I wanted to address some misinformation that’s been floating around about ABA and the AMA. Here’s a summary of my understanding after reviewing source documents and a thoughtful summary by CASP.
Where this all started
Earlier this year, the AMA Medical Student Section did submit draft resolution 706 to the AMA House of Delegates, entitled “Removal of AMA Support for Applied Behavior Analysis”.
Addressing misinformation and misrepresentations
Some have been inaccurately conflating the Medical Student’s draft resolution with the AMA’s position. This resolution was not in fact representative of AMA’s position, does not represent the views of all stakeholders in the autism community, and was based on some inaccurate and outdated information about ABA.
Important revisions
The committee responsible for reviewing the proposed resolution (Reference Committee G) prior to consideration by the AMA House of Delegates made meaningful edits prior to submission.
The outcomes
The resolution that was ultimately submitted by Reference Committee G and adopted by the AMA House of Delegates now broadens language from ABA to evidence based practice, and from the term autism to neurodivergent. I perceive these changes as positive, as they expand evidence based options to more people. The actions taken by the AMA are positive, progressive, and are in continued support of ABA and evidence based practices for autism.
Brandon Herscovitch, Ph.D., LABA, BCBA-D
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