if there was a cure......would you take it?

Post Reply New Topic

I don't have ASD but I have ADHD. I definately wouldn't take the cure - it can make my life hell sometimes but the hard lessons I learn (that no-one else needs too) make me more aware of the world around me, more aware of the problems and more in a position to make changes to better improve myself.

I wouldn't take the cure, because I'm happy with who I am.

I had the same thought, and the same concern. We'd miss out overall, perhaps. But still...

1. Not all the great inventors and scientific visionaries were necessarily aspies.

2. I don't think most aspies are world-changing types.

3. If it's too much to ask for people to treat aspies like human beings, than they don't deserve the benefits such people can bring. Screw them.

This is a bit of a long post, but just bear with me, or don't read it if it's too much trouble. I put the important points in bold. , because I think this would be quite interesting for other Aspies to read.
I have thought this through with myself the other day, and decided to be more down to Earth about it. Instead of saying ''if I were NT, I'd be out at a really big noisy crowded party tonight with lots and lots of friends all loving me and I'll be really confident and loud and sociable'', I'll say, ''if I were still in this same body, being brought up by this same family, but just with an NT brain like all of my cousins, I would most probably be...''
I know wishful thinking is easy and we could all say ''oh if I was so-and-so I would be [insert far-fetched dream here]'', but the grass isn't always necessarily greener on the other side. And I am not contradicting to my state of mind because I absolutely hate having AS. But I have thought this through carefully and tried hard to imagine myself, still in this skin and still brought up by the same family, but just with an NT brain instead of an AS brain.

-I would more likely have more friends than I have got now, and more friends of my age too (not that I dislike the older friends I have got in this lifetime, but I'm just saying). There is a possibility that I might not have that many friends if I were NT, but looking at all of my 12 NT cousins, they all seem to have friends and are more able to go out and do different things with them, so I'm just assuming I would be too.

-I may still be born as a shy person, being so most of my family are shy people (but which does not stop them from having friends though). OK I may have been born a more extroverted person, but I'm just assuming that I would most probably be more on the shy side, as in a generally shy/introverted person. I can actually see me being quite a placid, laid-back person that doesn't whinge and grouch about a lot and just goes with the flow and appreciates any company or outings, etc. But then again, I don't know. I'm just guessing.

-I won't be getting upset or overwhelmed with change. Well, most people dislike change to a degree, especially if you get yourself into a rut, but I wouldn't be having major panic attacks or meltdowns over it. I'd probably be more adaptable to change, and just give a sigh and maybe give a few opinions of groans about it, and then move on. After all, life goes on (which is easier for an NT to say).

-Hmm, I'm not sure if I would be in the job I am in now. Not saying NTs don't do cleaning. I'm saying more about the timing. If I were NT, I would most probably have stayed on a little longer at college, probably more because of being in a nice crowd of mates more than anything, although there may also have been something I wanted to study too. In my Aspie life, I only didn't stay on at college because I didn't quite know what I wanted to do, and also I was afraid I might not make any friends. Silly thoughts, I know. But most people use college as a social place as well as something to do if they feel they are not ready for the employment world yet (yes, not all NTs all mature at the same precise age). So anyway, back to the job, yes, I most probably might have stayed on at college, if not, I would have perhaps went straight on to jobseekers allowance and if I was looking hard enough I probably wouldn't be on jobseekers as long as 4-5 years like I have in this lifetime. So I probably would have found something else a few years ago. Plus I would have been more able to work in retail because, despite how shy I may of been, I still probably would be able to deal with customers without too much anxiety stopping me.

-I probably wouldn't have moved out, yet being so it is hard to do that these days. But saying that, I might have some mates that are willing to share a flat with me, and we might of been saving up and looking for a flat. Or I could have a boyfriend also, which would have brought me out of my shell and having the desire to move in somewhere with him.

-I wouldn't be such a pain at home. Everybody can be a pain to a degree and nobody's perfect, but I'm more of a unique pain, bringing unique problems into our lives. I most probably wouldn't have the habit of following my mum around the house, constantly talking on and on and on and not knowing when to stop. Also I wouldn't get so distracted by normal household noises when in my room, instead I'd be more able to filter unwanted noise out and just be pleased that I have got a bedroom to retreat to. Also I don't think my brother's appearance and actions would bother me so much either.

-I almost certainly would not be obsessed with bus-drivers. Instead I would most probably be into reality shows or TV soaps, and I would like clothes shopping (the majority of women do), and I would automatically know more of how to supply make-up and so on. Also I may of had another interest, like horses for example. Nobody can say that NTs don't have interests beyond celebrities, fashion and TV shows. But whatever other interests I might of had, I don't think I would have let them take over my mind and steer my life and become more ''important'' than my job even. Being an Aspie, my obsession makes everything else really boring, including my job, and I just want to be on the buses all day long.

-I wouldn't be having meltdowns. Sure, NTs do get angry over certain things, but I think they do on different levels to Aspies. It seems that Aspies are more prone to letting their anger get out of control, and maybe doing abnormal movements like laying on the floor kicking the legs, or screaming and yelling inappropriately to the point where it catches the neighbour's attention and gives them an impression that there's mentality that goes on in the next house. If I were an NT that didn't like the snow or had a fear of being sick, my reaction might not be pretty but it most certainly won't be to the same degree as how I deal with anger in my Aspie life. I would most probably be able to keep my temper more under control, unless I had something like an anger management or poor coping abilities, but I'm just talking about being a general NT here.

-I wouldn't have sensory issues I don't think. Not saying NTs never jump at sudden noises or get agitated or anything, but I don't think I would be doing things like putting my fingers in my ears when walking under the smoke alarm when dinner's cooking, or walking pass a garden gate where I know there's a dog living there.

I can't think of much else, although there is probably more that would be slightly different about myself. I have put it in the most down to Earth way I can think of. But my life would be so much better without these things, because finding mixing and social interaction difficult, feeling agitated or overwhelmed at challenges life throws at you, having limits, having odd/immature behaviour at times, having intense obsessions, being prone to uncontrollable meltdowns, and having sensory issues are things I could do without, and do make life harder than it already is for the general population.

Anyway... it's a tough call. I'd probably take it, but it would depend on the nature of the cure.

Assuming an idealistic cure in which there are no side-effects, then absolutely!

Where do y'all get these ideas? The real problem is that anyone actually believes this.

http://ballastexistenz.wordpress.com/20 ... -can-kill/

Very good blog, reading now.

No thanks, might start liking football.

These NTs, we might be jealous of their having girlfriends and wives, happy children they can take to the zoo, etc etc, but when you are an NT these things become absolutely meaningless and mundane when compared to their only reason for living, namely idolising other men who wouldn't even piss on them if they were on fire, purely because they kick a ball around every week.

When do you ever hear NTs talk about their wives, or the happiness their kids bring them?, never, all they can talk about is football, what a complete waste of a life.

Autistic people often need help with everyday things in life. Aspies are functional; we just think differently. Autistic people often must be cared for; no one gives us anything for free. People often don't even believe us. I commend anyone that is able to have the confidence to find such pride. Call them supremacist but in truth we aspies aren't going to take over the world; instead we might eventually find a way to live with ourselves and find value and even acceptance by asserting that we are just as good or even better than NT's. We aspies are kind of like a minority race; its like Asians living in America that don't mesh with the culture. They are stereotyped as smart and come across as socially awkward however its often a cultural gap that separates them. We Aspies are very much the same in terms of a cultural gap; because of our way of thinking, we have our own culture but we are afraid to embrace it. I say it's time we simply embrace who we are and stop worrying about the concept of supremacy because those that insinuate this will likely not make it very far with this assertion. Still, the concept of Aspie supremacy is better than Aspie shame.

good post Joe90, I think you summed up life as an aspie quite well, the question short term is how to fix/work on those issues to make them better now and I don't have an anwser. I would like to know though.

I beleave your point about sensory issues is a key to easing the whole puzzle, I know I have fairly high issues in this area and there not helping me at all, in fact there preventing me from taking full advantage of meny of my AS derived strenghs. Sensory overload just to often impares the brain to much to put the required effort into things I already struggle at. Just getting out of the house more often would help i'm sure and thats fairly easy to do when getting a headache or feling overloaded from stupid sounds or sunlight is unlikely.

Erm... how many NTs do you know?

I know many who talk about the happiness their families and partners bring them. I also know many who hate football or are apathetic.

I like talking about football, I don't like talking about my family.

By your description here, I should have been diagnosed as autistic, not as AS. True, I have made that statement many times, but I also think the things you are claiming here are not true for everyone diagnosed AS. There are many who need help with everyday things, and there are many who deal with significant impairments.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that anyone who is "functional, and just thinks differently" probably does not even need a diagnosis. The diagnosis for AS requires:



To me, "clinically significant impairments" does not mean "functional, and just thinks differently." It means impairments in functioning that may require assistance. AS is not an identity tag, it is a disorder that can be quite disabling for those who have it.

There is a difference between what Amanda describes as "Aspie Supremacist" and "Aspie Pride." The difference is that the aspie supremacist positions themselves as worthy because they claim to be better than autistic people. True pride does not require tearing someone else down, or saying that they are less worthy as human beings.

If this is your stance, you have nothing to be proud of. Find a stance that doesn't involve claiming to be better than autistic people or doesn't involve saying "At least we're not as impaired as autistic people" because neither claim is remotely true, and both claims amount to essentially throwing one group of autistic people under a bus to make the other group look better and more appealing. I want no part of it.

All autistic people are just as good as NTs. Not just some select chosen few who got the "right" diagnosis even though which diagnosis they received is likely dependent more on where they were evaluated than on what symptoms they show.

I'm not jealous of their eternal obsession with sports.

I'm not jealous of their marriage, and family.

I AM jealous of their mobility in the workplace, which has little if anything to do with productivity, and everything to do with their ability to make funnies at the water cooler.........

get it?

Thanks Verdandi your posts are always quite insightful and most of what you say I would of said myself but I am far from caring to take the time.

I am here to get help and understand my condition, not to glorify autism spectrum disorder. Attitudes like aspie supremacy makes me want to jump ship, abandoned my disorder and cut all connections out of shame...