4 ms·

As an autist who's done sales (yes, I hate it, wouldn't ever choose that career), this is bullshit. I have adhd(inattentive, formerly ADD) and am high level on

As an autist who's done sales (yes, I hate it, wouldn't ever choose that career), this is bullshit. I have adhd(inattentive, formerly ADD) and am high level on the ASD specrtum. Sure, my life gets fucked up a lot by my brain over analyzing things, or hyper focusing or just not focusing on anything at all, and I miss a lot of queues from loved ones, associates, etc.. but I also have movments of genius that everyone else seems to lack, I have passions in things and see stuff others miss. When I'm on my ADHD meds, I mostly function okay, my executive function even works a large portion of the time. Could I be more successful? Certainly, but do I feel like I'm missing out on opportunities because of it? Nah, not at all. I also didn't know I had ADHD or Autism till i was 38, I just basically learned to cope in life as a normie, but learning has given me just some extra tools to become a bit better at coping through the hard stuff in life.

collegeburner 5y ago
Ok Im glad you were able to do that and that you can still have a good life. If we could fix it though, more opportunities would be available, maybe you'd have enjoyed it and could have it as a career you liked. There are also a lot of other people not so high functioning that literally just couldnt, and others who can't even live on their own as adults. Maybe you dont need a treatment like this but there are people where it would change their lives.
- gremlinsinc 5y ago
  So you're saying society needs more Salesmen, less Einstein's and Alan Turings? Wonder how ww2 would've fared without them.
- shkkmo 5y ago
  And what if in the process if making everyone "salesman material" we divert a potential "weirdo genius" from making a much larger contribution? Diversity is important and valuable. I highly doubt that ASD (and our cognitive diversity in general) is an evolutionary mistake. That isn't to say that we shouldn't make tools and treatments available, but it absolutely does mean we shouldn't insist on "fixing" everyone with ASD.
  - collegeburner 5y ago
    I guess my phrasing wasnt clear, I wasnt talking so much about "weirdo genius" level of function but more people who just cant function well. Theres a level where some people are very good at certain things but not so sociable, more like Aspergers disease, thats fine and caused by more stuff than just autism. Its when it starts preventing people from doing basic function, caring for themselves, holding basic conversation that it becomes a problem.
    - shkkmo 5y ago
      I think this is an area where our choice of words and efforts to speak clearly are especially important. Empowering people is very different than fixing them.

collegeburner 5y ago

Ok Im glad you were able to do that and that you can still have a good life. If we could fix it though, more opportunities would be available, maybe you'd have enjoyed it and could have it as a career you liked. There are also a lot of other people not so high functioning that literally just couldnt, and others who can't even live on their own as adults. Maybe you dont need a treatment like this but there are people where it would change their lives.

gremlinsinc 5y ago
So you're saying society needs more Salesmen, less Einstein's and Alan Turings? Wonder how ww2 would've fared without them.
shkkmo 5y ago
And what if in the process if making everyone "salesman material" we divert a potential "weirdo genius" from making a much larger contribution? Diversity is important and valuable. I highly doubt that ASD (and our cognitive diversity in general) is an evolutionary mistake. That isn't to say that we shouldn't make tools and treatments available, but it absolutely does mean we shouldn't insist on "fixing" everyone with ASD.
- collegeburner 5y ago
  I guess my phrasing wasnt clear, I wasnt talking so much about "weirdo genius" level of function but more people who just cant function well. Theres a level where some people are very good at certain things but not so sociable, more like Aspergers disease, thats fine and caused by more stuff than just autism. Its when it starts preventing people from doing basic function, caring for themselves, holding basic conversation that it becomes a problem.
  - shkkmo 5y ago
    I think this is an area where our choice of words and efforts to speak clearly are especially important. Empowering people is very different than fixing them.