Those who want an AS cure

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A few years ago, I would have sympathized with those who wanted a cure for Aspergers. I now feel sad whenever somebody with AS or HFA wishes to be cured and change who they are while eliminating their good traits. I am HFA/Aspie. I love music, I have thoughts of starting a social life, I'm a fun person. I don't need to change my wonderful talents to understand fitting in. I think the key to pursuing social success is finding good reasons behind those traits.

my life woulda been a lot easier/more carefree had there been a dx and cure when I was young.

I think it's important to respect their desires.

I do think that nobody should have to think of themselves as unacceptable, nor should they ever be treated that way. I worry that some autistics have been taught to blame their misfortunes on autism when the real problem is prejudice; by blaming autism, they essentially blame themselves--as though they deserved it and the only way to change it would be to be someone they were not.

It is like thinking, "I am unable to get a well-paid job because I am female. The only way to solve this problem is to somehow become male. Since that isn't possible, my best bet is to pretend to be a man and hide my shameful femininity." If we'd gone by that, then there wouldn't have been a women's rights movement.

Many disabled people have been taught that the way we are treated is natural and understandable because we are defective. We need to challenge that.

If you want a cure, I'm okay with that. I might wonder what makes you so determined to change yourself in such a global way, but it's your brain and your choice. However, if you want a cure because you believe it would make people treat you better, would let you participate in society, would let you be included and respected--then I propose that you should seriously consider whether you want a cure for autism, or simply an end to prejudice and mistreatment.

To each their own, but I want a complete cure for me. I want it in order not to ever have to suffer from extreme anxiety/depression & sensory overload, memory/focus/attention/executive function issues, dyspraxia/motor skills problems, time wasted on various fixations/special interests that doesn't benefit me etc because they're all a major pita and constrain me from truly living my life to it's fullest potential. It sucks being able to think & calculate and know and remember etc but not be able to act and do and achieve. Those are the reasons, among many others, that ideally I'll be able to completely cure myself of all of this mess. Of course it doesn't hurt that it'll make social interactions a whole lot more intuitive, as well as professional/business/financial growth etc. I don't care much about how others act towards me in comparison to all of the internal ways a complete cure would benefit me.

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No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

I would like a cure

I dont feel like my aspergers has given me any special powers

I kind of feel broken sometimes and I wonder what my life would of been like if I was not an aspie

I long have felt stunted.

You know, I've thought about these kinds of questions a lot.

What if I wasn't gay?
What if I wasn't an immigrant?
What if I wasn't autistic?
What if I wasn't mixed race?
What if I wasn't artistic?

I'm (probably) near the end of my journey, and I must say, coming to Seattle was a good idea. I'm so different, I blend in. Not in my immediate neighbourhood which is suburban, but in Seattle in general. There's a song from Boston's last album, Corporate America, I listen to often. It's called "I Had A Good Time." When I think about my life, man, there were peaks and valleys, ups and downs, trials and tribulations, but right now you can say I Had A Good Time.

Nothing will make me happily accept having AS. The only good things about myself are general personality traits of mine what anybody can have, what aren't necessarily linked to having AS at all. All the 5 main AS traits are a bain of my life. And having social phobia on top of it? It just makes it a whole lot worse because it ups my self-awareness, and makes me anxiously analyze things I do and say. Lucky I can read body language and all of that sort of stuff, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do.

My main AS symptoms I have are:-

Upset about change - although I am feeling less alone about this because a lot of NTs I know get upset with certain changes too.
Anxiety issues - I get anxious or upset about things what other people wouldn't, mostly things what others take for granted but I find hard. It doesn't make me a joy to be around and I can't enjoy myself.
Sensory issues - I have practically damaged my ears because I keep covering them (when at home) because of noises that agitate or annoy me. I use earplugs too because I can't read or write anything if I can hear annoying background noise (some background noise is bearable).
Outbursts - having these anger attacks or panic attacks are getting out of hand, and I keep damaging myself during them, as a way of punishing myself for having AS (also so that I don't break objects or hurt other people).
Obsessions - I enjoy having an obsession with bus-drivers....but at the same time I rather not have an obsession like this because it isn't healthy. I wish I could just have casual obsessions like NTs, instead of intense obsessions that are more important to me than work.
Social issues - the worse of all. I suppose it depends on how social issues affect you as an individual on the spectrum. They affect me in stupid annoying ways, like wanting to be popular and able to socialise but knowing I can't because I'm too shy and unconfident and stupid.

Who wouldn't want a cure for any of those?

Life would have been 100x easier had I not been born this way.

But that's the past.

I wouldnever take a cure, why would I? I have lived my life this way, and while there may be struggles, there are also advantages. Plus, I wouldnt want to live a life so different than what I'm used to. I am who I am. Period.

I don't think a complete cure would be good. I also think we must cure part of the neurotypical brain.

I'll probably say it a million times before my time on this forum is over, but...

My good traits and talents are not due to Asperger's. Losing Asperger's would not make me uncreative, unintelligent, or unskilled. Asperger's is not my identity, in fact there are lots of important parts of my identity that I have trouble expressing because of it. Changing a trait does not mean I dislike myself on a fundamental level, it means I see myself as more than what I was born as and seek a life of growth and learning instead of zealously guarding my "pride".

Whatever helps you folks sleep at night, though. The rest of us don't need your pity.