If there was a "cure" to autism/aspergers would u?

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This is a hard question to answer. I probably wouldn't try the "cure" at first because I have taken anti-depressants and had bad side effects and some were not listed as side effects. If the "cure" was safe, then I would consider trying it even though it is kind of too late for me at the age of 40. Asperger's destroyed my life and I don't get to live the normal life others have. I will be single and lonely for the rest of my life. At 40, it's time to realize that there really isn't any women out there for you and you don't get to share your life with some special person. I know a lot of people consider Asperger's to be some gift but I consider it a curse with all that has happened to me.

This is a loaded question.
The short answer for me is no, I would not want to be "cured". Personally, I hate curebies with a passion.
That doesn't mean that there aren't moments when I get depressed and think that being autistic is a total b***h.
If anything, NT people need to check their damn privilege and we need to keep calling them out on their s**t. They have taught us very carefully to hate ourselves and blame ourselves for our own "shortcomings". (:roll:)
People with (neurotypical) privilege have always screwed over people without (neurotypical) privilege. I find I have to remind myself of this often.

Today, I don't want to be cured. But some days I really do. The crazy meltdown, head banging, nonverbal-but-need-to-communicate days... sometimes I want out.

Nah. It's not the source of my worst problems.

The question is inadequate. To answer this type of question more information is required.

What method will this cure utilize? What degree of success will it have? Will there be side effects or potential for undesired effects? What will those be and what further methods can be used to minimize them? What specifically are you curing? AS presents in individuals with variation, how will this cure interact with variations in conditions? What are the costs, even if free to the taker, of the cure? Which government agency is offering this cure and how accurate are their claims? What is their intent?

There is more, potentially much more one could consider in asking themselves if they want a cure or not.

Personally, I would answer the original question with a firm "No". There exists a few potential situations wherein I would answer "yes", however. And similarly some situations I would answer "I would try it".

In principal though, I am strongly against anything that fundamentally undermines ones sense of self. Each of us is unique, and as a species we are all the better for that very variation. We each have unique experiences, troubles, joys, every facet of existence is beautiful and miraculous.

I find it odd for a triangle to want to fit through a square hole, and troubling when someone attempts to force it in. Even if someone succeeds at smashing it through, you have not cured the triangle into being a square...you've simply smashed it, and the triangle is gone.

No, or to be more precise: not anymore. I had about 25 years to get used to myself and how I work. Don't want to spend another 25 to get used to yet another mental state.

I'm NT but if you handed me a pill that would cure my son's Asperger syndrome, I wouldn't try to make him take it. To do so would amount to saying that I want a different son -- that he isn't good enough. I don't feel that way at all. I'm proud of him and I'm proud to be his father. I wouldn't even consider trading him for a NT son (and that's basically what a "cure pill" would do).

At work I am not allowed to use mathematics otherwise I am called a deviant. I have to lay everything out using chalklines and make physical measurements.

I hate these "would you take a cure" threads.

Change the question a little.

Would you refuse something guaranteed to improve the quality of your life?

If you talk about this is quality of life terms a lot of the hostility evaporates. A "cure" is no longer an attempt to steal your soul, nor some absolute requirement foisted upon you by society. It's simply a piece of information that can be applied to an individual situation.

I find it tedious and laughable that there are people that would change NOTHING about themselves. This is a sure sign, not of autism, but of just personal stagnation. People that stop changing are boring.

Would I accept a cure? Sure, if I was convinced that it would make my life better. The trick here is that the one that gets to decide what better is is ME. I get to measure the risks and benefits and I get to decide whether I take the pill or have some new therapy or even have some brain surgery or something. I don't need no stinkin' half baked politician or profit centric corporation or crusading advocate telling me what's best for me. But if somebody develops effective ways for me to improve my life? I'm all over that.

What does bother me is that as we slide down the scale of functionality (I know HFA vs LFA is a tricky subject in its own right), those deemed less functional are increasingly at risk of losing their freedom of choice. The more I learn about autism, the more I understand how little is actually understood. My heart tells me we should tread lightly before we assume that a person labeled LFA is incapable of making their own choices regarding treatment.

I also get a little rankled when 'treatment' is nothing more than getting people on the spectrum to conform to arbitrary social norms. In the words of Bender - "You can kiss my shiny metal ass" if you think I care about some of the crap I'm expected to become.

Surely not yet another "cure" thread. It seems like there are a couple of these each week.

And what exactly is a "cure"?

If it means "having the brain I would have had except for the changes caused by my genetic autism inheritance" then think again. That's science fiction. I think building star-ships to take us to Alpha Centauri will happen first and certainly sounds more feasible than re-engineering a human brain with 100 billion neurons each with thousands of synapses.

I wouldn't mind improvements, hence my willingness to medicate my ADHD (and since I am currently medicating it, well, there you go).

The problem I have with these "cure" questions is that I have no idea what I would be like if I were born NT or suddenly changed into an NT, and I find it difficult to credit that I would adapt very well to such a change to my neurology.

While I do not feel that doing so would "steal my soul" I also believe it would change my personality, and I am not interested in changing my personality.