Parenthood (TV Show) Gives Free Publicity to Autism Speaks

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No one is like everyone else. Even NTs are different from each other. I just don't want to have Aspergers as it's a roadblock on all avenues to happiness/joy for me.

You're right, that is hijacking this thread, but the "cure" they are looking for is prenatal early detection, meaning they want to "cure" autism by eugenics and abortion.

i having nothing to cure

I didn't like the show anyway.

I would do anything to be normal. Please speak for yourself, not all of us feel this way.



Lets see, how about I would like to feel comfortable in groups and around strangers. Being able to get through a job interview without sweating, stuttering, or unable to make eye contact would help greatly. I have had women come up to talk to me only for me to turn around and walk away. Everytime I pretend to be NT it leaves aggitated and drained so yes I want to be normal why would I pretend to be notmal around people I do not know and will probably never see again. I respect your wanting to stay an Aspie but it is not for me. Sorry

What if we cured neurotypicalism?

I apologize, gentle OP, for my generous contributions to the hijacking of this thread (though I think this hijack makes a lot of sense as a conversation springing up from the original topic). But here's my couple of bucks on the subject:

I've got this in my signature... people accept diversity as long as they can see it, as long as it is popular to accept it, as long as they are gaining something from accepting. Their failure to adapt even a little to accept people they perceive as rude is the problem with having AS. Socially, at least, I can't think of an AS problem that can't be traced to the response of third parties, rather than the intent or actions of the AS person. Whether it's lack of understanding of an acquaintance with AS or failure to recognize a child with AS and give them the supplemental training they need to help them work within society, it amounts to a world of people who want things to be smooth but not to have to put forth the effort to smooth them. I know it is a lot to ask the majority to change for the minority... but they've done it before, and they're not becoming better people by never changing.

A lot of us, having been forced to live and grow with AS, have come to see in ourselves what we have that others lack, what we are because of what we have endured and seen and know... We have been forced to see it, in order to survive, forced by people who exercise no mercy in pointing out exactly what is wrong with us, exactly what we should fix in order to become acceptable. We have been mistreated for being ourselves, rejected for our methods of offering friendship, outcast for not automatically knowing unwritten rules. And we have stood on the outside holding the treasures we know we possess, watching the world twist in its painful course of doing everything by rote, every action a reaction born of the sight of what the neighbor is doing and unconsciously mimicking it, without ever noticing that this is the reason. We watch as so many, many of them deeply concern themselves in exactly every single thing that deeply concerns every other person in their office, every other mom waiting outside the kindergarten, every other child in their grade. And no one, not one of them, nine times out of ten, turns to say, "By the way, this is what we're talking about... it looked like you were having trouble keeping up."

And some of us respond by wishing ourselves to not be ourselves anymore, if it means being outside and alone. It's natural to feel that way. And some of us respond by rejecting them in return, seeing what they do and having no more use for their nonsense than they do for what they consider our nonsense. And that's natural. And some keep trying and don't quite get why the same things keep happening, or keep trying and expecting trouble every time... still pretty natural. But Natural isn't always right. It often isn't. It's a starting place. What is right in such a case, however, doesn't involve doctors and medicines. What is right could take a lifetime to achieve, and it involves everyone accepting others as they are while hoping for better, accepting themselves as they are while working toward improvement... Seeing what things just are, and seeing that they have potential for better, and always leaving the door open.

There's room for finding cures and fixes for a lot of things, but those of us who do not seek a cure, for whatever reason it is that motivates us to be as we are, are concerned that what they seek to cure is humanity... uniqueness, individuality, difference. The term "cure" begs the question... When does a difference become a disease? Considering the troubling fact that Asperger's is so hard to pin down, to identify, that it is often mistaken for other things, or other things mistaken for it, that it is only considered to be a high-functioning Autism in many cases because of this vagueness rather than a clinical test, that it often includes gifted traits and many famous and wonderful people throughout history are now believed to have had it because of so many shared traits... Well, as a human being, the idea of this kind of arbitrary cleansing terrifies me. I'm not even nuts about treating some of these things with medications.

Cure childhood diabetes. Cure leukemia. Find a way to prevent cleft palate and other physical birth defects that cause real physical suffering and death. And put the rest of the cash into reminding people that not everyone is exactly like they are, but don't expect much. Trouble is part of life, part of what makes us what we are. Nobody likes to hear it, but it's true. I would have less trouble if I could, same as anyone else. And yet, I see what I've gained from the troubles I've had. Life is a real pain in the rear. Especially if rear pain is one of your troubles.

Oh, and I've never seen that show... hee...

But jat makes a good point about it. It's a pity about people and their agendas.

Well in the show there is a family with an AS kid who is about 9. They portray him as this robot who the entire family must conform their daily lives to in order to keep him from freaking out.

I wasn't easy to raise but I wasn't hard either. I was perfectly content to sit in my room doing things like reading books, drawing, etc. etc. I did have problems doing things like being forced to join team sports, forced to "go outside and play", but I didn't lose it like rainman even though I remember WANTING TO. My roommate's kid has diagnosed AS and he is the same, very quiet and doesn't freak out much unless he is tired.

I do not like how hollywood has portrayed aspergers syndrome but it's hollywood, they always have to go extreme.

Yeah, from what you describe, it sounds insufferable. I like my tv and film eccentrics to be wonderful, not a mass of problems. It gives me hope. No one seems to be able to cover the concept without wading chest deep through the awkwardness and misery of being different. I suppose I want the world to understand, and yet... I personally don't want to see that, even if it's accurate. Especially if it's accurate... it's like playing The Grapes of Wrath to people during The Great Depression. They'd rather watch Donald Duck.

I can understand completely why someone would not want to have an autistic child. I've ben around lower-functioning autistic children, and I feel sorry for them and their parents.

It's no different than having early detection for Down syndrome.

Bataar this reply isn't aimed at you but this sort of thing strikes a nerve with me.

If people are going to have kids they are going to have to risk having an autistic one. There's also chances of having kids with mental illness, stupid kids, ugly kids, fat kids, goth kids and all sorts of genetically defective kids, it doesn't mean they should seek to detect these things early so they can abort the child. They treat this like it is some huge inconvenience to parents when having a kid in itself already sucks. Hey I have a solution, don't breed until we can order custom genes! Maybe somebody will invent a kid who can raise itself for all those fat lazy irresponsible people who want a kid of convenience. Perhaps we can make robo-nannies who can raise kids for us so we don't have to do anything but collect child support and welfare checks. Oh no we don't have a perfect TV family, let's kill and eat the defective babies!

Once you are born, there IS no cure for autism unless someday somebody figures out how to replace the white matter in the brain which I don't see happening until we are all assimilated as borgs or Dahleks.

We have become just like the nazis with their eugenics programs but look on the bright side - once implemented we won't have f*****g morons like the people at Autism Speaks.

I confronted Autism Speaks' vice president, Peter Bell, about the whole cure thing. He was the guy in Parenthood who talked at the walk for autism and gave the bravermans the trophy. here's what he had to say[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isLawfXj6RM[/youtube]

Okay, not only are you invoking the slippery slope fallacy, you also Godwinned the discussion. Supporting prenatal screening does not equal eugenics. Eugenics for autism would be sterilizing anybody with autism or anybody who had an autistic kid.

Also, I have been around lower-functioning autistic kids. I can completely understand why a parent would want to screen their child for autism.

This is the 21st century, we have other methods to include under the title of eugenics than we did before. Anything that has to do with improving the human genome can be included, not just selective breeding. This has nothing to do with an already born kid, as there is no cure for autism and there won't be in the foreseeable future.

Meh, I don't think giving publicity to autism speaks is really going to affect the quality of the TV show. The actors haven't changed.
I don't agree with autism speaks' methods but I'm not stopping anyone from joining them. It's up to them isn't it, we can't keep throwing tantrums everytime someone decides they agree with autism speaks.