Jonathan Mitchell On His Life with Autism in LA Magazine

Post Reply New Topic

"Some autism rights advocates say there’s no need for a cure. An argument for why they’re wrong":
http://www.lamag.com/article.aspx?id=27125

I think the ultimate issue is that those with autism will find themselves without a voice in the issue and then will not be able to make the choice themselves. Either the Neurodiversity side will effectively stop a cure or if a cure is found, the government, to save money, will force it on the entire population.

The real problem though that is being ignored is the quality of life issue. If a person could be accepted in society for the way they are, think, act, etc within reasonable guidelines (we should not accept the actions of a convicted murder), then their life would be better and they would not want a cure. However, it is no more our choice to deny the person interviewed in the article a cure than it should be choice of someone else that we should be cured.

He's taking "gifts" too extremely, and missing the point of neurodiversity. I'd love to be cured of my issues, but then who would I be? We wouldn't be the same people.

They aren't "wrong" they just have a different opinion than the person in the article. Opinions can be ignorant and sometimes make them without getting enough information, but they aren't "wrong". Also, you can't say "there has to be a cure!" based on one person's experience with autism.

I think that there should be a cure for autism for those who want it, but people should mainly focus on helping autistic people and finding a prenatal test (and for the love of God, can we not debate the ethics of prenatal testing ITT?).

Isn't this the guy that hates autism?

If not, this link leads to a blogger that does.

yuck!

He has every bit as much right to his opinion as everyone here has to theirs. I think it is sad that he has been unable to make peace with his autism and live a life that gives him satisfaction. I would like to think that AS isn't the only reason for that, but I haven't walked in his shoes and so I don't know.

All I can do is my best to give my son a different future. One where he will be able to realize goals and dreams because he knows how to overcome his deficits while making the most of his gifts. That won't just happen; it is a huge challenge to me as a parent, and to the schools, community and family members I partner with.

Do I want a "cure" for Autism probably not because I wouldn't be who I am. Doesn't mean I wouldn't like something like a universal translator so I could understand neurotypicals...

I don't think it's wrong for someone to want a cure, it's up to them. If a cure could take away the negative aspects of autism while preserving the positive, then I don't see what's wrong with that. Although, I think perhaps the positive traits are dependent upon the negative...