Cure for ASD

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Okay, I am an NT with an older non-verbal autistic brother, and I am very new to this board and to the idea that many of those on the autism spectrum are opposed to a cure for autism. My brother is 28 and still non-verbal and very low functioning so I was always like "yea! lets cure autism so my brother can live a normal life!" and then I found this site and autistics.org and was just blown away at this idea of autistics not wanting to be cured. But I think I understand where are comming from. I mean if you take away the autism or the aspergers then you take away who you are as a person; but can you explain it a little but more? And could you also maybe tell me what you think about cures for very low functionig autistic people who cannot tell someone whether they want to be cured or not?

And the last thing I wanted some opinions on was the stories of all those kids that DAN! has cured through different treatments like chealation GFCF diets and so on? Are those just kids that were damaged by vaccines and maybe not born autistic? What do you think?

I think you mean chelation. Chelation doesn't work. No "real" doctor would ever recommend such a practice. In fact, an autistic boy went into cardiac arrest fifty minutes of chelation therapy. The coroner's report stated that the cause of death was chelation therapy.

Also, the idea that mercury or vaccines causes autism is not proven. The CDC described the link between thimerosal and autism as 'unlikely'.

Also, I think it would be better to cure the symptoms that cause problems without curing the syndrome itself. However, I think its probably OK to cure people who want to be cured. I don't see how curing autism is that much worse than plastic surgery, and tons of people undergo plastic surgery.... They don't even have a "syndrome."

I do think that the decision of whether or not to be cured should be up to the individual, not his or her parents.

If the individual can't talk at all, maybe the parents should be able to choose whether or not to cure him.

In some ways I wish I'd been born with a NT brain, and in others I don't. If I were given a choice, I guess I'd choose an NT brain. I should say I'm a 42 yearold female with AS and have been relatively high-functioning most of my life.

I think that NT's need to understand that there are a lot of people on the spectrum out there and to respect us. We have strengths. When you talk about a cure, you deny all of that, which may be why some people get upset when CAN is mentioned. I've never been political so I don't know the details.

The other thing is that I don't think a cure will ever be available. Studies have shown ASD brains to be different than NT brains. I don't think brain surgery will ever be able to fix these differences. I think the best we can do is manage the symptoms, and sometimes that may involve medications.

Sorry to hear about your brother, and good for you for caring enough about him to try to get more information. Welcome to WP.

aylissa, thanks for your kindness.
Alex, yes that is what is meant, sorry about the grammer; I am horrible and editing things before submitting them! I agree that chelation is very dangerous, but DAN! doctors do reccomend it and many parents claim that it works miracles for their children. I was asking these questions after checking out this site: http://autism-recoveredchildren.org/ and watching some of the videos of "recovered children" and some of them claim to have been "cured" by pretty controversial practices such as chelation, diets, and others. I was just wondering what you all on WP thought about this.

Ok, lets try an analogy here.

When you were 16, you came across a 19698 Shelby GT500 KR sitting in a garage, number matching, low miles, etc. You spents years and years babying that car, bringing it back to mint condition, and drove it everywhere you went. That car was YOU!

One day, your car develops lifter tick, and as a result isn't running quite right. You make plans to take a look inside and see what you need to fix, but before you can, you come home one day to find that your well-meaning friends had scrapped the GT500, and presented you with a brand new Ford Taurus.

Sure, the problem is fixed. But the cure also stripped away everything unique and special about your vehicle, and replaced it with a cookie cutter.

Your Shelby could do things that a Taurus could never do, but yet, in their insistence to "fix" your problem, what was once special is lost.


The idea of a blanket cure for autism has the same misgivings. In assuming that a cure is a universally good thing, nobody gives credit to the incredible talents that many people on the spectrum display. Many of us are at a level of functioning that allow us to be successful, happy, and proud of who we are. We probably won't ever be "normal", but thats not always a bad thing!

Furthermore, as you noted, autustic tendencies are at the core of who we are. A push towards curing autism comes across in many cases as an assault on who we are. Its hard when somebody wants to "cure" you of your most natural tendencies, especially when you have managed to use them in your favor, as I feel I have.

Helping autistic individuals needs to start from the basis of improving their level of functioning, and also improving the understanding of the rest of the world. The biggest issues most individuals with AS face is not their own actions, but how they are viewed by the rest of the world. The push for a cure doesn't help that view either.

However, I am talking about the upper end of the functioning ladder. For a non-verbal individual, the picture looks quite a bit different. But, I still think the focus should be on helping engage the individual in society, rather than find a way to remove all autistic traits.

AS has led to a lot of suffering in my life, even if I didn't know till recently what As was but as others have pointed out, much of that suffering has been not because of the way I am, but because of how I've been treated because of it. A cure would solve a lot of problems, but I don't think I'd even be tempted. I know that the stengths I value most are also AS related, and I wouldn't trade them in for anything.

Curing Aspergers and Autism is curing the person of who they are. Plastic surgery does not change who the person is it doesn't effect there precetion of the world and the way there mind works but in order to cure autism it would require changing people interests and every thing about the way they think.

I personally think that Aspergers people (some not all) have great potential to achieve things that they want to aciedmically if they were given a chance and not bullied to the point they give up in school. I think it is a big waste of potential. Personally I there would of been nothing that made me happer when i was younger to move into doing science and spend my whole life studying that who knows what i could of achieved. Its to late for that my spirt is broken. But who knows how many other storys are out there like that of what inventions could of been?

It is unfortuante that asperger and autistic people have to suffer so much.

Why not cure NTs? They're over emotional, over react, are afraid of what they don't understand, and prejudiced torwards people seen as "diferent" and wish to eliminate them.

I've thought of the same thing a few times before.

this description fits many autistic people I know.

Tragic but true. It fits the definition for alot of people.

So what you're really looking for is a cure for humanity.

Unfortunately being human is a genetic disorder, and ultimately fatal.

Thats gonna be my Signature

Feel free - I'm not the first person to have quoted that, either.

Oh boy, not another long comment! Runnnnn!! !

Hey sis, welcome to WrongPlanet! I really admire your willingness to see things from another point of view, just as I admire everyone here for being tolerant of your views and questions! It seems there is an awful lot of tension between people who want to find and implement a cure for Autism and those who do not. Whilst I vehemently oppose the idea of a cure, I think that one of the biggest factors in the rift between pro and anti-cure people is that of misunderstanding. I'll try to explain, but I must warn you that I am one of the verbose breeds of Aspie, and since this is a forum for Aspies, I feel entitled to not go to extremes to try and whittle down what I have to say! As a foreword, some things I mention will be what I have found to be fact, and some things will be what I have found to be personal preference. I am not claiming to speak the mind of all people on the Autistic Spectrum, but I *am* speaking for myself on behalf of other Aspies and Auties who have a similar experience. (In other words I’m speaking my mind; some Auties will agree, some won’t, that’s ok!)

I've shed a lot of tears but after much heartache and much discussion with my mum and my counsellor, both parents of Aspies who prophesed to want a cure, I drew a few conclusions. Firstly, I deduced that both people were loving, caring mothers who wanted the very best for their children in happiness and wellbeing. No objections there. Secondly, I used my amazing brainpower to come to the realisation that when an Autistic child is in the middle of a meltdown (looks like a temper tantrum, caused by sensory overload and/or frustration), they don't look too happy, nor would such meltdowns be conducive to a 'good' job with a 'good' income and 'good' relationships. These are all facts so again, no objections. Finally, I came to the understanding that whilst all children cry at times, the severity and frequency of these meltdowns over seemingly insignificant things is markedly greater in a child with Autism.

Now, this next bit is critical. It would seem that your average Neurotypical person uses their deductive reasoning to deduce that Autism makes for unhappy kids who can't cope, unhappy kids that can't cope are exclusive to happy kids who function well, good parents want happy kids who function well, therefore good parents want kids without Autism and therefore good parents with kids with Autism want to cure Autism! Whew, what a mouthful! (Or fingerfull...) Now, bearing in mind that we Aspies have a penchant for pedancy, there are a good number of flaws in this line of reasoning.

Firstly, whilst Autistic kids often experience more upset than Neurotypical kids, the Autism itself is not the direct cause of the upset, which is technically caused by (among other things) frustration and overload, which are in turn caused by (among other things) misunderstanding and hypersensitivity. Misunderstanding leading to frustration can be knocked off the list of Autistic flaws because it is a factor on both sides. For example, an Autistic child has a meltdown because they are frustrated because their Neurotypical parent doesn't understand that they don't want to go and play with the kid next door. There is nothing inherently wrong with not wanting to play with the kid next door, and it is quite harmless if the Autistic child stays put and lines up buttons in colour order. Whilst it isn't wrong of the parent to enjoy socialising, nor is it wrong for the child to enjoy buttons. It is quite possible that neither will understand why the other prefers their preferred activity, but personally I don't think that this is an instance where the majority rules to say that all Autistics must do what Neurotypicals like.

Whilst hypersensitivity leading to overload has nothing to do with Neurotypicals and thus cannot be seen as a difference of opinion, it should be noted that there are upsides to hypersensitivity, such as a deeper appreciation for sensory stimulation. I have heard people talk about why they choose to take drugs and their experiences when affected by drugs, in particular, one of the students in a class I took talked about the extreme euphoria brought on by ecstasy, and how she then went on to spend several hours ‘fuzzing’ and stroking her friends hair because he had recently shaved it and it was soft and ‘fuzzy’ (he let her do it because he was on a euphoric high too). To put it simply, I still fuzz people’s hair when they let me, and often when they do not. Now, if this feeling of intensified sensory perception is so good that people would risk taking illegal drugs with possibly fatal side effects, it stands to reason that some Autistic people would rather put up with overload and have the benefits than get rid of both. I’m one of them.

Bearing all of that in mind, I would suggest that Autism does not have to make for kids who are any more unhappy than other kids. With a bit of understanding from NT’s and the recognition that the negative emotions experienced as a result of Autism are relative to the positive emotions, we can be happy little vegemites! Leading us to our next point.

Secondly, as an Aspie I have had to re-examine the meaning of ‘function well’. It does not have to mean lots of friends, great career, good income, large family. It can mean quiet life, lots of cats, enough money to live comfortably (there’s a lot to be said for disability allowances!) and family that is understanding enough to leave you alone when you need them to! In other words, this is another matter of opinion, where buttons really can be as exciting as friends, and not half as threatening! Sure, it’s much easier if an Autistic person has enough skills to live an independent life, but easier does not necessarily mean better, and unless the feeling of inadequacy is put on the shoulders of the person who cannot achieve this, nor does it mean happier. It is really an extreme version of a basic principle; we can’t all be lawyers, and some of us would actually rather be carpenters. One isn’t better than the other, it’s just that one pays more, and given that there are structures that can be put in place for people who cannot pay their way, we shouldn’t have a problem!

Whilst that alone undermines enough of the argument for a cure to satisfy me, we must also take into account the fact that for many of us, Autism is an integral part of our identity. When my mum told me she would like to cure Autism, I felt that she wanted to hew away a large and pivotal part of me, or worse, like she wished I was someone else. Not a nice feeling. At all. And to put the icing on the cake, we all know there is no such thing as the ‘good parent’.

Phew! That was hard work! So, to sum that up, I have just told you a bunch of reason for why I don’t think Autism should be cured. There lies the reasoning behind my tears of anguish and frustration! However, I am close to my mum and still seeing my counselor, so something has not yet been explained! Fortunately for you, it should be a damn site quicker and easier to tell!

To cut to the chase (in a round about way of course!), NT’s don’t seem to be quite as pedantic as Aspies, and thus are not as painstakingly nit-pickingly precise. At the same time, Aspies aren’t as good at reading between the lines and taking something ‘on context’ as NT’s are. And so it is that after MUCH debating, thinking, pondering, exploring and questioning, I have come to a very important conclusion; when NT’s go that extra step and say that they want to cure Autism, they really mean that they want the best for their children. The rest is them trying to figure out how they can achieve that and getting all way-laid. It’s not that they want to change who we innately are, it’s not that they want to stifle individuality, it’s certainly not that they are evil Hitler-parents masquerading as loving parents. They are in fact the stereotypical ‘good’ parents with the best of intentions who just want the best for their kids.

And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, is why I can proudly say that I have Aspergers, I don’t want to be cured, I don’t like people saying they want to cure me, but I am at peace with the fact that once again, this is a situation of Aspies and NT’s not understanding each other, and not a perverted kind of holocaust. Please bear in mind that I have no qualms whatsoever with attempting to improve the negative effects of Autism etc, such as learning better ways of dealing with meltdowns. I just don’t want to hear the word ‘cure’. It may sound like splitting hairs, but that’s what we do best, so just call it political correctness and it should suit you too!

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s dispel a few common misconceptions shall we? Chelation: people die from it. Not cool. There are plenty of people with Autism and Aspergers who haven’t had any contact to toxic chemicals, so common sense tells us that it is not the key cause. Exorcism: people die from it too. I’m serious. I am not going to post links, and I don’t recommend that you go looking, but there are far too many cases out there of people getting it into their heads that their Autistic child is possessed and then going right ahead and ‘exorcising’ them. Exorcisms can go wrong; I’m not talking supernatural demonic wrong, I’m talking Autistic child completely free of anything demonic getting wrapped in sheets and having ‘the demons’ literally squeezed out of them. Unfortunately squeezing is not conducive to breathing, and breathing is somewhat necessary for life. Restraint (for during meltdowns etc): people die from it. They shouldn’t, but restrainees are often unskilled and ‘accidents’ occur. Aversives (doing something unpleasant or depriving child of something pleasant when they ‘misbehave’): people are psychologically damaged by this. Just because you don’t need buttons to have emotional wellbeing doesn’t mean that other people don’t. Best to try and curb the dangerous activities like headbanging and to leave buttons alone. This may sound like common sense, but some people get quite extreme with what they will and won’t accept from Auties.

This isn’t to say that all behaviour must be tolerated or that all ‘treatment’ is wrong: I can personally recommend neurotherapy (also known as bio-feedback) which uses visual and audio feedback of what’s going on in the brain to help people learn to better control it ie: relax, calm down. Diets can also be quite helpful, as hypersensitivity can extend to food intolerances and a lot of us appear to be lacking in fatty acids. In other words, eat less wheat and dairy (it irritates the best of us, but is often much worse for Aspies and Auties), and eat more red salmon (full of omega three essential fatty acids). Finally there’s prescription medication. This doesn’t cure, but it can alleviate side effects: I’m on medication for anxiety and I’m all in favour of taking something that takes off the pressure and constraints of anxiety!

Well, I hope you aren’t too exhausted, but thanks to anyone who has managed to get through this! It was all written with the best of intentions, and I hope it is perceived that way!

Annelise aka PhoenixKitten

That's a very good post there PhoenixKitten.
In terms of Autistics and NTs not understanding, it's like we speak two different languages... We trying to say the same things to each other, but it's not quite getting through...

Though I've never really been a big supporter of medications to treat Autism or Autistic effects... Comorbidities yes, but Autism, not so much. But that's a personal opinion. I don't take any medicaton, considering I only have Aspergers, and no other comorbidities. (that I know of).