For the most part, the ad system works on its own - nobody at the wikiHaus picks the ads that go up, one by one. Rather, the system uses an ad provider that matches ads to the page through some kind of automated process. I don’t know much about it, but I gather that’s how nearly all internet advertising works (except on sites that employ a large sales force for their ad space).
I did some surfing around and saw a big range on autism articles: some, like you mentioned, for unrelated general products/services (like printing to PDF or college programs), some for aquatic therapy and sensory rooms, etc. I didn’t happen to see any ABA ones but I believe you that they’re out there.
I really sympathize with the folks who’ve had bad ABA experiences. When I worked in that field, I had the benefit of working for an organization that incorporated some ABA techniques in a natural and supportive way, focused on building coping mechanisms and communication, rather than changing who our clients were. However, at my school sites, I did see a lot of folks from other organizations following protocols that I’m sure were more difficult and upsetting and could have led to the kind of PTSD you’re talking about. I even have mixed feelings when people ask about my past in that field, because I don’t like being associated with some of those organizations, even though the one I worked for did things differently
I would say, though, that it’s not a totally 100% clear cut issue, when it comes to deciding if those organizations and therapies as a whole are good or bad. ABA is still a very common therapy and recommended by many health providers and school districts and so on. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a good thing in itself, since there are some providers who don’t do the therapy very well… but I’m not sure it’s in our realm to decide what therapy programs are worthwhile and which ones are unhelpful. It does seem like a good reason to fight for reform and better policies/approaches/recommendations in the industry and education/disability services field as a whole, though!
Any kind of therapy or program can be done well or not well, so it’d be tough to blacklist the ads of one particular kind of business (and my guess is not technically feasible the way the ad network works). I do know, though, that many ad providers offer a flagging system - I’ve seen that on at least some of our ads. If you feel a particular ad violates their policies or isn’t in readers’ best interests, maybe you can hit that x on the side and flag it for them? That would probably help the ad providers (on any site for that matter, not just this one) figure out what it’s helpful for folks to see and not see on those topics. Hopefully they can boot some of the bad organizations from there. If you want to send me any screenshots via email, too, I’d be happy to take a look and flag as well, so that’s two votes going to the ad provider, at least
Another idea you can throw out to folks when you share the articles is that if they create an account or log in, that’ll make ads go away. If they stay logged in on their browser, they’ll be able to avoid ads altogether – and maybe even be inspired to chip in with your super editing efforts!
