Would YOU take medication that "cured" autism?

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I might try it, but I don't think I'd want to keep taking it.

I took ADHD medication for awhile as an adult. People said the difference was dramatic, that I was easier to follow and to be around. They still didn't want to be my friend, and the inconsistency of my state of mind as they took effect, then wore off each day made me more exhausted trying to chase normality that I still couldn't achieve. So in the end, demoralizing.

Likewise, I remember the feeling of connection with nursing and all the oxytocin probably helped, that's lovely when there's an adorable wonderful infant and it's maybe helping gaze lovingly into the infants eyes---it was easy then, and not since. That's supposed to be good for the infant's development, and certainly felt good, so I guess it's good they are trying it for adults. But then you have to deal with leaving the infant, once your connected, that's also hard, and not sure what the down side is when there isn't a baby involved.

So no, I think there would be costs associated with taking medication to cure autism as an adult. Maybe for very young children where it could be natural it might be a good thing, I really think would need a lot of follow up studies before just giving it to everyone. But from my experience with ADHD meds and the natural bursts of oxytocin, no, I doubt any such medication would be worth it for me, too high a cost for the limited benefit.

Might be different for other people, though. And not saying I wouldn't try. Just feel very cautious about the prospects!

Yes I would. We need a cure ASAP.

I voted no because I would no longer be me. The main problems that come with AS at least for me are social interactions. Plus I have personal theories about AS that contradict there being a need for a cure. It also fits in with the supposed rise in cases in the populace. Personally I feel for hfA and AS I don't think there is anything to cure. And yes I expect to get flamed for saying this.

Having said that if there was a cure for those not being able to function because they are on a different end of this spectrum, then maybe yes. But then I am making a decision for them that perhaps they don't want cured. I know this sounds convoluted and crazy but it must be left to the individual. If they tried to cure ASD as a whole, I truly believe it would negatively affect humanity as a whole. We might very well become stagnated as a species. Look at how far mankind has come in the last 25, 50, or 100 years. And it is accelerating. I don't think it is an accident either.

I will not go further for the reason I am likely to offend. Just know I don't feel I need cured as an individual. I am not sick and if cured I would no longer be me..

I nursed my two kids a long time, so I'm pretty sure it's the hormones that made stroking, being physically close, being touched and touching as well as eye contact just fine during that time. Nice to know someone else had the same experience!

And yes, definitely liked the regulated experience of taking stimulants, they just wear off and I'm suddenly restless and interrupting and other people act like it's a terrific offense, which to them, it is if at noon one was acting one way, at 5 acting a different way. Easier on me, and others less irritated in the long run when I am more consistent. But I do miss the feeling of being organized!!

Do I want my memories erased and my mind replaced with something else?

No.

Do I want to be able to not mess up my life with other people?

Yes.

Would I take a pill that would make parties less painful and improve my executive functioning, make me a better husband, reduce my chance of getting let go at work and make it easier to have friends?

In a heartbeat.

Went through an adolescent stoner phase.

So the concept of drugs as experiences is not a foriegn concept.

A pill that temporarily made you into a NT version of yourself for say- three hours- is kinda appealing. A pill that permanently changed your pesonality-not so much.

I might take such a pill to get through a job interview.

I'm curious whether the people who are saying they would take the medication in an instant have taken meds much. When medication was first suggested to me, I took whatever the doctor suggested. It's only now, having tried a lot of things and seen that nothing really works that lasts that I've become so cautious. If anyone who would take it without hesitation wants to comment.

First - I've seen what Big Pharma is doing to consumers of their other neurotoxins and I don't trust them enough to put some laboratory concocted chemical into my brain. "Ask your doctor if side effects like: Irritability, confusion, violent impulses, diarrhea, sexual dysfunction and thoughts of suicide are right for you." Do a little research into the connection between SSRI antidepressants and mass school shootings. No thanks, I believe I'll pass.

Second - I personally believe Autism to be the result of a complex combination of causes, thus the "spectrum" nature of the disorder. Because of that, a blanket "cure" seems unlikely. It's not like repairing physical damage, you're talking about changing the way a brain developed from the fetal stage. Good luck with that, Doctor Frankenstein.

Third - If you don't think losing your Autism would change WHO YOU ARE, then you don't fully understand the pervasiveness of your "Pervasive Developmental Disorder."

Since before you were born, even as your developing brain absorbed sounds while floating in that bag of amniotic fluid in your mother's womb, you absorbed those sounds differently than a fetus with a normal brain, because your gray matter was growing extra neural pathways for processing sensory stimuli. Your brain, heard more, sensed more, felt more and as a result had to balance, filter and interpret more incoming data than a normal brain.

In your crib, in your high chair, in your walker, your brain was taking in complex data on a daunting scale, while those other babies' brains only had to filter a normal amount of sensory data, and allowed them time to pick up on things like facial expressions and nonverbal cues and figure out what they meant without being distracted and overwhelmed. They didn't grow up seeing a huge network of confusing DETAILS like you did. They grew up seeing a pleasant, orderly, rational BIG PICTURE.

Their world all made sense, because it seemed relatively simple, and they react to it smoothly and naturally. Your world has always been confusing in it's complexity, forcing you to be analytical and to think about everything.

Your personality, your emotional makeup, every aspect of your psychological structure has been molded by your neurological condition. It could not be otherwise. Everything you have learned has been processed through that Autistic filter, which in turn formed who you are and how you think. You and your neurology are inseparable - it made you YOU.

To suddenly rip away those Autistic Goggles you've been seeing the world through all your life, would change everything you've ever experienced. It would be akin to being dosed with a large tab of LSD, in terms of altering the way the world looks and feels and the way you process physical stimuli and emotion. How would your psyche respond to living that differently? You may think you would prefer it, but could you even handle it? Would it be a cathartic release, or an agonizing trauma?

If you don't think it would change your personality, you just don't realize how you came to be the person you are.

Well said, Willard.

And that is why I'm ok with memories of the naturally induced oxytocin experience to feed my baby, that's a natural experience not orchestrated by Big Pharma, not so comfortable just flying off into any drug people think might "cure" autism.

I said I'd take it without hesitation to try it.

The thoughts that are in the background of that include:

-the risk of trying a new pill on myself isn't nothing, but this hypothetical pill (having passed hypothetical government testing) lies in an area that I feel comfortable with (in particular, because I do not plan to have anymore children)
-In my life, I have taken (in no particular order): Ritalin, Paxil, Wellbutrin, adderall, depakote, lithium, klonopin, lexapro, concerta, and propranolol. I may be forgetting some. I've also been drunk and high. (On that note, I haven't in over a decade and would not partake in marijuana without the federal government's approval and only in pure forms that are not inhaled...but, if legal, I would partake responsibly, as it was particularly helpful.)
-I am not as adventurous with medications for my children. I don't know if that's a double-standard or what. That is where I am currently at. My kids get echinacea and chamomile tea, probiotics, and hot soup when they are sick... My AS son has never seen a psychiatrist. I will homeschool before I medicate. I won't never mediate them, though. In particular, I would medicate more quickly for depression.
-Propranolol is the only medication I've used so far that was specifically to treat aspects of ASD. It was useful, and quite similar to adderall, caused issues when it wore off that I ultimately discontinued.
-I'm not particularly quick with medication decisions, or decisions of any type.
-I AM sometimes too obedient. That sometimes includes interactions with doctors.
-Some situations are so painful and I am so desperate for relief, that I'd be willing to try out something temporary



Temporally said, my journey so far with medications and the doctors prescribing them has not been:

-mother used "blind obedience" with doctors and have me Ritalin
-personal anger at the doctor for giving me Ritalin through my formative years, coupled with a blind refusal to take medication of anytime by the time I was 11/12 (secretly at first, then openly, finally openly to the doctor who discontinued my prescription)
-limited obedience on my part as a young adult in deep depression without enough tools to survive on my own
-learning to "use" the system to get the medications I think will help me.
-learning that strong medications are just that--strong. Therein lies the issue. Power is not necessarily positive or negative, it's just power. Seeing, for instance, adderall, as strongly positive is to misunderstand it. I don't know the answer to this problem. I have been increasingly interested in more natural cures (an interest I share with my younger self, when I was in a much different place in this journey, but through which I have amassed some knowledge) because these remedies are simply less powerful.


I hope that didn't sound like nonsense.

has anyone here read speed of dark by elizabeth moon? it's an interesting (fictional) exploration of this very question (if a "cure" were available, would you take it and what might it mean), written by a woman with a teenage son on the spectrum.

she seemed to have a pretty good grasp of what it's like to be autistic (her protagonist is autistic and the story is told from his point of view), and the questions she raised were thought-provoking. when i read it i looked back at my own life, and it helped me realise i am glad to be exactly who i am, and i wouldn't change that for anything.

does anyone know of other good books on the subject? i'm always looking for new stuff to add to my reading list.

I definetly wouldn't take it. I don't trust Big Pharma and have first-hand experience of how their meds can mess someone up. I was on antidepressants for about 5 years, and since coming off them following doctors standard taper I've been experiencing withdrawal symptoms, which are horrible. I found out about SSRI Withdrawal too late to reinstate and do a slower taper. It's been 2 years now and I'm still not right.
I'd rather learn to be ok with myself and learn how to cope with social things than try any other meds.

Never. This is part of who I am, and I like who I am, I like me a lot. I don't wanna be like everyone else.

well, it depends. If I took the curing medication would I get rid of anxiety, executive disfunction, lack of social skills etc etc etc but still keep my analytical mind and personality? then yes! if the cure would mean changing myself, then probably no.

I would certainly give it a try, but probably not want to remain under its effect.

I am who I am, and that doesn't need "curing" whatever anyone can think. (What does need curing is my anxiety and related problems.) Being under the effect a drug that makes me think differently would be a bit like taking a psychedelic drug. I would be curious of the experience and would certainly find it very instructive, but I don't want to live 24/7 under the effect of a highly psychotropic substance.