If a cure for ASD/Asperger's/autism was found?

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Mona Pereth
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03 Sep 2019, 11:15 am

ASPartOfMe wrote:
I find many anti cure people confusing. On the one hand they say a cure would be horrible on the other hand they say it will never happen. Which is it and why waste time and mental energy on something you think is not going to happen? CRISPER convinced me what I kind of believed anyway that someway, somehow it is going to happen and it is too late to stop it, the genie is out of the bottle so to speak.

It's still not exactly right around the corner. Not only are there over a thousand different genetic variations associated with autism, but autism is not purely genetic. Even among identical twins, there's a small minority of cases where one twin develops autism and the other one doesn't. So it's not certain whether gene therapy for autism would even work in all or most cases. There's still a lot of research that would need to be done into exactly how autism gets caused (in part) by the genes.

Anyhow, some things to be noted about "gene editing" in general:

There are two potential kinds of genetic engineering -- one of which, germline genetic engineering, is highly controversial at best, and already prohibited under an international treaty though not under U.S. law, at least according to the following (which might be a bit out of date):

- Human Gene Editing Frequently Asked Questions
- Don’t edit the human germ line
- About Human Germline Gene Editing
- Let’s Talk About the Ethics of Germline Modification

That leaves genetic medicine, which means editing the genes of a person who already exists, which is technologically a much more difficult thing to do in a way that is both safe and effective. So far there has been only one successful example that I know of, and it's extremely expensive:

- At $2 million, priciest ever medicine treats fatal genetic disease


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ASPartOfMe
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03 Sep 2019, 12:06 pm

Mona Pereth wrote:
ASPartOfMe wrote:
I find many anti cure people confusing. On the one hand they say a cure would be horrible on the other hand they say it will never happen. Which is it and why waste time and mental energy on something you think is not going to happen? CRISPER convinced me what I kind of believed anyway that someway, somehow it is going to happen and it is too late to stop it, the genie is out of the bottle so to speak.

It's still not exactly right around the corner. Not only are there over a thousand different genetic variations associated with autism, but autism is not purely genetic. Even among identical twins, there's a small minority of cases where one twin develops autism and the other one doesn't. So it's not certain whether gene therapy for autism would even work in all or most cases. There's still a lot of research that would need to be done into exactly how autism gets caused (in part) by the genes.

Anyhow, some things to be noted about "gene editing" in general:

There are two potential kinds of genetic engineering -- one of which, germline genetic engineering, is highly controversial at best, and already prohibited under an international treaty though not under U.S. law, at least according to the following (which might be a bit out of date):

- Human Gene Editing Frequently Asked Questions
- Don’t edit the human germ line
- About Human Germline Gene Editing
- Let’s Talk About the Ethics of Germline Modification

That leaves genetic medicine, which means editing the genes of a person who already exists, which is technologically a much more difficult thing to do in a way that is both safe and effective. So far there has been only one successful example that I know of, and it's extremely expensive:

- At $2 million, priciest ever medicine treats fatal genetic disease


Besides gene editing the other possible way to a cure is through ABA deflecting the genetic predisposed wiring. But that is not probably applicable to anybody but very young children.

I agree that a cure is a long ways off so the ND movement has time to think about it but it is never to early to start.


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Arganger
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03 Sep 2019, 12:16 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:

Besides gene editing the other possible way to a cure is through ABA deflecting the genetic predisposed wiring. But that is not probably applicable to anybody but very young children.


That's not a cure, it's just hurting a kid until they give up

To me, an actual cure for autism may as well be death. It wouldn't be me living my life anymore. What would be the point? Heck, what would like be like for that other person, with memories of me, but clearly nothing like me? I don't think it would be fair to them, or me.


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Mona Pereth
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03 Sep 2019, 12:33 pm

SelfLoathingAutist wrote:
Yes, if there was a way to restructure my brain that meant I no longer met the diagnostic criteria for autistic, I'd jump at the chance. I'd pretty much take it at any cost, really. I despise this condition.

See my posts to you in the separate thread Anyone else feel like the diagnosis ruined their hapiness?.


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magz
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03 Sep 2019, 12:44 pm

I guess the person I would be if I didn't have AS traits... and my even more prominent neurodiverse trait, namely, extreme sensitivity... that person probably would be able to be happy. But I have no idea who she would be.
I wouldn't go for rewiring my brain in adulthood. That would strip me from all my self, building it from scratch in middle age would be so hard and frustrating. I would most likely become far less functional than I am now.
I wouldn't agree to rewire my daughter. She may lose her artistic talents and beautiful personality in the process.


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Mountain Goat
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03 Sep 2019, 12:58 pm

magz wrote:
I guess the person I would be if I didn't have AS traits... and my even more prominent neurodiverse trait, namely, extreme sensitivity... that person probably would be able to be happy. But I have no idea who she would be.
I wouldn't go for rewiring my brain in adulthood. That would strip me from all my self, building it from scratch in middle age would be so hard and frustrating. I would most likely become far less functional than I am now.
I wouldn't agree to rewire my daughter. She may lose her artistic talents and beautiful personality in the process.



What you write makes sense. I would be devastated to have my character altered. My family had a very hard time when drs put my Dad on medication which used to have him in an ever changing character of a person. Somehow though, he rarely changed when we had visitors, so no one believed us, not even the doctors. And he didn't even know he was doing it. His doctor said he wasn't allowed to look into it unless my Dad told him. (UK law that had come in by then).
The police were getting fed up of looking for him when he went off in a mood. He would switch just like that, and it was every time the drs changed his medication. The doctors were just not interested, even when he tried to commit suicide and the police wanred us to phone his doctor as he refused to speak to anyone else. (I have changed doctors since those days).

If I was cured but my character changed, I would be so devastated and scared... Is why I am petrified of taking any medication other then for very mild conditions where I know the medication will not make me change. I read ebery little bit of inforation if my eyes let me read it! Haha. Somw small print... Why do they bother printing it at all?

But for me, the thought that a cure could change my character is the number one concern.



ASPartOfMe
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03 Sep 2019, 6:41 pm

Arganger wrote:
ASPartOfMe wrote:

Besides gene editing the other possible way to a cure is through ABA deflecting the genetic predisposed wiring. But that is not probably applicable to anybody but very young children.


That's not a cure, it's just hurting a kid until they give up

To me, an actual cure for autism may as well be death. It wouldn't be me living my life anymore. What would be the point? Heck, what would like be like for that other person, with memories of me, but clearly nothing like me? I don't think it would be fair to them, or me.

The most brain "wiring" making you who you are occurs in the earliest part of life. Behavioral therapies do alter brain "wiring". The idea is that you can theoretically stop the brain "wiring" for autism from happening. The people lobbying for ABA know this. Why do you think there is this constant incessant push for earlier and earlier diagnosis and earlier and earlier behavioral therapies?

Constantly directing and interfering with children s natural maturing be it ABA or otherwise is harmful in many ways.


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magz
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04 Sep 2019, 1:31 am

Has anyone published a study about ABA-"cured" children in adulthood?


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Redpaws
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04 Sep 2019, 2:48 pm

Of course there should be an opt in or out option for adults, as with most other treatments.
I don't see it for kids though as it would be up to their parents same as for other operations, treatments, cures, vaccines.


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