Emotions tend to run extremely high when talking about the autism spectrum disorders, and for good reason. Very little is concretely known about the cause of the disorder, and while there are modes of treatment that are empirically supported (such as ABA therapy), panic runs so high upon diagnosis, the long, hard slog of behavioral therapy is often forgone in favor of the miracle cure.
When I first began working in 2008, prevalence rates sat at 1:125; today they are closer to 1:91. For many parents, it feels like we’re in the middle of an unstoppable epidemic.
The field is tantamount to the Wild West– oversight is minimal, the types of licensure available are few (and the requirements and oversights as compared to, say, those for licensed professional counselors, are extremely lax), and evidence-based treatment is neglected in favor of fad ‘cures’ marketed to desperate parents. Continue reading