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    #1

    Cure for autism: would you?

    Hi everyone, this is something that I have been thinking about recently and I just wanted to gauge others' opinions on it. If a cure for autism was invented, and you or someone you knew had any kind of autistic spectrum disorder, would you use it/let them use it?

    I ask because I have Asperger's Syndrome and I honestly don't think I would. Yes, it has caused me a huge amount of problems and it has made normal daily things, such as going to the shops, a real trial, but it is a fundamental part of my personality. I wouldn't be who I am without it. I wouldn't have my routines or my little quirks and interests. I know I am different, but I kind of like it that way.

    I can't speak for those who are severely autistic, and possibly their lives would be improved but even then there is a debate as it would not be their choice and is it really right to rewrite someone's personality without their consent?

    This is a complicated question but any other input would be very much appreciated.
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    #2
    Re: Cure for autism: would you?

    It's hard to make a judgement about that without having the experience first.

    I know that I do think differently than a lot of people and it's a big source of conflict in my life. I feel like life is a constant battle. but that being said, I don't know if I'd change it either, because I feel that any chance I have for big success in life will also stem from this quality.

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      #3
      Re: Cure for autism: would you?

      To the dude who can function somewhat, they maybe he has the coherent choice to say no. To the kid starting into space unable to reach out to his parents? Give him a shot at it. Every kid deserves to purposely alienate their parents at 15. Give him the choice to do it!
      Satan is my spirit animal

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        #4
        Re: Cure for autism: would you?

        Medusa said pretty much what I was going to say. For the highly functioning, it should be their choice. For the ones who are unable to function, they should definitely have it.
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          #5
          Re: Cure for autism: would you?

          I think the question is more about the personal choice, and I think if you're able to choose, that's up to you. If not, it's not something that should be done.

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            #6
            Re: Cure for autism: would you?

            Originally posted by DanieMarie View Post
            I think the question is more about the personal choice, and I think if you're able to choose, that's up to you. If not, it's not something that should be done.
            Except..the whole purpose of the cure is so that they are able to choose. It's like saying we have a cure for blindness..only if you can read the directions. If I could read the directions I wouldn't need the cure!
            Satan is my spirit animal

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              #7
              Re: Cure for autism: would you?

              Originally posted by Medusa View Post
              To the dude who can function somewhat, they maybe he has the coherent choice to say no. To the kid starting into space unable to reach out to his parents? Give him a shot at it. Every kid deserves to purposely alienate their parents at 15. Give him the choice to do it!

              This.

              If you're capable of functioning as a relatively independent adult in society then it's your call. If not then, I'd prefer that you're able to interact well enough to bitch at me for forcing the cure on you then that you're incapable of functioning without extreme amounts of support. I prefer not to keep people in a dependent state if a viable option exists for them to have greater independence.
              life itself was a lightsaber in his hands; even in the face of treachery and death and hopes gone cold, he burned like a candle in the darkness. Like a star shining in the black eternity of space.

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              "But those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare sword of the law, or the white burning of the sun." Suddenly his voice sounded to Will very strong, and very Welsh. "At the very heart, that is. Other things, like humanity, and mercy, and charity, that most good men hold more precious than all else, they do not come first for the Light. Oh, sometimes they are there; often, indeed. But in the very long run the concern of you people is with the absolute good, ahead of all else..."

              John Rowlands, The Grey King by Susan Cooper

              "You come from the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve", said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth; be content."

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                #8
                Re: Cure for autism: would you?

                I think the question is about curing generally, not autism specifically. If there was a cure for my health problems, I would probably jump at it. As it is, the situation is controlled only by taking medication that has it's own brand of hell in tow. But it's my choice. I do have the option.

                If I were unable to make the choice for whatever reason, then we're down to the business of acting in someone's best interests. That's always a tricky one. But then, so is life generally.

                The main thing is to always see the human face and story behind any illness/disability.
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                  #9
                  Re: Cure for autism: would you?

                  Oh man I would LOVE to cure my allergies (if we're talking about curing in general). I'd still not eat peanuts, soy or other legumes or anything that lists them as an ingredient because it just weirds me out too much, but it would be nice to go to any restaurant and not have to worry that my food -touched- a peanut (helllloooo Thai and Indian food!)

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                    #10
                    Re: Cure for autism: would you?

                    I think one big difference with things like the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum (vs. something like an allergy) is that every now and then it comes with a serious gift, just like many issues dealing with the brain.

                    It's a common argument in the arts that some of the greatest poets, painter, and composers the world has ever known were able to see the world the way they did precisely because they had what today we would diagnose as an issue with their brain or even a mental illness.

                    I'm trying to find the source right now, but I read a news article recently about a young man put on anti-psychotic medication who's paintings were never the same again.

                    So then, the question is, is it better for this young man to have had his gift, or to potentially live a better, longer, happier life?

                    For most people, the question will never be that extreme. The tragedy for me would be if there were unintended side-affects to a cure that the patient was not prepared for.
                    Great Grandmother's Kitchen

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                      #11
                      Re: Cure for autism: would you?

                      Now I don't have autism. But I do have a personality altering mental illness. When my Bi Polar was going un-checked in any form...it was my most proficient years of writing. I wrote so much poetry. It would come to me almost instantly in whole forms as I would be driving or what not. I remember having to tape my thoughts on my cell phone to catch the intense poems fully formed. I used to worry about getting better. I actually dreaded it. The thought of having to face who I was without depression? What if I was nothing? What if I was...ordinary?

                      I can't write the way I used to. But I now remember why. Now that I am out of the painful haze of severe crippling depression. I can see how painful it was to be in those moments of creativity. Because I can see now I wasn't writing the poems as much as feeling every word as I wrote it. I purposely no longer write when I am depressed. Because I found the horrible truth that I was feeding my depression eve more. A vicious cycle of eating my own words to fuel my own emotions which fed more words...

                      I am not the woman I was in my severe depression. And when I start to feel that twinge of crippling depression come back on me..I do not welcome it any longer. I like being happy. And that...that was the hardest thing to learn.
                      Satan is my spirit animal

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                        #12
                        Re: Cure for autism: would you?

                        Thank you for saying that, Medusa...it's one thing for me to talk about that trade-off in theory, but you speak from experience. I don't have words to express my respect for that.
                        Great Grandmother's Kitchen

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                          #13
                          Re: Cure for autism: would you?

                          Originally posted by Dez View Post
                          Thank you for saying that, Medusa...it's one thing for me to talk about that trade-off in theory, but you speak from experience. I don't have words to express my respect for that.
                          Awe thanks. In between my trolling posts I sometimes come up with something nifty to say.
                          Satan is my spirit animal

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