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

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I have had panic attacks and they have largely been cured, and that did not actually change my personality. I've had depression and it is in some kind of remission right now, and I've changed some of the things that actually made it worse, and that did not actually change my personality either. I have medicated my ADHD in the past, and while it made it easier for me to do things I needed to do when I needed to do them, that didn't change my personality either.

Autism affects every part of my cognition and perceptions. This is not like curing panic disorder or depression.

I am not anti-cure, anyway, nor do I feel anyone else should feel the same way I do.

I cannot cure who I am, but I can cure attitudes, stigmatization and ignorance

I guess I'm not sure what you mean by personality.

A cure?

I'm still waiting for my powers to surface.


Now, where did I put my cape...

Mine have and there is no going back

Personality's not a matter of mood or mood disorders, or ability to initiate or motivate. These interact with one's personality, but do not define it. If I cure a mood disorder, I have not changed my fundamental personality, but I have corrected a problem with my moods. My personality is pretty much unchanged.

If I change how I think, see, hear, taste, touch, smell, interpret, this strikes me as a profound, fundamental difference. Consider that PTSD changes people's neurology. It causes profound differences in how people relate to the world - and those changes are not themselves positive, and I do not believe that this change is as pervasive as autism is. It could be argued that changing an autistic brain to be neurotypical would be a positive change, but the idea does not sound appealing to me, because it seems it would be such a drastic change from who I am right now.

I agree we can not un-wire our neurological brains, but like everyone if need support for various differences that's ok, bipolar wise I have no problem with myself and quite like my creative extreme moods, but by being able to fully understand and accept who I am as an individual bipolar, aspergers and other wise, I no longer impact others and know when to ask for help if need to, like anyone I guess.

Are you suggesting that curing thing like a mood disorder doesn't effect thought, perception and interpretation? How is no longer thinking of suicide not a change in thought? Or no longer believing bad things are impending a change in perception?

It seems to me that personality is not so easily separated into its own neat category.

I do understand your concern, and even share it to a point. We know for certain that some types of brain injuries profoundly change a person's personality. A full 'rewire' of a brain, so to speak, seems more likely to have significant impact on personality. I'm disinclined to utilize some invasive procedure with potentially profound unintended consequences. But I don't reject possibilities out of hand either. And, as far a I know, much of the work on curing autism is not about rewiring the brain.

The word cure I feel is so wrong, support, acceptance and understanding comes to mind, as we can not cure who we are!

I think any time someone asks this from now on, I'm just going to do this:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp3617389.html#3617389

How is it people think this question hasn't been asked 500,000 times before?

Edit: Also these:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp3324146.html#3324146
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp3325345.html#3325345

Maybe worth mentioning that the OP of this thread is a well known troll who has been banned from this site many times, but he sneaks back with a new name after a while. He likes to bait members with thread titles like this one and worse. His other favourite bait is to use titles like "Why did God create autism?" or threads about Hitler and eugenics. Basically anything to get the membership stirred up. If the mods catch his threads early we tend to lock or remove them as appropriate; however as this one had lots of posts by the time we spotted him we've let the thread continue.

It depends on what you mean by "cure". I don't think it's even possible to completely change the neurology a fully grown adult, really. I would be afraid of negative side effects.

But lets say that the magical unicorn from the moon came down and offered a magical cure, I don't know about that either. Then unicorns scare the s**t outta me.

Yes, but I have been in the position of being suicidal and then not being suicidal. Suicide is what I think, just as "I don't want a cure" is what I think. Just as not being suicidal now is what I think. On the other hand, thinking of one subject, then associating to another and another and another, say a dozen or more during a conversation, saying one of the things that comes to mind and is - to me - topical, and seemingly changing the subject is how I think. Or one way I think. I also find depressive thoughts to be egodystonic and anxiety-driven thoughts feel invasive and intrusive, not thoughts that are particular part of my own personality at all - just about as egodystonic as it gets. The shape and texture of my thoughts is something that feels utterly normal to me. My perceptions feel normal, if sometimes uncomfortable. These aren't things that are imposed on me and altering my thoughts and behavior, they are my thoughts and behavior.

I mean, I feel like we're comparing painting the walls in one's house to rearranging the house and replacing everything in the house as well as the house itself with not really exact duplicates. The former is basically how I experienced depression and anxiety and panic attacks lifting when they did. They left me fundamentally unchanged. Learning that I was autistic has done far more to change and shape perceptions of myself than eliminating the depression. It is difficult for me to take something that has been a personal experience for me and lift it into the realm of abstract comparison.



And how does one "cure" autism without changing things about how one's brain works? What about traits associated with autism? I am not trying to be difficult.

Last edited by Verdandi on 07 May 2011, 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

Charlie Sheen seems to be rather... quite insane to me. However, I rathe like what he talks about from 1:00-1:10:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5aSa4tmVNM

At its core, a "cure" is an attempt to make autistics more like "normal" people. I don't support that, nor should anyone that's read Harrison Bergeron (or however it's spelled).

I wouldn't have to say any of this if people would just read my blog. Oi. (edit: Maybe I should've just pasted that entry...)

Well if there was a hypothetical cure, that the side effects were inconsequential and this cure was affordable- I say no.

What I wish is that I was in a nice, structured environment that made best use of my skills. That would make me feel fulfilled ( I would think).

Just the idea of losing some of my thought ability. Being worried about what other people think and not caring at the same time. Thinking a party is like really important. Knowing how to manage time better. Being able to get a girlfriend. Feeling nothing about (small) lies. Enjoying small talk.

Some things might be good, some my current self wouldn't like. None of it I can really comprehend. I don't mind going to movies but the "hanging out" afterwards pains me. How do people do that? I have to be doing something but I enjoy doing things. Being idle pains me. If there was a cure then I can only think that it would have to change my values, with that then am I really the same person? Maybe the new me might be happy but it's not like I am really unhappy at the moment, discontent maybe. Changing who you are though, that is a massive thing to do.

This is why I think a cure is silly. The biggest crime for Aspies and autistics in general is not being given an environment to let them be productive.

I don't mind the idea of treatments that make some things easier. I mean, I am undergoing just such a treatment right now (medication for ADHD).