Seriously Disabiling Autism

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My brother is autistic. I think he would be much happier if there was a cure. He has the understanding and vocabulary of a 14 month old. He cannot understand a simple sentence such as, "Open the door." You cannot ask him if he would wish to be cured, since he cannot comprehend your question. He is living with my parents and is incapable of living a normal life. He is potty trained, and can feed and dress himself. He does hang the laundry outside for my mother and brings it is when it is dry. He is not capable of doing a lot of other things.

That the severity of a disability is independent from the severity of a condition, because people with similar severity and same/similar conditions can achieve very different things - one can fail at everything while the other functions okay, one can be very happy and one can be miserable despite that both basically have the deficits.



No idea, because I'm not profoundly autistic.

I think I stopped bothering to pretend I have an opinion about this for the sake of appearing intelligent, normal and non-autistic.

Since 'cure' doesn't exist yet, any question that asks for whether a cure is good or bad or reasonable in certain situations is like, what did Einstein say about physics? Like talking about the grin of a cat that isn't quite there? I really can't form an opinion about something like a cure that at the moment is non-existent and undefined and of which I do not know the consequences and exact mechanism.

Besides, in the end I'd still not be other people. I can't say if a cure would be a good or bad thing for anyone.

I'd think that I couldn't even make this decisions for me because naturally as a human, I am caged in myself and my knowledge and awareness is limited and my decision would be subjective and only 'good' as in 'valid'

So if I had a profoundly autistic son/daughter in the end I'd just do what I want to do if they can't hint me at anything. I'd just get along with whatever I felt is better at that moment. Intuition? Spontaneous? Counting-out rhyme?

Every way of making that decision would be as good as the others if it solely resided on my shoulders. Why the need to ponder about the impossible objective good, the objective 'right', when in the end, one subjective viewpoint is what counts?

Rather than asking myself whether a cure is good or bad, I know I am ready to make a decision of which I do not know yet what it looks like for me and for others at the moment that I need to and never feeling regret afterwards no matter the consequences. Because that's what makes the decision good which is what counts in our lives - feeling in tune with every decision in our lives.

I am of the opinion that if we feel guilty, if we regret a decision we made freely, then we'd have failed. That's the worst there is in life - having failed us or another by having made a decision that's 'wrong'.

So I really don't know about whether it's a good thing for profoundly autistic people or not.

If anything I'd think neither, because the question though next to everybody asks it is just plain invalid as it's asking to categorise lives in degrees of 'good' and 'bad'/levels of 'worthiness'/asking to assign humans and their lives absolute values. And I am with Baron-Cohen on this one. There's not such thing as absolutely values.

Yeah...

I guess, my last philosophy teacher made a lasting impression on me.

It's difficult to answer,because not everyone sees the same criteria for what disabling autism would be.
some see low intelligence/severe MLD [multiple learning disabilities] as the decider on what severely/profoundly disabling autism is,others base it on communication and language,others base it on functioning,and others base it on the severity of autism as well as the Autists support needs and complex needs.

A cure should not be automatically forced on those of us on the lower end of the spectrum,anymore than it should be forced on less affected and/or higher functioning Autists,Autists and those who support us [ASDers as a whole] have not spent this long fighting for rights and choice-only to support a heirarchy of worth and respect amongst the spectrum.

Severely disabled Autists should have choice of having or not having a cure [if there ever is one] respected,and those who have not made a choice,should be supported as much or as little as needed by specialists and advocates to be able to make that choice for themselves,and those who do not have the understanding and communication to be able to say what they want,should have tribunals,including their specialists,advocates,family,staff,appointees etc-as many people who know them very well,deciding what is best for them [this already happens so it isn't a new idea].

there is the issue with attaching cure to severity.
By focussing it only on severe,it will possibly end up with those of us who are deemed too high needs and unsuitable for most care homes being forced into a cure if the cost outweighs the care,they're already told to section us by medical staff if we're injuring ourselves,or risking others even though Autism is not a mental illness,someone who has no communicative ability whatsoever but is good with understanding could end up with no right whatsoever and no way to argue it,not good.
who gets the cure [if there ever is one] should not be reserved for one specific group,it should be through choice [no exclusion of any label,severity,or functioning] as well as whether they have tried everything else to support and aid the Autist first,and QoL.

Am pro cure [pro choice,not automatic pro cure] due to own experiences [lf and severely disabled by autism],being brought up around disabled people,and living with disabled adults [autists all over the spectrum,as well as other disabilities] which have all helped towards having a stronger belief in choice.
Would never support the idea of an automatic cure,basing on a label or severity rather than individual experience.