ABA Therapy Exposed: Council of Autism Service Providers

 Council of Autism Service Providers

The company here has a logo, below:

{ID: White background with a blue and green font logo that reads: CASP, The Council of Autism Service Providers"}

This company is based in Wakefield, MA and is considered a nonprofit. 

Their website, here, states that "The Council of Autism Service Providers supports our members by cultivating, sharing, and advocating for provider best practices in autism services," (source).

They state that "While there are successful associations representing parents and self-advocate, the priorities of these groups may not always align with the needs of provider agencies, including the need to establish standards of care and treatment. CASP and its member organizations recognize that a failure to act may be risky. Consumers and payers are demanding results and CASP is working to establish standards and define expected outcomes of quality and evidence-based treatment," (source). 

(We all know that ABA is not evidence-based due to current research, and is actually pseudoscience)

They also have the following goals listed:

"CASP is a rapidly-growing association with the following goals:

-Ensure quality, safe and most effective care

-Promote continuous quality improvement

-Help to ensure that the money spent for care and treatment is directed to the most effective, evidence-based practices

-Represent providers of care to government, payers, and the public

-Write and share public policies that balance effective treatment and economic principles," (source).

Their BoD has an entire team of ABA therapists, as you can see here. Their staff also work in ABA and/work to promote ABA. The current elected Chief Executive Officer can be found there, as well as other Directors.

On their staff is Judith Ursitti, who just lobbied two days ago to take away non-speakers' rights in Virginia. Judith is their Vice President of Government Affairs, and has her degree in accounting, and is a CPA. She is not an ABA therapist, but is a parent of an autistic child and supports ABA. Judith, for those who do not know, was formerly on Autism Speaks' board. She was formerly on Autism Speaks' board starting in 2008, and stopped in 2020, and now indirectly works with both companies. Why, when a parent wants to advocate for their child's rights, would Autism Speaks and CASP show up? It's because Judith wanted to lobby against Not an Autism Mom and the Autistic Liberation movement to push to continue segregation for non-speakers. Yes, this is not the 1960s, but we are still dealing with systemic ableism and racism when segregation in the education system exists. 

{Source: Not an Autism Mom on Twitter}

Judith lobbied for Ava's Law back in 2013. Why is Ava's law a bad thing?

"If passed, Ava's Law would require insurance companies to pay for “evidence-driven treatment” – or treatment that's been scientifically shown to help kids with an autism spectrum disorder," (source). 

Why is that a problem? ABA has been proven to not be scientific or evidence-based. What does evidence-based therapy look like? Here's an explanation. But, ABA is still being pushed because of this law that was passed. That is why ABA therapists want so much money from families, because they care about the money, and many go into the career for the money, considering that many (not all, but many) make up to a little over $60k per year. ABA is not the only therapy out there, but spreads the pseudoscientific message that autism can be "treated" and "managed" in therapy. ADHD is also treated like this. ABA is the one company that insurance companies give the most money to because of the subtle hit-you-over-the-head realization that newer parents of autistic children and autistic parents are easily manipulated into this scheme of a cult-like, agenda-driven, pseudo therapy field, but also because of Ava's Law. Just because something is considered legal, does not make it ethical or moral. 

Does that mean that ABA therapists at this company are pushing for racism, ableism, segregation, isolation, lack of equity, etc.? Yes. They hired a woman who regularly advocates for racism, segregation, etc. That is racist. Does it mean that because they lobbied that it will now be more work for autistic people to reverse course, maybe potentially being near impossible for us to pass a law that allows integration within the education system? Yes. Does it mean that Autism Speaks objected to the bill being considered for Not An Autism Mom because it didn't give BCBAs total control over the classroom & use of AAC? Was that their agenda in opposing it?

"The bill would protect nonspeaking students by ensuring that - 

a student's need for AAC wouldn't be used as a reason to segregate that student,

school staff receive training to support the student before school starts,

IQ test results wouldn't be used to deny access to AAC.

There are basic protections already put into place by IDEA, but they do not happen." (source).

So why take that away? Non-speakers need the bill to be passed to get through an equitable life.

We autistics have to fight for our rights, and the field who is the loudest about supporting us right now does the most damage and they do not want to change their unethical field. 

And this company that Judith works for needed to be exposed. I will update this blog later on as needed.