If there were a legit cure for autism, would you take it?

Post Reply New Topic

I voted "No".

Why? Because despite all of the drawback, many if not most caused simply because of being different and misunderstood, if I were to "cure" myself, I'd simply become one of the great big flock of people who mostly seem to think alike and are actually afraid to think differently.

The more I understand the world and the people in it (or on it, depends on how you look at it ), the more I learn about the benefits of autism and the better I become at using these differences to my advantage.

One such advantage is also one of autism's biggest drawbacks: Because you think in a different way, people won't be able to correctly understand how you think and what your next move will be and to make things even easier is that, due to the nature of NT people being addicted to what the rest of their group thinks of them and fearing ending up alone, I can think in ways that are impossible to do for NT people. I'm a free thinker, free of fear of being retaliated against simply because I don't want to conform to the rest.
That's right. Most people simply are strange, it's just a shame there isn't a manual online explaining how NT people think. Knowing things such as this would've made my life vastly easier. Things aren't always as complicated as they at first may appear, sometimes it's believing that "it just can't be this simple" which is the harder part and it gets easier once that hill has been climbed.

Sure theres lots of loneliness, but this also comes with lots of qualitytime alone, even if theres people around you. They don't know who you are, for me it sometimes feels like walking in a zoo. And I simply don't care that much about having to connect to people all the time, the thought that connecting is optional is what matters more to me.

And I now also know theres people like me in this world, which makes it even more fabulous.

I'm not there yet, but I'm already on my way.

Personally, no. I would not take a cure for Autism. Even with all of the "negative" aspects of it, a lot of who I am is defined by me being on the Autistic Spectrum. I can memorize movies, TV Shows, YouTube videos, and books with little effort and I feel like it's because of my diagnosis that I have such a strong level of creativity, particularly as a writer. I really hate organizations like Autism Speaks who try to demonize Autism and treat it like it's some kind of disease. I actually see myself kind of feeling similar to many of the mutants in the X-Men movies who people completely vilify, especially in The Last Stand when there was the cure for mutations. I know that a lot of people view the whole mutant and mutant rights issue found in the X-Men stories as being a parallel to homosexuals (and there's nothing wrong with that), but I also feel like it could just as easily be a parallel to those on the Autistic Spectrum. There's nothing to be cured and, at the end of the day, I would never want to give up this huge part of who I am.

"That's right. Most people simply are strange, it's just a shame there isn't a manual online explaining how NT people think. Knowing things such as this would've made my life vastly easier. "

Let's write one.

No, I wouldn't take it for the simple reason that I really don't feel like trying to squeeze myself into society's narrow image of how people are supposed to be. I am me, and I won't change.

Absolutely no way. I understand why some people think that a "cure" could help them. It does seem logical to conclude that a number of problems could potentially be resolved by making oneself more accepted by neurotypicals, or that personal issues would disappear along with ASD. But I don't think that this is true. NTs can be just as anxious about the things we're anxious about. NTs can be rejected by other NTs, often because they're considered to be "different" for some other reason. Aspies and NTs are just two different brain types, there's nothing inherently wrong with either.

On another note, I do consider the idea of a "cure" for autism very offensive. As an Aspie, the entire way I see the world and relate to other people is filtered through the metaphorical "lense" of ASD. To erase my ASD would be to erase my experience of the world. Searching for a cure is in and of itself offensive (in my opinion) as it implies that we are a problem to solve. It puts the onus on us to adapt to society (with no real benefit) instead of on society to adapt to us (which could have huge benefits).

I honestly don't know. I was almost about to vote "Yes" because of the attraction of being free of sensory issues and social exhaustion issues.

But then I realized I have no idea how many of my favorable traits might possibly be part of my autism also. I can't know for sure if my sensitivity and ability to notice things in an "artist's eye" way, and to make art from that (music, lyrics, poetry, writings, photographs, drawings etc) is actually a function of the way my brain has its autism. I can't be sure if I would be the same creative person without the autism playing a part in the things that fuel the creativity.

Not that people without autism can't be creative -- of course there are plenty of artists and musicians who are neurotypical, to be sure. But for me, my kind of expression and output might be due to my non-neurotypical brain.

So I got scared thinking I might be doing away with that stuff if I were to opt for a cure. I'm thinking now, I might have to pass even if there were one tomorrow.

I guess my autism just doesn't mean nearly as much to me as most of the people here. For me, it's a nuisance of a disability at best. No upside and no part of me that I'd care to save, given the chance.

No surprise there. Different folks are going to feel differently about this, and I think that's fine as long as they extend the same courtesy to me.

I voted no, because I'm worried a cure would make me not myself anymore.

Depends on what you mean by "cure"

Something that makes me seem normal so regular folk are not bothered by my quirks like kids of my age group were destroyed by ritalin to make them malleable at school? HELL NO.
Taking something away that just tamed my "symptoms"? nope


If it was something that was a responsive therapy in the way that antibiotics are, then yes. I guess. Though at my age there is not much "normal life" I could recover or net.
I have already learned to adapt so it is pointless for my case. My son on other hand? if it would prevent him from being thrown in institution and his freedoms taken because I have passed on? hell yes

I've actually thought about this question for my whole life. I had no concept of "autism" at all until just a few months ago, but I certainly knew I was different. I would some fantasize about what it would be like to be able to fit in, to go on a date and know if the other person liked me or not, to not be constantly telling people I was fine even though I was screaming on the inside.

But I felt then and now that I these are inextricable parts of me. Every action I've taken has been shaped by this.

I guess to me, the question sounds similar to, "If you could take a pill and grow a second set of arms, would you do it?" It certainly has some interesting potential. But would I become even clumsier? Would it be even harder to get comfortable enough to sleep?

I get the sense that a lot of younger people on WP have a very firm of idea of what autism is and how it affects them, but that is totally lacking for me. I don't have any conception of my mind divided up into autistic and non-autistic components.

Well, our minds probably aren't divided like that. I found it was never worth my time to try and figure out.

What i think a lot of people here lose sight of (and what follows is largely opinion and personal belief) is that autism doesn't have to make them who they are. Experiences are huge in that and not to be discounted. Autism creates certain conditions that cause certain experiences to be more likely as we develop, but thinking those things are autism is confusing cause and effect.

I firmly believe that if a person could be cured of autism, the core of their personality, their values, beliefs and identity would not change much or at all. Those are already established, and would just be seen through a new lens. It's how you interact with these things and the world around you that would be likely to change.

Before I learned what autism was, I actually barely had my concept of my identity. All I had was a relentless drive to fit in.

In 2009, I went to a college friend's wedding. This was just after everyone had signed up for Facebook. I was blown away by how everyone knew what was happening in each other's lives. When I got home after the wedding, I finally signed up and added a bunch of friends.

Then I went to post something. I looked down the list of friends...and literally could not think of anything I could say that would be appropriate for everybody on the list. I had no core identity. I only had any concept of how to act by reflecting what I thought others wanted me to do.

I tried for a year or so. I would stare at that status update bar, that said something like, "Tell your friends how you're doing! ", and just get so depressed, because I had nothing to say. Eventually I just gave up and started telling people I didn't use Facebook because I didn't like being tracked by advertisers.

It wasn't until I learned what autism was, about 4 months ago, that I finally started to think in terms of a core identity. You may well be right that it was there all along, but I spent decades trying and failing to find it.

Your comment is actually hitting on something that I've been struggling to wrap my head around, black0441! I didn't put the pieces together until I read it.

Our identities are heavily based on interactions with others. Since a lot of autistic people have less social interaction while they're forming it makes sense that discovering it would make it a key component. You've really got me thinking on this now and I like it. Thanks!

On another note... how do you feel now that you know about it?

I'm still sorting that out

I've seen some of your other posts, and I recognize a lot of myself as a younger man in what you say. I think a lot of what you are grappling with are just human issues, that everyone has to go through in their own way.
The book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" didn't become a bestseller because it was marketed at the autistic community. Everyone struggles to be the best version of themselves.

There are some things I know though:

I've stopped the constant, internal running critique of my social behavior. For as far back as I can remember, I have been studying my own behavior and the people around, trying to match them. I'd probably spend an hour reflecting for every 5 minutes of talking.

I don't try to fake emotions any more just to fit in. If I look happy, it's because I'm happy, not because I've calculated that an appearance of happiness is the most socially acceptable appearance.

I've decided to direct most of my energy towards interactions with people that are in my life, rather than trying to looking NT in one-off interactions. So if I'm buying some stuff in a store, I don't do small talk or make eye contact. I look at the ground and give minimal answers instead, to save my energy for the people I care about. Not to the point of rudeness, but I am allowing myself to be perceived as odd, so that normal daily interactions no longer feel so exhausting.

I am trying not to be ashamed of my interests or the way I can pick them up, obsessively focus on them, and then drop them.

I am trying to decide what I want in life now, instead of trying to figure out what is the normal thing to want.

I am trying to act in my own best interests instead of only reacting to my current circumstances.

Instead of feeling like a horrible social failure, I now feel pretty good about my social abilities. It turns out, I'm WAY better at this stuff than I had ever given myself credit for. Even though it was disconcerting when people were telling me, "You can't be autistic because ...", I do feel pride that I was so good, certainly better than I ever realized.

Tbh im surprised about how many would want to keep having autism here, you dont see that with other disorders..

But yeah a cure would be great, its not like the autism is doing anything positive for me anyway

That's because it's not a disorder. My problems do not stem from autism, at least mostly, and those are counterbalanced by other things. They stem from how neurotypicals react to autistics, and expect us to live in their world without compromise.

In a better environment I think I could be a really good Aspie, instead of a failed neurotypical. That's not about something that's wrong with me, but about something that's wrong with them!