Who is against a cure for Aspergers?

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I absolutely don't agree that females try harder to cope. I just think society pressures them more. And I think in instances where they do try to cope, it all ends up coming down like a pack of cards at some point. My daughter is HFA and although young, has shown no desire to conform to anything. My other daughter who is awaiting her ASC assessment, although clearly Asperger's in behaviour is different in a few ways to her sister, less severe in some ways but actually has less empathy, which I know will bring her big problems in conforming socially in her life. In both of them, I can see a sort of cluelessness about themselves being different and why. I have never had a desire to change myself either, I have just struggled along trying to copy others (never really successfully) until it got to the point that I can't do it any more. What I would say is, that superficial masking skills may be more observable in females, but that doesn't equate to what's going on mentally.

There is no option for what I would select in your poll. If I did accept a cure it would have to be with provisos:

1) that it wouldn't change my personality, it would just address the anxiety, lack of understanding social cues and people's intentions, sensory issues, vestibular & proprioceptive issues, lack of understanding jokes etc.
2) that it wouldn't make me become the type of NT that I can't bear (which at the moment is most of them)
3) that it wouldn't interfere with the skills I have

Are any of you who are against a cure getting government aid, such as housing vouxcher , or SSI? If so, shame on you, do you want to be a drain on society, don't you want to be a productive member of society?

Last edited by DVCal on 31 Jan 2013, 2:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

I dream of being a productive member of socket!

A so called cure would mean no more ME. As for the 1st question so far more males are for as opposed to females.

I personally don't care if I'm a drain on society. If that's what I have to do in order to eat and not be homeless I refuse to have any shame in it. I'm not willing to die because of pride or wanting to avoid shame.

Getting a "cure" is no guarantee that I wouldn't be a drain on society. I don't even know what a cure would do to me or how it would change me. I doubt it would transform me into an extrovert who loves working with people or someone happy to slave away at a minimum wage job the rest of their life in order to just barely pay their bills and eat.

At the moment the only government aid I get is Medicaid. I got it because I needed it to get treatment for caner.

I once read a novel about this topic: The Speed of Dark

"In the near future, disease will be a condition of the past. Most genetic defects will be removed at birth; the remaining during infancy. Unfortunately, there will be a generation left behind. For members of that missed generation, small advances will be made. Through various programs, they will be taught to get along in the world despite their differences. They will be made active and contributing members of society. But they will never be normal.

Lou Arrendale is a member of that lost generation, born at the wrong time to reap the awards of medical science. Part of a small group of high-functioning autistic adults, he has a steady job with a pharmaceutical company, a car, friends, and a passion for fencing. Aside from his annual visits to his counselor, he lives a low-key, independent life. He has learned to shake hands and make eye contact. He has taught himself to use “please” and “thank you” and other conventions of conversation because he knows it makes others comfortable. He does his best to be as normal as possible and not to draw attention to himself.

But then his quiet life comes under attack. It starts with an experimental treatment that will reverse the effects of autism in adults. With this treatment Lou would think and act and be just like everyone else. But if he was suddenly free of autism, would he still be himself? Would he still love the same classical music–with its complications and resolutions? Would he still see the same colors and patterns in the world–shades and hues that others cannot see? Most importantly, would he still love Marjory, a woman who may never be able to reciprocate his feelings? Would it be easier for her to return the love of a “normal”?

There are intense pressures coming from the world around him–including an angry supervisor who wants to cut costs by sacrificing the supports necessary to employ autistic workers. Perhaps even more disturbing are the barrage of questions within himself. For Lou must decide if he should submit to a surgery that might completely change the way he views the world . . . and the very essence of who he is.

Thoughtful, provocative, poignant, unforgettable, The Speed of Dark is a gripping exploration into the mind of an autistic person as he struggles with profound questions of humanity and matters of the heart."

Last edited by Raziel on 31 Jan 2013, 6:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

good luck with that. See I can be nice sometimes.

I'm a skeptic - I don't believe a "cure" exists

Actually, there is research that proves such people do indeed exist - Hannah Poling is an example. Long before this whole controversy about MMR and autism, it was known that there were a few children who could not handle immunization, for a variety of reasons. Except for a few cases who are not diagnosed early enough, most of these kids are already exempt from immunization.

However, there is no research indicating that more than a tiny percentage of autistics have any problems with immunization. So changing the immunization schedule will do nothing to prevent the vast majority of autistic kids.

For an analogy - untreated phenylketonuria also causes autism. If a child with PKU is diagnosed at birth and put on a special diet, their likelihood of being autistic drops from almost guaranteed to slightly higher than the general population.

Does that mean we should put every kid on a low phenylalanine diet to prevent autism? No. Most kids, a low phenylalanine diet would do more harm than good (it's hard to get enough protein on that diet), and the vast majority of autistic kids have no issues with phenylalanine whatsoever. (Even if you counted all those kids who would have been autistic had they not gotten a low phenylalanine diet, they'd make up only a very small proportion of autistic kids.)

The solution for kids like Hannah Poling is better diagnosis of their rare disorders, so they can get the unique care they need. For the vast majority of kids, removing immunizations or giving them more slowly would do no benefit, and would increase the risk of serious infectious diseases.

And immunization isn't an individual thing, either. If you aren't immunized, that puts everyone who is in contact with you and not immune to the disease at risk. This includes children too young to have been vaccinated, people with medical conditions and contraindict vaccination, and the 5-10% of vaccinated people who do not get full immunity or whose immunity has faded over time. It's not like a low phenylalanine diet in that way, because your diet only affects you, while your immunization affects everyone.

I agree.
I wonder why people never talk about a cure for people with LFA.
The only ones that are against a cure for autism are people with Asperger's and HFA. I've never heard about someone with MFA or LFA against a cure for autism. Maybe someone should ask them before saying "no, autistic people don't need a cure".

I am missing the answer: "I dont care, as long as noone is forced to be cured." (Which means children had the chance to choose on their own, when they are 18.)

I think we don't need to be cured. Not a disease, just a difference.

A cure for autism wouldn't make you an extrovert.
If you're an introvert, you'll remain an introvert, with or without autism. But autism is not the same as introversion.
I think a cure for autism would probably make autistic people able to get social cues, non-verbal language, etc.
Also, I think it would eliminate oversensority issues.
I also think it would help with self-help skills, that is probably what I would need more, because I've had self-help skills delay, therefore my self-help skills aren't appropriate for my age.
Maybe it would help with motor coordniation, too.
But I think that, if a cure will ever be found, it should be given to autistics when they're still little children, and in this case, it would be too late for me. This is why I don't really care of curing myself.

Dude, you have AS/HFA. Think about those with LFA, that can neither take care of themselves, or just speak.

Kind of hard to cure something thats genetic and completly rewires your brain.

As I've stated before I'd like to find a cure for the neurologically typical. (oh and I'm an as-female)