Working to prevent us from being autistic

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I agree, it's impossible to erase it. But the bigger problem is just that - some people are trying to erase Autism by trying certain methods of treatment, which never reach that impossible goal. I think only if an autistic child receives the exact treatment he or she needs, they can start dealing with their autism a lot earlier than other people who have it and don't receive the treatment in the right time.
I wasn't diagnosed until I was about 22, but even if I was diagnosed earlier - in Israel, Asperger is a relatively unknown thing. Even for psychiatrists here in Israel, they never found out I have it for a long time.
Indeed, the system here in Israel is lacking a lot compared to places like Kansas, and the US as a whole in generally.
The therapies you mentioned are especially helpful for people with asperger, since I remember back when in my childhood, I had a lot of speech problems.
Preventing autism is such an impossible mission, but I still dont get why are there still people who think it is possible. Also, even if it was possible, wouldn't it come back to the autistic person, if the treatment stops at a certain point?
I gotta admit I'd have a lot more friends than I have now in real life, if I would have received treatment earlier, but I also realize life in generally isn't always fair.

It is natural for a parent to want their children to have a healthy trauma free life. All NT parents (I would imagine ND also, surely) want a healthy child which is understandable. A parent envisions the suffering that lays in the child's future and a sense of loss and heartbreak is experienced. They are able to imagine all the future milestones' and the child's pain and difficulties every step of the way. They feel their child's suffering as their own. That's why they are devastated, not for the hate of the disability but empathy for the child. Autism is known for its isolation and sensory discomfort, parents want their children to feel at home in the world. That said, most parents I know adapt quickly and find the best way they can to ease their autistic child into life the best way possible after the initial shock. They are well loved by their parents, my autistic friends .

I think eradicating autism or if that can not be done eradicating as much of it as possible is the unwritten agenda. of this research. I am not saying every ABA therapist wants to eradicate autism most probably don’t but it must be remembered that ABA was started by a person who wanted autistics to be indistinguishable from their peers. That may not be talked about openly these days but elements of it remain among researchers people who decide how it is implemented.

"Ableism is in part defined as thinking the disabled are inferior. If you are working to prevent autism you are inherently thinking autistics are inferior"

But autism is a disability for most individuals.

Leaving aside on average shorter life expectancy and on average poorer mental & physical health, most of us with autism are unable to live independently.
If an individual is unable to cope independently as an adult then that is a disability unfortunatly.

Im refering to the majoriy here, we know there are some of us with a high iq and are able to live well etc etc but for most autistics life has some serious roadblocks that NTs just dont have.

We can face that fact or be in denial of it.

Those with disabilities, blind, deaf, autistic are not inferior citizens and deserve the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. Under the law we are all equal value, age, sex and regardless of health issues.

I dont think ive ever heard a blind person saying a child's sight should not be saved because it automatically says blind people are inferior citizens.

Most people do not view physical disabilities as the person fault, mental disabilities are often still viewed that way, the mentally disabled are often viewed as morally inferior. If you are around here for any length of time you are going to read how members have been bullied, called attention seekers, accused of faking it, told they are lazy and if they try harder everything will be all right. Those with physical disabilities get told these things a lot less often. People are not often told stop being lazy, try harder and get out of that wheelchair. LBGQT's are not told these things nearly as often these days. ABA is not the gold standard recommended treatment for "acting black" or having sex with a person of the same gender.

Roadblocks for autistics come from a combination of actual impairments and impairments caused by being a small minority that thinks and acts differently. How many impairments are "disabilities" and how many are the bad luck of being born a small minority is going to vary based on the person and the people and environment that person has to interact with. I think much more autistic impairments are caused by being a small minority than many autistics realize. What the vast majority defines as good and bad, inferior etc is ingrained in most of us. This "internalized ableism" is understandable, most of us have been told or lived in a world where it is assumed a lot of these judgements are true our whole lives, how can we not believe it?


There would probably be a lot less roadblocks sans what I was describing above. Parents are not immune to the harsher view of mental disabilities I described above. These days a lot less parents are devastated when their child comes out as gay than when they find out they are autistic. There are all sorts of serious roadblocks based on how someone is born not everyone gets the degree of angst finding out your child is autistic gets.

What's "ablist" here is the long history of the psychotherapeutic establishment not listening to autistic people's complaints about ABA, specifically.

Autistic rights activists do NOT object to ALL childhood autism therapies. No one objects to physical therapy and occupational therapy, for example.

Also, hardly anyone objects to speech therapy, as long as there are (which too often there aren't, alas) concurrent attempts to teach the child to read and write, type, or point to letters. Many (not all) autistic children have hyperlexia, meaning they can learn to read and write before they begin talking. (Of course their reading comprehension won't be the greatest, but that can come later.) Alas, too many parents assume that all children must learn to talk before they can learn to read and write, thus failing to take advantage of the strengths of some autistic children.

However, many autistic people do object to ABA and feel that they were traumatized by it as children. Hence the anger about the idea of administering it to younger and younger children.

Another Ableist article pushing claptrap to prevent Autism. Experts are still looking for a miracle cure or prevent people being born Autistic.

That's the most stupidest idea I've ever read. I've nearly lost my breakfast reading that article.

How much brain matter did this person have removed???

None. They looked for eye contact and reaction to sounds and if they did not like what they saw they started immediate “treatments”.

I’m having a bad morning so please forgive the plain speak.

Researchers that do these kinds of studies on babies and toddlers are almost always dumb and presumptuous.

1) Kids who live with an autistic person pick up autistic mannerisms. It’s natural. It’s like if you have people from two different cultures living together-they will start using each other’s words and gestures without thinking about it.

2) You can’t ask a baby or toddler why they are doing a thing. For example, my five year son avoids eye contact with pretty women until he knows them very well, and then he still does it if he gets a little crush on them. To rule it out as autism, you’d have to get a parade of all kinds of different looking and acting people to interact with the kid, and even then the kid may have eye contact issues for any number of reasons. AND, even if you get to the point where you can ask them, you can’t be sure what’s going on because the person could misunderstand, lie, etc. Studies like this have to be done on a large scale (with more than a hundred people) and then get replicated, to be taken seriously at all.

The reason I think these studies are notable is ASPoMs title here- the powers that be are showing that they are still hard at working trying to eradicate autistic people. Hm. Good to know that your differences and obvious contributions to society are not valued by these geniuses.

I think that the referenced article might have meant well , but it was still worded horribly . It might have been referring to the idea that growing up around a sibling on the spectrum can tend to have an impact upon their own personal development , in some respects , but it came across as implying that autism can be brought about by environmental nurture , rather than is the product of congenital nature . This sort of notion is not unique though . For instance , it is thought that children of a parent with a mental illness are more likely to exhibit emotional disturbances of their own . https://www.healthyplace.com/parenting/parents-with-mental-illness/impact-of-parents-mental-illness-on-children , https://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/1092211/mentally-ill-parent/ P.S. And for the record , my sister grew up around me , yet I don't think that she's altogether autistic as a result . But I do suppose that it might be helpful for siblings of those of us on the autistic spectrum to have interactions with neurotypical friends , rather than just with the likes of those such as myself . Still it feels devastatingly lonely when a sibling goes out with friends , and you might tend to not have many if any companionship apart from her .

When your son had ABA therapy, what were its exact goals?

Back in the bad old days at least, the goal was to make autistic kids "indistinguishable from their peers," e.g. by getting them to make eye contact just like an NT, and by "extinguishing" stimming and other autistic behaviors. These goals caused an awful lot of stress for many of the kids. What were the behavioral goals for your son?

Another criticism of ABA is that too much focus on rewards-based training may have the unintended side-effect of making kids afraid to reveal what they enjoy, lest the things they enjoy be held hostage as rewards.

I just now came across a Spectrum News article about a study showing that this or a similar method (I'm not sure if it's the exact same method) isn't working. See Test of ‘preemptive’ autism therapy detects few benefits by Nicholette Zeliadt, 5 August 2019.

Hi guys

Here is a South Bend, Indiana TV report that is typical of the mentality we have been discussing.

Spotting autism early: The importance of early childhood diagnosis
Bolding mine for emphasis

Warning RED FLAG, RED FLAG babies playing alone and learning about themselves and their surroundings is so alarming(sarcasm).