What Reddit parents say about autism and ABA therapy, checked against the evidence
Each month we take the busiest questions from r/Autism_Parenting, put the most upvoted answers in a table, and check every one against a named study or regulation. Then we tell you what to do about it.
Reviewed by our clinical director, Rachel Blackburn, BCBA, before it is published. Comments are quoted in the parent's own words and every thread is linked.
The top comments with a verdict, the evidence behind each verdict, the Colorado numbers, and four things to do this week.
How we pick these threads
Five steps, the same every month, so you can judge the report rather than take our word for it.
- Rank by argument, not applause. We pull r/Autism_Parenting once a month and sort by how much discussion a thread generated. Upvotes reward good news. The questions parents actually need answered are the ones that turned into a debate.
- Drop what cannot be answered. Out go celebration posts, photo threads, and anything about a named child. Threads asking the same question get merged so you are not reading the same report twice.
- Quote parents in their own words. Comments appear verbatim with their upvote count at the time we pulled them, and every thread is linked. We do not publish usernames.
- Check every claim against a primary source. Accurate, partly true, or not what the evidence shows, with the study or regulation named in the same sentence. When a comment is right and we are not the answer, we say so.
- A BCBA signs it off. Rachel Blackburn, BCBA, our clinical director, reviews every report before it goes up.
One honest caveat: Reddit threads change. Comments get edited or deleted and scores move, so each report reflects the thread on the date shown on it.
The reports
Showing all 6 reports
Is ABA good or bad? Reddit mostly agreed
109 comments across three threads. The upvoted answers did not split for and against. They split on the provider.
The district wants a separate behavior school
287 comments across three threads. The 177-upvote answer was about your rights. The 101-upvote answer was about your child. Both were right.
The school called about behavior on day two
125 comments. The 78-upvote answer was three words long: request an assessment. Federal law gives that request real force.
Level 3 to Level 1, and what levels actually measure
254 upvotes for a child who moved from Level 3 to Level 1. A 1,269-toddler study shows how common that is, and it is not what the thread assumed.
My 2.5-year-old does not understand anything I say
48 comments, and the most useful one came from an SLP who asked whether the child was not understanding, or just not responding.
Still having accidents at 11
44 comments. The 20-upvote answer named a medical cause, and a systematic review says it is more common in autistic children than anyone tells you.
Who we are
Budding Futures ABA provides in-home ABA therapy across Colorado for children 18 months to 18 years. Care is play-based and assent-based, built on Natural Environment Teaching, with BCBA supervision targeted at about 20% of hours, which is four times the BACB minimum. Parent coaching is part of every plan and there is no assessment waitlist. We accept Health First Colorado and major insurance, and most Medicaid families pay nothing out of pocket. Our clinical director is Rachel Blackburn, BCBA, and the practice is led by director Mark Hirsch.
Have a question the thread did not answer?
Tell us what you are dealing with and we will give you a straight answer about what ABA would and would not help with.