06/08/2026
🙏💙 Charlie
We made the decision to pull Charlie out of ABA therapy. And before anyone gets their panties in a twist and says, “I told you so,” no. I still don’t think ABA is abuse. I remain a big supporter of compassionate, ethical, modern ABA done right.
Charlie spent 11 years in ABA. He learned skills there. He was loved by many RBTs and therapists over the years. People showed up for him, cleaned him, protected him, redirected him, taught him, sat with him through hard moments, and celebrated tiny wins most people would never even notice.
I will always be grateful for that. But…Charlie is growing up. His needs are changing. And the truth is, the setup we had wasn’t working anymore.
He was only going to ABA two days a week. There were frequent cancellations. We couldn’t get more hours for the summer. And recently, Charlie developed a new behavior where he gags himself until he throws up.
Last week, I got a call saying he couldn’t come back until he saw a doctor. So I called the doctor.
The doctor said, essentially, “That’s behavioral. Work on it with ABA.” Which, yes. Exactly…
That was the moment where the whole thing started to feel impossible. The center needed the doctor. The doctor pointed back to ABA. And meanwhile, I’m standing there with a profoundly autistic almost-teenager who needs consistency, not a revolving door of “maybe tomorrow.”
This decision wasn’t made because I hate ABA. It wasn’t made because I suddenly agree with the internet yelling that all ABA is abuse. It was made because this particular situation no longer felt stable with what Charlie and our family need right now.
So we’re going to try full-time school.
Maybe it will be better. Maybe it won’t be perfect. Nothing about profound autism is easy. But right now, school feels like the more consistent option, and consistency matters.
This is a new chapter for Charlie. ♥️
