This Conversion Therapy Saga is yet again another reason why I deplore the UK Government’s lethargy in making “conversion therapy” illegal. Here we have a man (Dr. Ole Ivar Lovaas) who developed “conversion therapy” but also tried to make autistic children “normal”.
I have previously discussed “conversion therapy2 as applied to people within the LGBTQ+ community in my article ‘Conversion Therapy – Rethink Finally‘ published 11 September 2020
The worrying factor about both these therapies is that they in effect abuse the recipients, for the LGBTQ+ candidates they at least can make themselves heard about the abuse they received, for the autistic children it is extremely doubtful that they ever could or would be in such a position.
“No matter what form it takes, gay conversion therapy is going to be psychologically harmful,” Becker said. “They’re told that they can change this thing they can’t change, and it leads to devastating consequences.”
Dr. Lovaas died in 2010, however, his therapy for autistic children remains on the books I believe for ‘all states’ in the USA, and in only 20 states is gay conversion therapy banned.
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