autism speaks = traditional while wrong planet = liberal

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That's the same way I see it. I wonder what the Autism Speaks people think when they lurk around here. Maybe in the next 8 years they will have to change their tune, because they'll have no choice.

Do you think they do? Some of the parents that I know who are big into Autism Speaks couldn't care less about what a group of Aspies say because they see Aspies as not having anything relevant to say. "How can they speak for my child? I know my child better than anyone!" Of course you do...but that would be like saying a blind adult could not have valuable input into sighted parents raising a blind child. They may know their child, but they do not know what it means to be blind.

They're not going to see aspies as having anything relevant to say if they express extreme and absurd ideas that are against the basic long-term goal which is known to be the best way to improve things. They won't like what such aspies say if it obviously reflects their own particular benefit, as opposed to what would benefit those who have much less advantages than such aspies.

What proof do they have that curing someone of autism is the best way to improve things? and since they don't have a cure why can't they focus some on helping improve the lives of autistic individuals who exist instead of ignoring them in the hopes some day such people wont be born thanks to their 'cure' otherwise we're talking of altering the genetics of people after they are born which is even worse.

And it would be pretty ignorant of them to assume no aspies have anything relevent to say about their own disorder, if a few express extreme absurd ideas. But not liking the idea of a cure since autism is something one is born with and therefore a cure would change someones very being.....is not really expressing extreme absurd ideas.

And also what gives you the idea that everyone who opposes this form of cure is 'advantages'?

Cure would get ability to those who otherwise would have less ability. Being able to do stuff, including things one wants to do, makes opportunities possible. It's that simple. Nobody is stopping anyone from focusing on helping those living now. You don't have to stop the research towards cure to improve current well-being. You keep mentioning these repeated accusations that aren't substantiated and saying curative techniques would be bad with no reason explained.


They're not all assuming that. And some aspies have been listened to. Why should something be considered part of their being and remain unchanged, simply because they were born with it? Many are born with diseases and painful defects, and there is no benefit for them to remain in such a situation.

Okay, fair enough. BUT, let's expound upon your concepts just a bit

Autism Speaks = scared NT parents=with Autistic babies/young children=who do not have a voice
Wrong Planet = Aspies and Auties themselves= young teens to senior citizens=who do have their own voice

TheSunAlsoRises

I should make sure I am being clear: not everyone who supports Autism Speaks is this way. I was simply trying to point out that I don't imagine that many people who strongly identify with Autism Speaks have any desire to come here to read what is said.

I should also point out that I am definitely NOT one of these people.



I'm sorry, I don't think I understand what your question is? Except for those cases in which I think someone is physically ill from some kind of environmental toxicity which results in autistic symptoms, I don't think a "cure" is possible, and I don't think it has any advantages.

Could we amend this to:

Wrong Planet = Aspies and Auties themselves + enlightened NT parents

I think most of the NT parents here are mainly interested in helping their children navigate the world rather than focused on finding a magic cure. Talking to adults with ASD helps us a lot, and I'd like to think that we can sometimes be helpful in interpreting the NT world in return.

^^ yes ^^

There is nothing enlightened in buckling to pessimism by denouncing efforts for comprehensive solutions, while resorting to saccharine rhetoric to gloss over the sad truth of the disability many on the spectrum are burdened with. Cure isn't "magic". Cure may not have been achieved before, but this effort is supported by modern science and technology. It wouldn't be impressive justice for some non-disabled individuals on the spectrum to get to dominate the highly-disabled members of the spectrum, by keeping them away from possibilities of cure which would bring them the basic abilities they are entitled to.

So...are you saying that people who do not support the search for a cure--whether autistic or NT--are not enlightened? I'm not sure I am following what you are saying. Are you saying that because I have chosen to accept my kids as they are and just help them adjust to their neurology that I have succumbed to pessimism and saccharine rhetoric? I don't mean this to be a confrontational question, but that is what I am reading you saying and I want to verify whether or not my interpretation is correct before I respond further.

Yes. I meant what I said. And they aggressively talk against cure and want to stop it from occurring. I don't know what your situation is really like, so I don't know what to say of your descriptions of it, but the misfortune of mental disability shouldn't be re-characterized as something neutral to justify not trying to overcome it.

"They" being people with ASD and NT parents who are not pushing for a cure?

"Enlightened" I suppose is a highly subjective descriptor. I, for example, do not find anything "enlightened" about the automatic assumption that because someone is "different," they need to be cured of anything. Sometimes "different" truly is simply different. Not worse, not defective...just not the same.

My situation is such that my kids' main struggles in life will most likely always be people who expect them to be something they are not, which is typically wired. I realize this is not true for every atypically wired person, but it is--without a doubt--true for my kids. In an environment that understands and adjusts for their differences, they are not significantly disabled. But in an environment that expects them conform to "normal" expectations at all times, they are. I would not consider either of them mentally disabled, though they are both disabled to some degree because of the incompatibility of their neurology with society as a whole.

Edited to add: In my case, it is errant to state that I have succumbed to any sort of pessimism. I have hope for a bright future for my kids. I have also not succumbed to any "saccharine rhetoric" as I am well aware of the fact that my kids will have to work harder than their NT counterparts to achieve the same things. It is not like I am blind to the challenges my kids face. Though I do understand what you are saying in that some people do minimize the challenges or paint the picture to look a lot more rosey than it really is.

Excellent.


TheSunAlsoRises

Okay, yeah this still kind of fits.
I just don't see it just positive and I know exactly that I also suffert a lot because of my ASD.
It has pros and cons, but anyways it is part of my personality if I like it or not.
That's for sure.

Its not simply because we're born with it I say that....its more because it is a difference in neurology and genetics that makes us significantly different from neurotypicals. Its not like a terrible disease someone is born with, it doesn't really get worse on its on or put one at risk of death its more a way of being. So I suppose I don't see what good trying to change it would do......other then attempt to make autistics neurotypical in the hopes it would improve their quality of life. Even so if someone wants to be cured they should have the choice if there is a cure availible but I would never agree with doing it to someone without their consent.