Thread by @KaiaSonderby

Returning to #HellMother 's book, we start chapter nine, Picture a Staircase, with a horrific quite about ABA and how subjecting small children to 40 hours of therapy a week for years on end makes them "indistinguishable from their peers" and is considered the "best outcome."

Those who had a mere *gag* 10 hours a week did not turn into perfect little neurotypicals, and so ABA--which is literally the same thing as gay conversion therapy--became the go-to.

#HellMother is now joined by Hell Everyone Else, since people still allow and ENCOURAGE this.

Any allistics reading this: I encourage you to consider what it feels like to have your own mother hate what you are so much that she's willing to put you through 40 hours a week of therapy to "rescue" you.

#HellMother

"It's not just Zack's brain we strive to rewire."

FISH SLAPS! Fish slaps for #HellMother, fish slaps for every single person who thinks they have a right to "rewire" their child's brain.

#HellMother "Aim for those enrolled in autism behavior graduate courses, Cara instructs, and prepare to offer a competitive hourly fee to lure them away from other families in need."

Do you see this? The unscrupulous nature of the behavior people had to stoop to in order to

"win" one of these much vaunted ABA experts?

Even if ABA wasn't traumatizing bullshit, NO family should EVER have to COMPETE for people who can tend to their children's welfare. That's disgusting. Health is not a commodity, it is a human right. The very fact that #HellMother had

to behave this way should have alerted her that something was wrong. But she never should have had to. Society should care for its own, damnit.

/angry socialist

#HellMother

$80,000 a year. $80,000! To traumatize your kid into neurotypicality.

Just put some music on and let him spin in circles. You'll all be happier that way, trust me.

#HellMother

I'm sorry, I just can't believe that practitioners of a therapy that costs a family $80,000 a year actually give a shit about any child's well-being.

#HellMother

#HellMother "I wonder whether it's exploitive to affix a photo of Zack's gorgeous face to the flyer. But I'm not playing games here. My son's brain is at stake. The position for hire is not a babysitter but a dedicated technician charged with the most intricate rewiring. My flyer

must stand out, I must employ whatever advantages are at my disposal. So Zack's face is in."

1. We see here clearly that #HellMother has never, ever hesitated to exploit her son in order to get her way. She will have the very best people to "fix" him even if it means being

unscrupulous and manipulative in the extreme.

2. Any therapist who chooses a child based on how they look should be barred from practicing therapy anywhere. Everywhere. Such a person is not safe for any child.

#HellMother

"Others articulate upfront that the hourly fee is decisive; these folks are immediately disqualified from consideration for their callousness."

#HellMother you absolute hypocrite. You trying to muscle out every other family in need and you exploited your son's looks in order to

win over applicants but you're calling THEM callous because they want to make sure you're going to pay them appropriately and not exploit their labor?

Either you think this is worth the money or you don't. Make up your damned mind, #HellMother.

#HellMother keeps talking about ABA like it's some sort of brain surgery to remove a tumor.

Again, allistics, I ask you to imagine what it feels like to be hated for the way your brain is naturally. So hated that people think they're "rescuing" you and that doing so is "the

most critical operation of their young child's life." As if a part of you is so noxious it has to be removed.

If the thought knives you in the heart, then now you know what so many autistics have to live with hearing all their lives.

#HellMother

#HellMother "Certain behaviors will not be tolerated. Cara grabs a flashcard and mimics a characteristic autistic habit of hand-flapping, then rocks her body back and forth in the chair; these are examples of behavior that contaminate answers. If Zack is instructed to "touch red"

and does so accurately, his answer is nonetheless incorrect if his hand flaps on the way down to red."

Oh my god. OH MY FUCKING GOD. No, no, no, NO, that's wrong, that's all wrong! Why are people who know NOTHING about what it means to be autistic allowed to give autistic

children therapy!?

Many autistics flap when they're happy. What if Zack was flapping while reaching for the card because he was excited that he understood!? And you told him no, that's wrong, you shut down his natural inclinations and made the whole thing nothing more than a

Pavlovian response. And stopping autistic children from rocking!? We rock when we're anxious or upset. You are literally telling children that they are not ALLOWED to be unhappy or uncomfortable.

#HellMother

"Typical children don't flap, bounce or yelp when they answer a question, thus neither may Zack."

So what!? What does it matter what he does, so long as he gets the answer right? Fucking hell. I knew ABA was bad but this is utterly inhumane. #HellMother

"We rescue about 50 percent of the kids."

No, you don't. You turn them into compliant little dolls. You have done nothing more impressive than teaching a dog to come to dinner when a bell is rung. #HellMother

Uggggggh. I spent way longer on that chapter than I ever wanted and probably could have spent another hour digging into this, but I need to move on for my own sake. #HellMother