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What would a cure for autism be if one existed?

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Monkeybuttorama
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27 Jun 2012, 10:18 pm

Jitro wrote:
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A cure won't change you. It will cure your problems like social skills.
But those "problems" are so fundamental to who you are that to cure them would be to change your identity. If a human being is like a building, then autism is like an element of the building's foundation. You cannot change the shape of the foundation without causing the rest of the building to crumble.

What about blindness and being in a wheelchair. Are those so fundamental to who someone is that to cure them would be to changes someone's identity?


Curing or "fixing" blindness and physical handicap are not the same thing as changing major aspects of your personality, however yes, it likely would change their identity, in that they can now perform actions they had no ability to do before.

People with ASD CAN perform the same actions as NTs, just differently and/or with more effort.

[Edit to fix quotation]


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Last edited by Monkeybuttorama on 27 Jun 2012, 10:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

MakaylaTheAspie
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27 Jun 2012, 10:19 pm

Green89tom wrote:
I have a life, i am going to school and looking for job.


And the rest of us don't?

[/sarcasm]


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Monkeybuttorama
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27 Jun 2012, 10:24 pm

MakaylaTheAspie wrote:
Green89tom wrote:
I have a life, i am going to school and looking for job.


And the rest of us don't?

[/sarcasm]


Sh*t, I don't! All I have is a relationship, friendships, a year of decent grades into a college degree, and a good work history including military service, my own apartment, car, pets and responsibility.. That's clearly not "having a life"

"Having a life" must be sitting around online trying to convince people with the same problems you have that they are broken...

[/sarcasm]



MakaylaTheAspie
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27 Jun 2012, 10:29 pm

Monkeybuttorama wrote:
MakaylaTheAspie wrote:
Green89tom wrote:
I have a life, i am going to school and looking for job.


And the rest of us don't?

[/sarcasm]


Sh*t, I don't! All I have is a relationship, friendships, a year of decent grades into a college degree, and a good work history including military service, my own apartment, car, pets and responsibility.. That's clearly not "having a life"

"Having a life" must be sitting around online trying to convince people with the same problems you have that they are broken...

[/sarcasm]


*high five*


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Green89tom
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27 Jun 2012, 10:31 pm

Shut the hell up.



MakaylaTheAspie
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27 Jun 2012, 10:33 pm

Green89tom wrote:
Shut the hell up.


You need to realize that it takes more than a weak attack to shut someone up.


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Monkeybuttorama
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27 Jun 2012, 10:34 pm

Green89tom wrote:
Shut the hell up.


Why? because we are right? Can't handle the truth that not everyone hates themselves, even though you want them to?



Green89tom
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27 Jun 2012, 10:40 pm

You must not be an aspie.



MakaylaTheAspie
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27 Jun 2012, 10:43 pm

Green89tom wrote:
You must not be an aspie.


So if we don't try to set someone who's clearly and stubbornly mislead straight, we are? Sorry, I don't think so.


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Monkeybuttorama
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27 Jun 2012, 10:45 pm

Green89tom wrote:
You must not be an aspie.


I was thinking the exact same thing about you...... Thing is, I'm not here to offend people, so I kept my mouth shut...

Speaks volumes, doesn't it?



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28 Jun 2012, 12:03 am

A cure? Well that depends on where you are on the spectrum. To me it would involve educating the public at large about autistic spectrum disorders and the public then actually giving a damn about what they have learned.

As for something not in fantasy land, I would say the cure most of us need is the ability to read social situations well as well as the ability to get motivated to deal with our organizational difficulties better. Then again, that may well be me trying to put my own spin on it from the perspective of my own dysfunctions.


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28 Jun 2012, 2:14 am

It would be total brainwashing and mind control. an autistic would have to accept that the only viewpoint is the neurotypical viewpoint. The autistic would lose his soul.



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28 Jun 2012, 7:27 am

Jitro wrote:
Quote:
A cure won't change you. It will cure your problems like social skills.
Quote:
But those "problems" are so fundamental to who you are that to cure them would be to change your identity. If a human being is like a building, then autism is like an element of the building's foundation. You cannot change the shape of the foundation without causing the rest of the building to crumble.


What about blindness or being in a wheelchair? Are those so fundamental to who someone is that to cure them would be to changes someone's identity?
Actually, they can be. I've talked to a few people who are blind or in a wheelchair who have told me exactly that: "I wouldn't be who I am without this disability. If there were a cure, I wouldn't want it." But considering that you likely don't have that particular disability, and neither do I, shouldn't we let the people who actually do, have their own opinions about how their disability and their identity interact, instead of just assuming they must absolutely want a cure because their disabilities are primarily physical? I'd be willing to bet that, just like for people with autism, their opinions run the gamut from "I'd do anything for a cure" to "I'd die rather than change who I was."

I'd recommend you do some research into disability identity and disability pride--you might be surprised at the parallels between it and, for example, black pride or feminist identity.


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28 Jun 2012, 8:40 am

Quote:
What about blindness or being in a wheelchair? Are those so fundamental to who someone is that to cure them would be to changes someone's identity?


My friend with CP says yes, at least for the wheelchair example. If you cured her CP, she's not sure she'd be the same person.



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28 Jun 2012, 8:44 am

Probably a pill that causes cancer, ED, blood clots, heart disease, renal failure, SJS, and a vast litany of other horrid side-effects.



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28 Jun 2012, 3:46 pm

Cure is a touchy subject.

Personally, I'd love a cure. I don't feel Aspergers is something that is all consuming and that it is something that I am, but rather I see it as something I have. If a cure comes around, I don't believe it'll change who I am but rather enhance a certain side of me. Nothing is taken away. Others feel differently, obviously, and I'm not going to argue with that.

If there is a cure, it'll probably be a pill. I'm very interested in Aditi Shankardass's (that's a link to TED) work, which suggests there might be a condition that mimics Autism. It presents itself as hidden seizures within the brain. To "cure" this condition would be to take anti-seizure pills or go on a Keto diet.