Jennifer Gaines is a Registered Behavioral Technician and a practitioner of Applied Behavioral Analysis who has been working with autistic children for several years. With her focus on the suppression of self-stimulating behaviors and the importance of adherence to narrow social norms, Gaines is a passionate advocate of whatever the hell she thinks disability rights are.
“It’s really important that these kids have as normal of a life as they possibly can, and that means getting them to function at the highest level of their ability,” said Gaines to glaring Squeaky Wheel reporters on the scene. “It’s not about what they’re feeling, but about how their expression of it annoys me personally.”
Growing up with a non-verbal autistic sibling, Gaines feels particularly and obnoxiously qualified to frame the autistic neurotype through the lens of inherent pity, neglecting to mention the severe language deprivation her sibling most likely experienced.
“I watched my sister grow up, struggling as she did, and I could see it was as if she was trapped inside her own mind. I took it upon myself to make sure children don’t have to go through what she did,” said Gaines, trapped inside her own ego.
“Sometimes, the autism would win,” she continued, “but I knew my sister was in there. With earlier intervention, she could’ve triumphed over the autism with the proper guidance!” said Gaines resolutely, getting more insulting by the second.
Subscribing to the commonly accepted phenomenon of pathologizing neurological differences such as autism, Gaines and those in her profession could not be more excited to offer “help” to as many kids as they possibly can.
“We all know people with autism can be strange, off-putting, or downright upsetting at times, and I need these families to know that it is not their or their child’s fault!” said Gaines, again believing herself to be helpful. “If we can quiet down the autism, these kids — and more importantly, the rest of us — can live a perfectly normal life!