Seriously Disabiling Autism

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Should it be cured?

I'm having a...discussion with my father, a very nice man, who happens to think it should be. I lean towards no, but I'm not doing a very good job arguing my side. Help me out?

I'm also tangling with this issue and trying to write a Blog post about it, so any help would be really, really appreciated.

Reading your topic title, I'm not sure if you know about this, but what you probably mean is commonly called profound autism.

Disability is usually used in other contexts and has several very different definition attached to it. It also really should be unrelated to severity of one condition to avoid measuring other (unrelated) conditions by that condition.

Likewise, LFA differs from profound autism though it is commonly confused to mean the same. That's why the most severe form of autism is often called profound autism.

It's somewhat analogues to the degrees of MR.

Profound mental retardation is a term used to describe the lowest IQs possible, as the term severe mental retardation is describing a range of IQs higher than profound.

Just wanted to mention, because a lot of people talk about a group of autistic people of which some can type to varying degrees from little to excellent, talk to varying degrees, communicative with you just fine while some are so far unreachable, do not find a way to express themselves by trying, talking or any other means of communication.. many more differences there.

It's just another gross simplification of severity of course, but with that probably as valid as the difference between hf and mf or lf autism.

This was taken from Baron-Cohen's editorial HERE.

There are other considerations. If a person has sensory issues making life unbearable it would be good to "cure" that.

If I could have gotten a shot or something that would have spared me the social disfunction I think it would have been a good thing.

Yeah, I didn't think of the term then, but I know what you mean, and you're right, it is what I should have said.



Not sure what you mean here?



Okay, cool.



So....if someone is profoundly autistic and the sensory and communicative difficulties greatly impair their day-to-day life...

Would a cure be a good thing?

Profound autism, the way I see it, should be cured. Their sensory and communicative problems (amongst other problems) make it difficult for them to live their daily lives. Most of them end up institutionalized when their parents can no longer take the burden of caring for them.

A cure would be the best thing.

i think anybody with profound autism if not be cured at least helped as much as anybody could possibly could so they can be somewhat high functioning. There is a big difference between profound and severe autism, both though are very disabling. I was more severe as a child, no communication, i never ever noticed ppl, had no interest, spend all my time looking for anything related to the color purple, anything rubbery, anything that involves water, and loved to spin, bounce, and was obsessed with rubber bands or sparkling/shiny strings/ribbons, was violent, only ate one thing, never slept, my behavior was very unpredictable and had tantrums ALL the time... when i look back at my life, i wonder what id be like, would things be as hard, would my father be still be an alcholic, would my family and family friends not be afraid to come over, would i be somewhere today as an adult? i think sometimes if i was a child today, i would be better off with a cure .

Cohen said it.

Most people with an ASD are seriously disabled, whether HFA, LFA, and to a lesser extent AS (but it's there in AS in many cases), so I'm confused at the stipulation that it's Profound Autism.

You sure said it.
I have both those problems and I can't stand it.

If someone wants treatment, why not?

Philosophical discussions revolving around the general question should?, especially in relation to extremely heterogeneous and multifactorial issues such as autism, make little sense to me.

That criterion ("[...] difficult for them to live their daily lives.") doesn't distinguish between those labelled profound and many labelled AS/HFA.

Just to add, most (60%) with HFA tend to end up in institutions/group homes with staff, so it's not just LFA that requires constant care.

I do realize that. I knew that criterion wasn't just exclusive to those with profound autism, I was just explaining why I think those with profound autism should have a cure out.

That gives me a lot of hope as I am HFA. (actually this statistic is depressing, and no hope at all). Considering I have a million other problems (probably due to the autism which I don't have Asperger's...its classic autism since I did have a major delay in language, didn't say much until 7. Now I made up for it as I talk in my sleep!) like the schizoaffective disorder (had first episode all the way back at 13...I think I had some of the symptoms like "delusions" before then, so bizarre that it makes my other "delusions" look like nothing...all I will say is that it has to do with my pet bird...had him for 16 years and had bizarre beliefs about him since then, that would make me get this....10!! !! Its because something happened the day we brought him home that triggered these beliefs. but I wasn't FORMALLY diagnosed with it until 23) , the severe depression (since I was VERY young, I NEVER had a positive outlook unless I was manic), anxiety (had since birth), and the DID from childhood trauma....this probably INCREASES the chance of being institutionalized...then the docs 21 years ago were right (yes, they said I would have to be "put away" when I became an adult) and I have no story. I really WANT a cure for the autism (as long as it doesn't take away my art talent) because all these other problems will go away, making me "sane" again, after all these years. If they created a pill for autism I would take it as long as it didn't cause weight gain! (yes, I am terrified of that side effect because over the past 3 years I have gained 80 pounds on all my pills, luckily not diabetic, but there are some signs that I have sleep apnea, the pills honestly have done more harm than good in me, it only made the so called "psychotic" symptoms go away for a few months, then they came back stronger than before. And there's one pill that made me completely psychotic! And it wasn't even the correct starting dose...I think my pdoc thinks that because of my autism, I am more sensitive to meds, thank God of that because if I was given the correct dose, I WOULD have been institutionalized!) I HATE going to the hospital, even for a week (that is how its been so far, 4 times) its so boring there, you fiddle with your thumbs all day. I can't imagine going in long term. I would probably go more "insane" there! I know from past experience, going to the hospital even for that short period of time (a week) made me hallucinate more. Its probably a combination of the severe stress I had (being suicidal...that's what put me in the hospital all 4 times...first hospitalization was at 13) and the boredom that caused the hallucinations. I know one time there was a tiger in my room with me, that freaked me out...but I knew it couldn't be real because that is impossible! (and I knew hallucinations were a problem).

Firebird,

The other two are (this may just cheer you up):

I'm in the second one, but I cross over into the third when I'm having a bad period. Mild, moderate and severe HFA so to speak in these three, with severe being the most common.

Since AS has come along, number 1 and 2 have a higher statistic compared to 3 if you include it in HFA.

I totally agree with this post.

With the right accommodations, and acceptance by society a profoundly autistic individual can lead a happy life. I don't feel that anyone has the right to judge someone else's quality of happiness. I'm sure there are many people that would think that I need a cure for my various autistic traits, because they could never imagine being so asocial, ect... While there are times that I wish that I could make, and keep friends, and do all of the things that other people do everyday my suffering doesn't arise out of these issues primarily. My suffering arises out of others not understanding these issues, and trying to make me into something that I'm not, and was never born to be.

With that being said, I don't think that there's anything wrong with giving an autistic child therapy that will help them communicate, and learn things the unique way that they need to acquire skills, as long as it's done in a gentle, respectful manner.