https://www.alfiekohn.org/blogs/autism - Alfie Kohn, 2020, on ABA, Applied behavior analysis, basically Skinner's operant conditioning, that STILL is in use for/with #autistic people, especially children:
"Suppose you participated in implementing a widely used strategy for dealing with homelessness, only to learn that the most outspoken critics of that intervention were homeless people. Would that not stop you in your tracks?"
And just now it dawns on me that the #autistic "mask learning process" could be seen as some kind of "unsupervised ABA" - and therefore masking coult be similarly harmful, EVEN IF it was applied consciously - because the autistic masking behaviour is not comparable to emotional labor [we had this a few days ago] due to the lack of "natural" NT emotions and mimics etc. in ND people.
@benetnasch I will have to discuss this in earnest with therapists and people who are better trained than me, psychologically-wise. Too often I read also spilled all over the [#autistic community online] that masking is a safe and sound behaviour - if just applied consciously... I am not sure any longer about that. :(
@eric@actuallyautistic yes, that also puts it well for me. Since I am somewhat near programming and tech, I really do like the AI metaphor with unsupervised = not forced by one mind or guided by regal rules learning.
Especially since I fir some time now tend to think that humanic intelligence also "only" is the result of "learning with SUPER computing power, supervised by MULTIPLE super AIs [microbiome, parents, other adults, mutuals etc]"...
@samid@actuallyautistic I believe the thing is, the mere act of smiling when you dont feel like it means the same in masking [M] and emotional labor [EL], youre right. But ALL scientific research that is referring to the concept of or containing the term EL has the proposition of an NT person that due to its NT wiring WOULD smile in this interaction with a friend, and just dont feel like to do it job-related [if not in the mood/sympathy]; and that just isnt the case for #autistic folk.
@samid@actuallyautistic By drawing that line I just would like everyone to have in mind that the knowledge concerning EL + the precautions that one might be able to do to NOT feel the burden of EL - doesnt apply to autistics, because masking is a different psychological concept. While writing I just had the thought that masking for ND people maybe could be compared to an NT that always forces themselves to make a "disgusted" face when greeting a friend, instead of a smile.
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