I had an encounter this weekend that really threw me off. I volunteer at an animal rehab, and at one point, I mentioned I work with folks with autism. My supervisor asked for details and I briefly said I was a registered behavior therapist and the company I worked with. I didn't think anything of it at the time.

I got a phone call the next day saying that one of my other volunteers is on the spectrum, had a bad experience with ABA and was completely freaked out (his words) by the mere mention of ABA; and could I not mention ABA around them anymore?

Obviously I'm sympathetic to other peoples triggers and will not mention my job around them but this really freaked me out. In addition, I keep seeing post after post about people saying ABA is un-ethical or traumatic without giving any details.

I understand that Psychology as a science is in it's infancy, maybe 150 years old, and ABA is only 50, so practice has changed in leaps and bounds just in the last 20 years. Also, that we are working with a vulnerable population, and that we must strictly adhere to our ethical code and be mindful of our clients needs. But the same could be said of any therapy and you never hear this kind of talk about CBT, SLPs, or talk therapy.

What am I missing here, I'm fairly new to this field? Am I trying to do good in a field that is fundamentally flawed and traumatic? I feel like very few other career fields would receive this type of treatment. Public school teachers are notorious for having abusive bad apples, but if someone asked for school to never be mentioned around them, I doubt the request would be met with the same response. I want to listen to people with autism, but I'm not sure who to ask, or what to ask about.