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PunkyKat
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08 Mar 2010, 8:35 pm

Imagine the not so distant future. Genetists have discovered the gene that causes autism, AS, PDD and all other forms of the spectrum and can "cure" it through a combination of gene therapy, stem cell treatment and radical brain surgery. Obama's heathcare reform became offical decades ago, the goverment tells you what treatments and therapies you can and can't have and even forces them onto people if they deem it necassary. If you refuse the treatment, they have you arrested, commited and make you take it anyway. What would you do in a situation like this? Would you go into hiding, would you go rouge and fight the power or would you commit sucide or take the cure? I think taking the cure would be the same as sucide. I assume guns would be illegal but people would manage to obtain them awayway. My parents made sure I knew basic gun saftey and how to shoot one as young as twelve. If someone tried to have me commited, I'd open fire. Eventuly they'd learn to leave me alone or murder me.



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08 Mar 2010, 8:58 pm

If I had an autistic kid I'd make sure they got the cure. Then I'd fight the power, they would have to hunt me down like a dog.



Eggman
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08 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm

Well as its not a diesses there is no cure, didn't Hitler try that to people that had the disease of not being white?


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Moog
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08 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm

I might try it first, see how fun it is. It might be nice to be able to get laid for a change.

The only way to effect a cure that I can imagine, is some kind of nanobot swarm injected into the head that can then rebuild your neural pathways or whatever into a pretty, NT compliant pattern. If that's the case, then I'm sure you could get a black market version that does the opposite.

Maybe in the future everyone will experience being both NT and AS for a period, maybe sticking with the one they like, or oscillating between the two states for a laugh.



Danielismyname
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08 Mar 2010, 9:13 pm

I'd take it, then join the same machine that's forcing it on people.

Everyone knows the government gives out the best weapons.



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08 Mar 2010, 9:16 pm

I'd take a cure because I wan't to be cured. Having Asperger's sucks. But in all honesty I don't see there ever being a cure, so I don't know why autistics worry about it so much. If autism is genetic, then theoretically to cure autism you would have to remove or put the offending genes into submission, which at present cannot be done and probably will not be able to be done for decades. I have no doubt one day mankind will be able to manipulate the genone, but that is years off into the future and brings about a whole different debate than is much larger than autism.



makuranososhi
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08 Mar 2010, 9:44 pm

PunkyKat wrote:
Imagine the not so distant future. Genetists have discovered the gene that causes autism, AS, PDD and all other forms of the spectrum and can "cure" it through a combination of gene therapy, stem cell treatment and radical brain surgery. Obama's heathcare reform became offical decades ago, the goverment tells you what treatments and therapies you can and can't have and even forces them onto people if they deem it necassary. If you refuse the treatment, they have you arrested, commited and make you take it anyway. What would you do in a situation like this? Would you go into hiding, would you go rouge and fight the power or would you commit sucide or take the cure? I think taking the cure would be the same as sucide. I assume guns would be illegal but people would manage to obtain them awayway. My parents made sure I knew basic gun saftey and how to shoot one as young as twelve. If someone tried to have me commited, I'd open fire. Eventuly they'd learn to leave me alone or murder me.


The concept is extreme; the implication that "Obama's healthcare reform" within just makes it a political statement in my opinion, and loses validity as a question. Nowhere in that plan or anything related does the government mandate what services you receive; it may restrict some options, but again - nowhere whatsoever does it give blanket authority to order treatment for individuals not in committed treatment facilities. But in an effort to humor the question - I just continue as I am. I would not submit to a cure, nor would I raise arms against others unless they were a threat to others themselves. The whole thing smacks of the "Pro-Life" argument about abortion clinics, to be honest.


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pensieve
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08 Mar 2010, 9:46 pm

There no way I'm committing suicide over being cured. I'd probably fight the power for arresting and committing autistics in the first place.
I'm not really pro-cure or anti-cure but I would sure fight the government for discrimination against people with autism or any other 'difference'.


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Francis
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08 Mar 2010, 9:55 pm

I don't do hypotheticals. I have trouble enough in the real world.



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08 Mar 2010, 11:52 pm

What I would do would depend on various things such as whether it was a stage in my life when I hated myself or accepted myself for who I am. It would also depend on the side effects of the treatment (there are side effects for everything!). Most likely I would accept the cure because I would rather do that than be arrested and committed, then having to have the cure anyway. Suicide wouldn't be an option, especially if at that time I wanted to be more typical.


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uisart
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09 Mar 2010, 12:03 am

Once, I had an idea:

I wondered what if I could choose between have more social skills but lose my way of think. Definitely I can't be my self if I can't think like I do.

And the best I have is my way.

Yes, I spend lots of energy trying to understand what I must do to fit or not be abnormal on certain situation. But I do not want to be another of them.



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09 Mar 2010, 12:11 am

Well, the healthcare reform can only go into effect in states that don't nullify it. State law trumps federal law, and there have been plenty of states talking about nullification of the healthcare reform. With 50 states I'd imagine at least one will. I'd just move to one that nullified it if I wanted to avoid any conflict.


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09 Mar 2010, 12:16 am

I'd run for the mountains, as fast as I can. I refuse to be cured.


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09 Mar 2010, 12:21 am

I would hate to see our society WITHOUT what aspies have contributed. How many computer scientists who have made great strides are suspected to be on the spectrum? Many. Many great thinkers, artists, innovates, scientists, authors, etc. are suspected to be on the spectrum. Without autistic/aspie individuals, our world would be in the dark ages still.

While NTs can drive me insane, I have learned to respect neurodiversity. I know the world would be no where without both NTs and aspies, and every other classification as well.

That said, I would avoid a cure. Yes, I have problems. Yes, I wish I could find a copy of the social skills manual everyone else seems to have been born with. But who I am and how I think I would never want to change.



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09 Mar 2010, 12:28 am

I would have to make a decision between running, and turning the situation into tactical warfare. "Over my dead body" would take on literal meaning after I liquidate all of my investments and life savings, spend it on small and medium weapons, and hole myself up somewhere difficult to reach.



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09 Mar 2010, 12:55 am

Well, I've always wanted to see what it would be like to be part of an underground resistance.


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