ABA?

First time I've ever even heard of it.

From a cursory review uh... my thoughts... are...

This basically sounds like torture/brainwashing/grooming to me.

Waaay too intensive, especially with some weird person who isn't your mom or dad.

Also, all you apparently need to be a 'certified' 'behavior technician' in this is a high school diploma, and 40 hours of training.

That's a fucking joke.

To even diagnose autism, properly, you need at least a Master's degree, 6 years of higher education, more likely a PhD, 8.

You're gonna shunt off, long term, intensive session, 'behavioral training' to... an average American high school graduate, who reads at a 5th grade level, and took a month of weekend classes?

This is quackery and abuse, which seems to be mainly pushed by Autism Speaks, an organization well known for not actually listening to autistic people, infantilizing them, and speaking for, over them.

This just reads to me as 'My Personality is Mom of Autistic Child' people got together and attempted to formalize 'mother knows best'.