NT parents, would you cure your child?

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I'm curious to the NT parents on here. If there really was a cure for autism/AS would you cure your child from it if he or she had it?
If more than one child in your family has it, would you cure them? Interput my poll that way too if you have more than one child on the spectrum.


For the sometimes option, it would mean sometimes you wished your child didn't have it and you wish you can get rid of it so your child wouldn't struggle so much in school or with peers, etc and their life would be easier without it. My mother sometimes wishes I didn't have AS because she thinks my life would be easier. I wonder if she like me to be cured though, I never asked her.

I hope my parents would

I would in a second.

I would only want a "cure" if it made life better for my son. I sure as heck would not change a thing about him, though. I spend a good part of my day saying to myself how much I wish EVERYONE was more like my son. He struggles with organizational skills, being innocent, and paying attention in class -- but he never struggles with kindness, or seeing things in a completely new way, or being the most happy person I've ever seen.

I only think that I would wish for a cure when I read of the struggles that people on the spectrum sometimes have as they age. I would take away the difficulty with relationships, the stress over trying to fit in with an NT world, and the times that NT's tend to take advantage of a person's more innocent nature. But I think that, over time, my son may eventually learn to deal with these things and will feel comfortable. He seems pretty comfortable with life right now.

Kris

I'm not an NT parent but I would cure my profoundly autistic daughter in a minute because of her painful panic, painful digestive system and seizures but I'd cry about having to say goodbye to her incredible, courageous autistic personality that has that has taught me so much about life, the universe and everything.

I wouldn't cure my mildly autistic son though. He likes his life and wouldn't want me to mess with his wonderful brain.

I think a cure is good if like the child really suffers (internally for example) I'd still want it for myself...but would let those who really need it have it

I think I would cure the sensory issues, but nothing else. Everything else is too intrinsic to their personalities. The sensory issues just cause physical pain and make needed activities torture (like haircuts, human touch, or wearing clothes with seams).

But I'm not NT, at least, I don't think so, so I didn't vote.

cure?....well not exactly.....i'd like for them to have an easier time with things....i'd like to not have to put their meals on plates with dividers so the foods don't touch....i'd like for them to understand that others *might* have an opinion that is different than theirs & that it's ok to have a different opinion.............i'd also like it if my parents were sane, my brother didn't have 3 ex-wives, i was 50 poiunds lighter, and i always had enough money to cover the bills.
we deal with what we're given. if it wasn't aspergers, it would be something else.

Never. Instead, I would want to cure the people that can't accept his differences and make it difficult for him to fit in. But, he is who he is. I don't consider my son as having an illness or a disorder. he embraces life, every facet of it.

equinn

I didn't answer the poll because I have no child... but having Asperger's and having a severely low functioning autistic brother, I had to add my opinion. If it were possible to "cure" autism without altering the unique personality or the special abilities of the autistic person, I think you have to take the cure. What we really should be looking for isn't the elimination of autism, but treatments that make it possible to live a normal independent life without pain. I don't want to be "changed" but I wouldn't mind not being afraid of people all the time, not having to plug my ears around fluorescent lights, no having trouble controlling the volume of my voice.... I'd like to be normal but still me. And I'd love to be able to talk to my brother and have him talk back, to see him work a job and clean himself up and to lighten the load on my aging parents (who have quite a lot of problems with caring for a 6'4 250lb man who acts basically like a baby).

A very interesting question, Spokane-girl. I just had my 11 yo Aspie son read it with me and asked him if he would want to be "cured". His answer was no. His reasons were because the challenges he faces make him a better person and he gets more experience and learns more. I've got to get the kids to school and want to think how to phrase my answer sor will have to get back to you later. Thank you for making me think this morning.

I wouldn't want to be cured myself, because the challenges that I've faced, over my entire lifetime has made me a stronger person. I've also learned what mistakes, not to make with people, and to treat them the way that I wish to be treated. I also know, that if I ever do have children of my own, one day, and they turn out to have AS or HFA, that I'm going to encourage their interests, have faith in what they will be able to do, after they graduate from High School or College, and I also know that I will never raise my voice at them, if they have an accident in their underwear,or their bed, past the astringent and abrasive age of four, that society seems to like to set. I also have a lot of talent, and people have told me, that I speak better than most people, my age. I'm also living on my own, doing my own cooking, cleaning and laundry. I pay my own bills, as well. The most important thing, is that I know, not to call people people ret*ds, sp****cs or freaks, because I know how much that hurts...and my dad says I have a Learning Disability...BS!

I chose sometimes because I would need to know exactly what changes the hypothetical "cure pill" would make. I believe that most parents would want a "make your child good at anything that he/she is not good at" pill.

I would gladly give my son a pill that would erase the unfavorable Aspie traits while preserving the good Aspie traits. I would love to give my son a pill that would A) give him good social skills B) improve his organization skills C) make him good at reading facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice D) improve his motor skills so that he is not clumsy any more E) fix it so that loud machine noises no longer upset him.

However, what if that same pill also did the following: A) Destroyed his ability to focus on a special interest B) reduced his memory down to the level of a NT child C) destroyed his wonderful sense of social justice D) destroyed his musical talent E) changed him from the kind-to-everyone person he is now to a NT bully that makes other children miserable?

I wouldn't give my son such a pill.

So, I think that I cannot answer the question without knowing exactly (down the last detail) what kind of person a hypothetical "cure AS pill" would turn my son into. I'm guessing that the original poster is wondering whether NT parents see their aspie children as defective. I don't. My son simply has a very different pattern of strengths and weaknesses than NT children. Like any parent of any child, I work to improve my son's weaknesses (or at least teach him how to live with them) and I work to develop his talents. So, I spend a tremendous amount of time trying to teach him social skills, but I also spend a lot of time helping him to develop his special interests.

Both my kids are NT but I am AS. I wouldn't want to be cured but would like to not have to worry about getting so distressed about noise and about crowds. I would like to be cured of the depression I have because it severely reduces my ability to cope with my AS traits, which of themselves are mostly mild. I answered "No".

My answer was no. When I look at my son I see a fantastic individual. He is very high functioning with an IQ well above average. He is a loving child and tries very hard to fit into this somewhat confusing world. His vocabulary already exceeds that of most adults and has been placed in all gifted and talented classes in spite of his school's misgivings about doing so because of his "lack of social skills". He loves living and learning and cannot understand why some people are content to remain in ignorance. He is a voracious reader, having completed the Lord of the rings trilogy at age 9, Sherlock Holmes, any magazine articles, brochures pertaining to his meds etc., etc. He has a fascination for all kinds of animal life literally from A-Z. I could go on bragging about him because he is one of my favorite subjects but I will try to not be too long with this post.

What I would fear most about a "cure" for him would be a loss of this unique personality and individual. I would like to see some things be easier for him but as he faces challenges head on and with a determination and says these challenges make him a better person I probably shouldn't mess with that either.

I voted "sometimes" but as I started to write this post I realized I probably would have voted "No". Of course Aspergers can be a problem in certain situations for my son, but ultimately he is loved by many people, has all of his basic needs met, has many opportunities in life that some kids his age will never have. Sadly, many people in this world have no love, money or hope. My son is just fine the way he is. I know many, many NT people who are much more dysfunctional? unstable? than my son is probably thought by others to be. I'm glad this poll reminded me that .