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

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What is the nature of the cure? (Surgery? Medication? Gene therapy?)

What are the side effects? Are they permanent (e.g. anti-psychotics and Tardive's Diskinesia)?

What is the cost (no such thing as free - if the government pays for it, the cost just get's spread around)?

Is there rehab available post cure? (If I'm 40 years old and suddenly cured, there are 40 years of old habits and coping mechanisms that need to be addressed)


I really hate the cure/no cure debate. It is an over simplification of the problems facing those on the spectrum. Some people are "cured" by learning to adapt their behaviors to work more fluidly with their environment. Some would need a brain transplant to be cured (facetiousness alert!!).

hypothetically it is just a few pills

There is nothing hypothetical about the side effects of a few pills. Again, think Tardive's Dyskinesia. This is not a trivial side effect.

Absolutely.

I see a lot of people who say that they wouldn't necessarily want to change who they are, but I don't think there is anything special about who I am--if anything, it just causes a lot of problems for me. If a cure for AS could help me live a more fulfilling life, with friends and a job and some independence and such, then why not?

Supposing there are no side effects, I would take it before one could say "Asperger's Syndrome". I would be willing to go through the process of learning social skills as an NT. Sure, it would probably take some time, but I've lost 20 years already. Another 10 wouldn't be such a big deal.

I certainly wouldn't take the cure, or encourage anyone else to. Most of the problems faced by me and other Aspie's aren't because we are Aspie, but because we are Aspie in an NT world.

The only 'real' cure is increased understanding and awareness for Aspie's and NT's alike. If we all could understand each other, nobody like us would be considered 'mentally disabled', just mentally different.

Besides, I have more empathy than a lot of the NTs in my life, due to my sensitive nature.

The cure/no cure debate also bothers me. Instead of wasting our times arguing about a cure, why don't we talk about ways to accept people who are on the spectrum and helping them to have equal opportunities in the adult world, while not having to give up their individuality and identities.

Because it's easier to "cure" ASDs than it is for people to be tolerating?

Yeah. This. I know there are some on the spectrum that are fine with their lives. Some are doing amazingly well. Cool.

Some struggle hugely every freaking day.

If research provides ways for those that struggle to have better lives, then why the hell not? But if you're content with your life and you're managing the challenges of life on the spectrum, then what is the need for a cure?

I personally would like some things about myself to change. Is this seeking a cure? Meh. Whatever. Change is change. Do I hate myself because I am ASD? Nope. No time for that particular self indulgence. Do I think I am a gift from god to the NT world? Nope. I'm just another soul trying to do the best with what I've been handed.

No I wouldn't.

Although being aspie causes a lot of problems for me it also has it's benefits and has made me who I am - if I didn't have asperger's then I may be *gulp* 'normal' aka boring - there is not a problem with who I am to need to be cured, any problems I have can be dealt with by myself or with support of those around me and support from the government.

Plus there is the fact that being an aspie has effected my life already - I've been bullied and abused, I've been homeless and unemployed, I have lost friends - if you remove asperger's now I'd just be faced with what I have now starting from the bottom with so much against me, it would be tragic and without asperger's I think it'd get to me a lot more than it does now and I'd simply not cope.

I'd also not take a cure even if it was reversible, I'd not want to risk seeing what my life would be without asperger's - it would either be the bad example given above so make me feel sad, or it'd turn out without asperger's my life would be wonderful in which case I'd have a hell of a decision to make as to whether to take the cure for a permanent change or not.

Who wants to be normal? Normal is boring!

If there were a cure, I would not take it. It isn't that I see my AS as an advantage. I just don't think that Aspergers can be taken out of me without changing me in many ways. I see Aspergers as manageable. The way i see it is that most people have their weaknesses and disadvantages in life, but in a sense the point of life is overcoming those. In life, it is not about who you are or what you have; but what you do with it.

I'd be concerned it might set fire to my roof.

I wouldn't take it, and it's not because I'm living what most people would consider anything close to an idealized life free of struggle. I just don't respond to that struggle with the desire to avoid being autistic.

I really think many of you who say you wouldn't take it are thinking inside the autistic box, there is so many more possibilities that autism hinders fully, things you dont even notice or cant comprehend, that is why it is so easy for you to say you dont care for a cure because YOU DONT KNOW, WE ONLY KNOW, WHAT WE KNOW.