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Association for Behavior Analysis International Endorses Torture
May 23, 2019 | Ianthe Dempsey
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network strongly condemns the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) for their decision to feature the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) at their 2019 annual conference. The JRC is the only institution in the country to use electric shock devices for behavior modification on students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a practice which has been classified as torture by the United Nations. ABAI’s decision to give JRC a platform at their conference reflects a continued pattern of complicity in the torture of the very population that they claim to serve. Furthermore, the JRC’s presentation at this conference specifically focuses on the merits of the electric shock device. This means that ABAI is more than complicit in the abuse taking place at the JRC: they are actively endorsing these practices.
Materials for ABAI’s 2019 annual conference describe the JRC as a “treatment/educational program that is highly positive”, alongside claims that “there is a place for ethical use of aversives.” These claims go against the findings of the United Nations, the Food [...]