Neurodiversity Affirming Outcomes: The Evolution from Recovery to a Social Model of Disability

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is at its heart a compassionate science, and behavior analysts have spent decades demonstrating its potential to address socially significant problems and alleviate the suffering of those in need. The context and attitude of ABA-based autism services have evolved dramatically since its introduction in the prior century, in coordination with social justice movements across multiple decades. One theme illustrative of this evolution in service delivery is the concept of “recovery.” The concept of recovery in autism services was based on the perspective that autistic clients were suffering from a condition that needed to be cured, where optimal outcomes included the client becoming indistinguishable from same-age peers. In response, autistic self-advocates over the past three decades have asserted that their neurotype is different, not a deficit, even though they may need various accommodations and supports. This chapter will review traditional models of recovery, contrast the medical and social models of disability, provide an overview of the neurodiversity movement, and propose a contemporary focus of care that improves the client’s quality of life such that medical impairment is improved while upholding legacy calls for improved social validity in the practice of ABA.