring conditions have on our lives, don’t we? As a matter of fact, we end up exposing ourselves to even more abusive treatment when we end up having to take unnecessary medications to manage ADHD, or our executive dysfunction is misinterpreted as laziness, incompetence or outright stupidity.
This is something that I think requires more research as the ABA debate rages on. ABA isn’t necessary; other forms of therapy are, and they should include teaching autistic youngsters the value of their special interests and how they can guide a life.
The Autyssey 
I was diagnosed in late June, and one of my children a few weeks after me. In my child’s case, the assessor’s primary concern was for socialization. Since that was exactly my concern, I was thrilled … until the letter authorizing ABA “treatment” came in the mail.
Nope. No. Never. Not ever. My child is beautiful and amazing as heis. He does not need to contain or constrain what makes him him to be delightful; he already is. So we will find different ways, such that he does spend four decades of life only half-living, as did yours truly …
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Oof, mood. But you’ve made a wise choice not putting him through that. I hope you both pay close regard to one another so that you can help each other along this fascinating new journey of self-discovery. There are better ways to learn how to socialize than to be constantly told what you’re doing wrong!
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