Allegorical Investigations: Autism, Applied Behavioral Analysis, and Medieval Poetry.

This is a theoretical paper that uses medieval poetry and philosophy to criticize ABA therapy. The author argues that ABA doesn't properly understand human emotions and needs. Instead, they suggest language development should be based on mutual respect and shared understanding, which aligns with what many autistic people say about their experiences.

This theoretical essay examines Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) through the lens of medieval allegorical poetry and philosophical language theory. The author uses literary analysis, drawing on 14th-century poet William Langland, philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Stanley Cavell, to critique ABA's ethical foundations. The paper argues that allegorical writing reveals how ABA misrepresents human needs and emotions. Instead, the author advocates for language development approaches based on mutuality and reciprocity, aligning with perspectives from autistic writers who emphasize shared forms of life rather than behavioral modification.

This theoretical work contributes to ongoing debates about ABA ethics but does not provide clinical evidence for practice changes. The emphasis on mutuality and reciprocity in language development aligns with neurodiversity-affirming approaches but requires empirical validation.

This is a theoretical essay without empirical research methodology. The analysis relies on literary and philosophical interpretation rather than clinical evidence. No data collection, control groups, or measurable outcomes are reported.

This essay explores the connections between the modern autism intervention Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and medieval personification allegory to show how literature powerfully enables the work of neurodiversity. Invoking the theory of the language game to investigate the clinical history of ABA, the essay puts the fourteenth-century poet William Langland in dialogue with Ludwig Wittgenstein and Stanley Cavell. I argue that the approach to language emerging from this constellation of voices works as a precise tool for diagnosing the ethical liabilities of ABA. By highlighting the shared interest in a set of animated terms across different historical and disciplinary domains, we can see how allegorical writing becomes an essential resource for exposing how ABA travesties human need and emotion.

Working against the ethos of this "therapeutic" intervention, Langland, Wittgenstein, and Cavell join with autistic writers in advancing a model of language development based on mutuality, reciprocity, and shared forms of life.