Are you offended by, "A Cure for Autism"?

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When ever I see people wearing shirts or buttons that say that they want a "cure" for Autism, I get a little upset, and feel bad about myself.

I mean, they are saying they want to "cure me", like am some sort of a disease, a fungal infection, or tumor on society. That doesn't make me feel very good about myself as a worth while human being.

I do understand people with Autism being so Autistic that they cannot function in this world at all. But I think those people are the exception, not the rule of Autism. For those people, and their families, I do have great empathy because of the challenges and difficulties life gives them and do wish for treatments for them so they or their children can be successful and independent, happy, people.

However, I think seeing these shirts with "Cure Autism Now" has got to be how African Americans would feel if people that wanted to end mistreatment of African Americans came out wearing T-Shirts that said, "Race to Cure Black Skin". That may be a solution to their preception of the problem, but I think it would be a faulty way of approaching the problem of discrimination.

I firmly believe that MOST problems faced by Autistic people can be solved simply by providing counseling, education, and addition social service support to us, and raising awareness of the general public of how we are different from their socialized world.

What do you think?

I am bothered for two different reasons. First, my whole family is on the spectrum and my HFA son is wonderful the way he is. We just need a culture that accepts the differences. We would be much richer for it.

The other reason is that I have a profoundly autistic daughter. If there was a cure and it would make her into an NT, I'd have to let it happen because there aren't good services for her and I'm scared for her future. But I'm still so offended by cure talk about when my daughter was little, it seemed that most of the parents were refusing to accept that their needy kids needed parenting, not some determined martyr, ignoring their real needs while they put all their money and preparation for the future into a cure fantasy.

So the kids grow up without ever being accepted and they're left with agencies who are barely able to handle the load. Obsessing about a cure is not how parents should show love to their kids. They're being selfish.

Not really. They just don't understand.

I'll let Magneto do the talking...

I don't let it get to me.

If one was possible, I'd say different. But it's just what we are...

Well, if they research autism, they'll find the genetic roots. And if they find the genetic roots, they'll detect autism in fetuses. And if they detect autism in fetuses, and the attitude that it is a "disease" is prominent, well, that encourages selective abortion.
Something similar happened to Down's Syndrome.

It depends on what they want to cure. If it's intolerance at being different and they want to cure all the positive things about me also, then yes I'm offended. But if they want to cure the negative things only by treating common causes of the negative autistic symptoms such as mercury poisoning, Mycoplasma fermentans, HHV-6a, intestinal dysbiosis, hypercoagulation, etc. then I don't have any problems. NTs have these same problems also so I don't see why treating autistics for the same things bothers anyone even though treating them makes people less autistic.

One example. I took probiotics to treat a condition that's not part of autism and the probiotics made me less autistic. Hundreds of other people have the same response. Even the gfcf diet is used to treat other conditions such as CFS and a similar specific carbohydrate diet treat other neurological conditions. There's no reason us autistics should suffer from treatable causes of our symptoms.

not as much as "special", but it's up there.

I was going to mention X Men 3, but ToadofSteel beat me

Well just like in the movie, there were some that lined up to be cured. Not everyone liked being a mutant. Some wanted to stay that way. It should have been a choice in the film, and it should be a choice for autism too.

Not everyone loves being autie/aspie. I know a 17 year old Autie Tony who lives in a home because he can't speak, just flap his hands and repeat words. A cure for him could give him a life, the chance to leave that group home and work, maybe get married...have a life other than rocking back and forth. Then there's Sasha, who was 5 when I knew him and now about 10. He was violent to the point that he will kill somebody one day without some kind of intervention.

Not all Aspies want to stay that way either. Yes we have some gifts, but on the other hand I'm tired of not being able to connect with people. I appear normal to anyone who knows me, yet I have no close friends and never been in a relationship. I've struggled with jobs because it's hard to get along with co-workers.

That said, I do want to see the general public change their attitude and accept auties and aspies. To not just see it as a disease to be cured and fixed. But if there is a cure it has to be available for the severe cases who will never have a life without it.

if the cure means removing the negative things and keeping the postive no.
if it means wiping me away like a mistake then yes.

if there is ever a cure then it should not become madatory.

We should have T-shirts made that say Cure for Neurotypicalisim.