Autism. Challenging behaviour.

This documentary takes a critical look at ABA (applied behaviour analysis), an approach to behaviour management for autistic children. The programme follows two British school-age children, Jack and Jeremiah, who are both autistic as they start at a specialist school which practises ABA - Treetops in Essex. Their parents are hopeful that this approach will work. ABA is based on the work of American psychologist, B. F. Skinner, who experimented on rats and pigeons (archive clips are shown) at Harvard, modifying their behaviour by offering treats and inducements. ABA was first used in California - not without some controversy. Dr Mitzi Waltz from Sheffield Hallam University comments. Lesley Love, the deputy head of Treetops, said that she was dubious of ABA until she came to the conclusion that 'anything goes'. Jack's mum, Jackie, says how stressful she found Jack's inability to communicate with her: Jeremiah's father says he also struggled with his relationship with his son. The St Christopher School, Leigh on Sea, does not use ABA and prefers a more integrated approach. Dr Liz Pellicano from Centre for Research in Autism and Education questions whether any approach is better than the other; it's very dependent on the child. Gunnar, a specialist roving autistic specialist finds nothing positive in autism and offers private intensive treatment in people's homes. Damian MIlton, an autism activiist and academic, says that autism is tied into personality - removing it is reductive. In the past, ABA involved punishment as well as rewards - but this is no longer the case. Returning to Treetops - the school is run for 70 children on a 1-2-1 therapist; the school uses unqualified trainees and the head teacher explains that this is the only way the school can function financially. Other parents wanting ABA have found it impossible to access the ABA if they haven't their own financial resources which is amply illustrated with parents from different socio-economic backgrounds in the programme. There is controversy about how to deal with repetitive behaviours, also known as stimming (Gunnar treats Tobias, aged 3). Jack meanwhile has a severe food aversion; one session of ABA has no impact. St Christopher's deals with food aversion in a different way; a boy with this condition only drinks milk-shakes. He may require medical treatnent for his anxiety around food. Jack's mother is struggling with his behaviour - his frustration is getting more demonstrative. Gunnar returns to Stockholm to visit a patient who is now a teenager and seems 'normal'; video footage shows him at 3 and a half in distress, non-verbal, being treated with ABA. Back in the UK, Jack's food aversion suddenly improves. A woman who had a late diagnosis of autism with an autistic child of her own talks of her childhood trauma being 'conditioned'. Dr Vincent Carbone BCBA-D is the ABA consultant to Treetops School from the US and visits the school twice a year; he is delighted by the progress he sees.