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Why cures, when ASD is a highly inheritable condition?

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AmyRose
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15 Nov 2006, 2:48 pm

The last thing I'd ever want to do is cure my Asperger's!



aspiesmom1
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15 Nov 2006, 3:00 pm

While our son had some early interventions for things like speech apraxia and motor skills issues, since his AS wasn't dx'd until he was 10, we were a little late for that kind of intervention - and the more I read the happier I am about that.

I love my son, but I love him as who he is. He had a few hours a week between speech and pt, but lots of time to be a little boy, play with his trains and his matchbox cars. Now that's he's older and we have a firm dx, I've had the opportunity to gently help him with issues that block him from having a happy life, while leaving the core person of who he is intact.

As far as I'm concerned, my son isn't a disease, he doesn't need to be cured. And who knows, someday he may cure someone else of something.


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tortoise
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16 Nov 2006, 12:01 am

Murdal wrote:
While you can't cure a genetic disorder, there is a way that is 100% proven to remove the problems that AS presents to us in our everyday lives. In essence, it is a cure for all the symptoms.

The method used to solve the problems is called Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI). It is the only 100% PROVEN way to fix the symptoms of someone diagnosed with Autism at a young age (The younger this is given to a child the better)....


Please correct my ignorance if I am wrong on this topic.

EIBI doesn't allow an Autistic child to self stim or stay within their own thoughts. There is intense one on one coaxing and training. But this is not a cure. The Autistic child will still show significant impairment. They have not become normalized NTs, they still will have core Autistic difficulties. Instead, they have developed some skill sets that should allow them to adapt much better in society.


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tortoise
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16 Nov 2006, 12:24 am

walk-in-the-rain wrote:
Murdal wrote:

...groups like DAN are certainly out for a "cure". Many do not accept any genetic tendencies towards autism and blame it entirely on mercury poisoning and now environmental toxins in general since the mercury stuff has not panned out in studies like they expected. They also encourage parents to turn their autistic children into lab rats by suggesting highly questionable alternative treatments which they advertsie at their conferences. Thing like saunas may just cost parents lots of money but other things like Lupron and chelation are unproven and dangerous. They also paint pictures of "normal" children stuck in cocoons of autism. Another aspect that this is counterproductive too - besides costs and dangerous therapies - is that some parents spend alot of emotional energy investing in cures instead of helping their child reach their maximum potential. Then when their kids do not improve as greatly as they had expected - and they have spent in some cases thousands of dollars - they become depressed. So this "cure" business (and it IS a business) is nothing to trivialize. And sadly - some in these groups have no problem looking into the ultimate cure - by prenatal testing......

I am not against therapy per se, but when it starts on a foundation of a cure or with being as NT as possible as a goal then that has the potential for long term emotional issues if someone on the spectrum starts acting autistic again.



I agree with everything you said, well put.

If ASD is more heritable then height, then cures are kinda silly. Wouldn't you consider it silly if someone said they were going to cure your shortness? Sure you could eat a lot of red meat which would be an environment cause for changing your height. Still, if your mom and dad are 4 ft tall, statistically you have very little chance of becoming 6 ft tall. We can do things that may change the outcome some what, but you can't cure genetics. At least not to date.


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Murdal
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16 Nov 2006, 1:04 am

tortoise wrote:
Murdal wrote:
While you can't cure a genetic disorder, there is a way that is 100% proven to remove the problems that AS presents to us in our everyday lives. In essence, it is a cure for all the symptoms.

The method used to solve the problems is called Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI). It is the only 100% PROVEN way to fix the symptoms of someone diagnosed with Autism at a young age (The younger this is given to a child the better)....


Please correct my ignorance if I am wrong on this topic.

EIBI doesn't allow an Autistic child to self stim or stay within their own thoughts. There is intense one on one coaxing and training. But this is not a cure. The Autistic child will still show significant impairment. They have not become normalized NTs, they still will have core Autistic difficulties. Instead, they have developed some skill sets that should allow them to adapt much better in society.


You are indeed correct. Though I never said it was a cure for Autism itself. It does give the tools to overcome several symptoms all the same. While EIBI is 100% proven to allow for greater adaptation, there are other types of intervention out there which don't require a child to lose 2 years of their life. My parents liked the extra dimensions I thought in so they made sure the therapists didn't get rid of my unique ways of thinking. While I myself can't cope with NTs 100%, I can at least deal with a lot of things that are thrown my way. Empathy still kicks my butt though and for that all I have is memorized social cues (If someone is crying, try to think of something nice to say to make them stop. If someone is smiling they approve of something which is going on).

While groups that make a living off of "cures" do exist, one can't be paranoid about all of them. There are those which do not look for cures but tools to give.



Fraya
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16 Nov 2006, 5:45 pm

Sounds like a form of brainwashing and torture with the desired result being Stockholm syndrome to me.

Ever consider that if they can understand what your trying to train them to do then they dont need the training?

Give your perfectly heathy child this miracle drug and they will still be perfectly healthy only $499.99 in stores now.

All your doing is traumatizing the child at a young age into thinking its not ok for them to ever be themselves.


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