2 ms·

I wonder if it's because we're afraid of what 'cured' means. I know to some people who are mild on the spectrum their autism could be a source of strength and w

I wonder if it's because we're afraid of what 'cured' means. I know to some people who are mild on the spectrum their autism could be a source of strength and wonder. I would be remiss to say that if my daughter can tend to herself and lead an enriched life that to me is 'cured' she could still be autistic but she could talk and if someone touched her inappropriately or if she was in pain she'd be able to tell me... that to me be is at least in a step in the right direction. Visit a group home and it's one of the hardest areas to see. Young autistic adults incessantly masterbating, covered in bruises, unable to use a bathroom etc. Yet they are still intelligent and are self-aware. That to me is the hardest pill to swallow. Right now treatments are being tested with umbilical cord tissue originated stem cells that are extremely promising. My daughter participated at one study at Duke and went from 0 words to a little over 100. Her ATEC score dropped from 120+ to around 70. However I fear this valuable research will die if we start normalizing autism or other mental illness as something we just 'deal with' I've read Neurotribes and I can understand the argument but there's rehabilitation and I think the metaphor around a prosthesis is very accurate.

sudosteph 9y ago
Strength and wonder? That's a very odd description. More like, it's the only way we know how to interpret ourselves, our world, our relationships. It's not the easiest, but for those of us that have been able to find meaning and value through this interpretation... why would we give that up just to make other people feel more comfortable around us? We're not hurting anyone. That's why many adults who function decently don't want to be cured. Of course we support medical research and treatment to improve functioning, especially for severe cases. That's not what a cure is though. A cure is becoming a fundamentally a different person. Or if some folks get their wish, it's pre-natal detection of autism so parents can prevent autistics from being born at all. We don't want to normalize autism to prevent treatment, we want to normalize it enough so that we don't get written off as valueless people not worthy of being born.

sudosteph 9y ago

Strength and wonder? That's a very odd description. More like, it's the only way we know how to interpret ourselves, our world, our relationships. It's not the easiest, but for those of us that have been able to find meaning and value through this interpretation... why would we give that up just to make other people feel more comfortable around us? We're not hurting anyone. That's why many adults who function decently don't want to be cured. Of course we support medical research and treatment to improve functioning, especially for severe cases. That's not what a cure is though. A cure is becoming a fundamentally a different person. Or if some folks get their wish, it's pre-natal detection of autism so parents can prevent autistics from being born at all. We don't want to normalize autism to prevent treatment, we want to normalize it enough so that we don't get written off as valueless people not worthy of being born.