Whilst I am delighted to see that the Assembly motion to #BanConversionTherapy passed yesterday, and it is certainly an important milestone in LGBTQ rights here in NI, I’d just like to make a note that conversion therapy is also being used in another area.

Specifically, #Autism

Now, many of you may be wondering where #Autism and ‘gay conversion therapy’ link together, but bear with me, for I shall explain.

I’m going to tell you about a man called Ivar Lovaas.

He was not a nice man, to put it politely.

Ivar Lovaas is called “the father of ABA”.

ABA stands for Applied Behavioural Analysis, and it is a form of ‘therapy’ that is primarily marketed for use on Autistic children.

Now, Mr Lovaas had some rather backwards views of Autistic People. He didn’t consider Autistic People as fully human.

“You see, you start pretty much from scratch when you work with an Autistic Child. You have a person in the physical sense - they have hair, a nose and a mouth - but they are not people in the psychological sense”

That’s a quote from Ivar Lovaas.

“Okay that’s pretty horrifying but Ryan, what has this to do with ‘conversion therapy?’

Mr Lovaas didn’t just create a therapy for Autistic People. He also created a therapy for LGBTQ individuals as well.

Today, we know it as ‘gay conversion therapy’.

“Lovaas co-authored a study with George Rekers in which they attempted to use reward and punishment to modify the behavior of feminine male children with the goal of preventing them from "becoming" homosexuals”

*not my words, simply a description of what he was doing*

As we all know, this therapy is utterly discredited, and does not work. And, rightly, steps are being taken to ban it. But ABA is conversion therapy, and not only is it legal, there are groups pushing for the state to provide it. State-sponsored conversion therapy.

So, whilst I am delighted to see the NI Assembly has passed a motion declaring it’s intention to outlaw “gay conversion therapy”, I will continue to lobby for the same fate to befall ABA, because it is conversion therapy with a glossy brochure.

As Shaunagh has pointed out, the Education Authority have been providing training courses in how to “teach” individuals how to use ABA on Autistic Children. https://twitter.com/shaunaghkane92/status/1384842363185553408

I would also like to share this.

This is what happens when Autistic People talk about our experiences of ABA.

We’re dismissed. We’re ignored. We’re told that our experience doesn’t matter.

It’s insulting. It’s offensive. And it needs to change. https://twitter.com/hollieahughes/status/1384726980638044161