Cure for ASD

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i can only speak for myself, but i am not co-morbid, i mean i dont have biological depression or anxiety, just from social terror, so i have refused meds.

by the way; everyone is born autistic. no kids were damaged by vaccines.
i like your post phoenixkitten! very cool, and you prooved a point.
"curing" me or putting me on meds would be like cutting me in two, and taking away my entire personality. i am certain that would make me extremely suicidal to not have my familiar and crazy quirky ideas and obsessionate nature anymore.
sis: how old are you, and why do you want to "cure" your brother so bad?

berta,
I am 22. I am not sure that I want to cure my brother anymore. That is why I am asking for opinons. But up untill a month or two ago before I discovered this site, I did want to cure him, and my career goal has always been to become an autism researcher. I guess I have always thought that his life must be horrible. He lives in an institution, and has since he was 14 because my parents couldn't afford to stay home full time and he was getting too strong and violent for them to handle alone. (My brother is also brain damaged from birth by the way; so he has more than just autism). But he cant speak and has never picked up much sign language, and he lives in this place where these uneducated aids take care of him all day. It makes me cry to think about what they might be doing to him (we have all heard of nursing home horror stories of the way the elderly are sometimes treated) even though I have no evidence; the thought is always in the back of my head though. I mean it wouldn't be hard to think of my brother getting upset having a tantrum and hitting or biting one of them and then they just get very angry and hurt him. It just seems like his life would be better if he could talk, and if he weren't violent and angry and could live at home, if he could have relationships with people, maybe a wife and kids one day, and not depend on everyone else to cook his meals and take care of him. I just want for him what everyone wants for their family and that is for them to be happy and I have no way of knowing if he is or not.

Sis,

While it would be good to work on improving your brother's quality of life so he wouldn't be in an institution or at least not so dependent on the staff for everything, Autism is not necessarily the root cause. In low functioning cases such as your brother, treating specific cognitive parts of the brain to increase their ability to function, such as speech or time managment, might be benificial. He likely has things he likes about his autistic though process and not only would he likely miss them, but by his mid 20s he would likely feel like he is permanently stick in the Twilight Zone if he were to suddenly become NT.

I'm an NT married to an Autistic. Have been for 26 years.

Would I cure her? never.

Do I wish for some things to be different? Sure - I wish we could go to a football match together without her getting freaked out. I wish (just sometimes) that we could jump in the sack together without spending three or four hours winding up to it. But thats all wistful - I love her the way she is - always have always will.

What I do wish is that others could see her the way I do - see past the flapping and stuff - see the person beneath.

Folks might do well to listen to the interview with Temple Grandin posted somewhere on this site. She talks about a cure and warns against it. Wiping Autism away will take a whole chunk out of the gene pool - all those things that the Autistic mind does so well will be gone, and just the mediocre NT stuff will be left behind.

I'm a very ordinary man. Not so clever, but not stupid. Nothing marks me out. My wife - shes a pattern thinker - does calculus in her head. Heard the phrase "Brain the size of a planet"? - well she's got it. Balance that intellect against the social problems - which would you lose which would you keep ?

Cure Autism? There's too much to lose.

I have to fight every day for my wife's rights. For her to be able to go about her life without getting abused, or bullied or arrested. Thats what needs curing.

[and in case anyone thinks that this is a one way patronising sort marriage let me tell you I never met a woman who reaches me in the way she does ]

I have AS, and I neither strongly oppose nor strongly support a cure.

I've said in another post here fairly recently, most people in support of a cure want to cure LFA. The situation for LFA individuals is very different than that of people with HFA and AS. Most of the strong opposition for a cure comes from people with HFA or AS.

The only reason I am opposed to a cure is the chances it could be abused (e.g. sort of an ethnic cleansing sort of thing). I think that any cure should be approached with caution, and should undergo an extremely careful investigation of what would happen to recipients of it. If a cure conserved the strengths/positive aspects of people on the spectrum while improving their shortcomings, I think it would be a positive thing.

One things that truly irritates me about the militant anti-cure crowd is when they make the families in favour of a cure the villains. A family with a low-functioning child is desperate, and they think that the chance of the child having a bright or happy future is slim. These families want what is best for their child and want to improve the quality of life for their child. I think that speaking out in such a belligerent way against these families will gain neither acceptance nor respect for the autistic community.

As usual with the typical mention of so-called "LFA", I am going to link to this site:

http://www.gettingthetruthout.org/

And I am going to say, that if you are going to read it, you will have to read the whole thing, to get the point.

LFA is a real thing (and I have seen that sight before). If there was a cure, some would take it and some wouldn't. People who are anti-cure do not speak for all autistic people, just as people who are pro-cure do not speak for all autistic people.

Thanks for the link, and I have read that entire site before. It was truly eye opening. But thats why I am here...to see what others opinions are... because I do keep in mind that all people are different and most likely have different views on this subject.

This makes me wonder about something else. I read this and I have heard this from others on the autism spectrum that they are offened by CAN. I am not trying to say that they dont, i'm just wondering, but do you really think that CAN wants to rid the world of all people on the autism spectrum? Or does their name just imply that? Its hard for me to think that even if a cure was found some day, that there would be a campaign by CAN to cure all of those with ASD even if they didn't want it. I think that maybe CAN is alot like my parents and just want their children who are very low functioning to be able to live normal lives and be happy (not that I know they aren't happy the way they are.) Is it just the name that is offending? I am just trying to understand.

But does anybody want to be restrained and left to rot in an instituition?

Some, may want a cure, some not. EVERYONE DESERVES TO BE TREATED HUMANELY. I would much rather see more effort towards improving the outcome of those affected, and maximizing everyones chance to be a productive member of society.

A large part of that starts with a push for acceptance. I push to show that people on the spectrum are just as human as anyone else. This will never happen when what the public sees is how badly a "cure" is needed.

To Me this is what is needed it can be put in a few words Knowledge and Understanding. That is what is most needed. It is also the hardest why because in humans it is believing in the impossible to make possible. We Live in a World that has created Labels maybe one to many Labels, and these Labels get thrown around and around so much that really nothing can come from it in the end that is helpful at all. We have learned to come up with information but yet We have not Learned to use it to the fullest affects yet. This is what We need to really do in the end so We both can yet understand each other better. With better Knowledge and Understanding that would go a long way for the both of Us. We Humans like to make Life so Mysterious that We can not understand it.

How do We do this that is 1001 Question for sure that is needed to be Answered. The Best Way is what We are doing Right Now. What is that Communicating this needed Ideal for gaining the needed Knowledge of Understanding. That is the Best Way for Us Both to gain the Understanding needed to Help Each Other in the Best of Ways in the end.

To Cure or Not to Cure is not Really even in My Book for We truly can not even gain that Knowledge without the Understanding of it. We have a long ways to go to even get that far in the end. With Humans a All in One Cure would not work on All of Us either. That is One of the Mysteries of Life in the end too. We live in a World that LOOKS for that CURE not just this One but to CURE ALL THINGS. That is truly Dangerous for Us All (NT's or AS's) for sure in the end. In this World We Live in We want the Fix (Cure). We want so everybody is the same in some way or another. That though is not how Humanity is in the end at All. We are Individuals Persons that Grace this World that We Live in the end and it is what makes this World the Way it is. We All make this World Ours. That is Living Life and being Apart of Living Life. Life itself does not give Equal Billing to Us All in the end. We All have Disabilities and Abilities in Living Life the Best Way We can for Ourselves as well as for Others too. Life is not ever truly fair either for Us All (NT's or AS's) that Lives in this World.

That is why We All (NT's and AS's) need to communicate this IDEAL so We All (NT's and AS's) can yet Learn to truly Live in a Harmony Together. Once We yet Learn to do that then We All (NT's and AS's) will be able to gain that Knowledge and Understanding of Each Other in the end.

I agree with what you have to say. Cure Autsim? There is too much to lose.

But I do feel for the situations of LFA autistic people and there familys as I am sure every one else does and do would like there to be ways to some how make there lives better.

But I think it is safer to have no cure for a Autism than to have one. Because if there was a cure for autism there would most likely be a cure for ASD and HFA which would not be a good thing and would end up curing the potential genius's of the future of there genius. Sure as I am told all the time that not all autistic spectrum people can be some thing speical. But what about the people who can be? Think of how much people suspected of autistic specrium disorders have put into the world as a whole.

I agree with all that Phonix_Kitten wrote and I find that most of the peoples posts that I have read on this thread have been well thought out and surprisingly similur to my own ideas (i thought I was alone with my views). i repect the opions that I have seen in this thread.

kevv729 there are reasons for people wanting to cure things and put labels on them. It make things easier for them to understand and less troubles most of the time. I personally would also llike there to be cures for unrealistic things like a cure for Death, A cure for Aggression, a cure for violence, a cure for power seeking, and a cure for greed.

And with better Knowledge and understanding some times you will find that the person still has a problem. Like they are sick with A.I.D.S of course we want to find a cure and of course we want a label for it because other wise what would we call things? And with better understanding the individual is still sick. This is partly how I think alot of NTs view autism as just a sickness that they need to find a cure for. I don't think it should be cured but that doesn't mean I should bit there heads off just because they even thought about the need for a cure.

I feel sorry for your brother sis and wish I could offer some help or say yes there will be a cure or some thing like that but saddly I can't.

I do think all people should be treated humanly but in cases like the girl on the website I saw the people were trying to do the best they could but it was still hard for them.

Ok i've completely lost the plot so I will just try and post a decent post later on . I've mucked this one up i think.

A "cure" could come in many guises.

What if an in-vitro test were developed that detected Autism in the womb??. Like the current test for Spina Bifida it probably would give an indication of severity - just an indicator that the baby might develop Autism.

Imagine the temptation that prospective-parents would have to "not risk it" and "start over" (ie abort).

This, in my view, represents the starkest threat to the Autistic gene pool

I fear this possiblity too. It is the greatest threat to humanity as a hole that they will get rid of what they don't understand. But the fact is Autistic spectrum "disablitys" are not like your average disablity and don't purely damage the individual (LFA exluded) for any good like other disablitys and sicknesses do.

What the world will miss with out Autistic spectrim disabilitys. The brain can not be understood but the mind works differen'tly for Autistics and allows us in some cases to concentrate more or think in differen't ways to others to develop new ideas and theorys. When I think of what I think of as standard at the heart of what I think would be considered to a NT so extremely deep and technical to probably be unimagenable.

Sure autistic spectrum people maybe hard to live with and people may not understand them but do we really want to lose what they have to offer.

The idea of aborting Autistics makes me shiver.

I just read the getting the truth site... amazing.

Sis, my heart really does go out to you. It sounds like your brother has had a tough time, and I can understand why you would have wanted a cure for him. I guess the thing is that whilst living in an institution is not an ideal solution, neither is a cure. This may sound like splitting hairs, but I think there is a difference between curing Autism and curing or alleviating the negative effects. I think what a lot of people mean when they say they want a cure for Autism is that they want a way to stop their child from biting, scratching, and being unhappy. If that is what you want, then I wish you all the best of luck, but just bear in mind that there is more to Autism than the bad stuff.

Delayed reaction: didn't see that post. That is exactly the sort of thing that terrifies me. I should know; I was once told not to date a guy cos he might want kids one day and I couldn't give them to him because they might inherit what we at the time thought was bipolar, that was until he suggested that I could get testing and abort... Not nice.