Anyone else feel defective? Bring on the cure!

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I'm sorry you feel that way about AS but I totally agree with Temple Grandin about this, and my answer is No to both questions.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fll676-aTQU[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn_9f5x0f1Q[/youtube]

Do you think NTs don't have issues? everyone has issues, and NT issues are considered just as "abnormal" by psychiatrists.

First of all what may happen when they find the cause(s) is something like Molecular_Biologist mentions, and its not nice:

And if they find an actual cure then we can say goodbye to all future Mozart, Einstein, Tesla, and so many many others ... this is only a few of the most known people who are/were most obviously on the autism spectrum, so many people have ASD characteristics but have never been diagnosed.

As Temple Grandin says, if by some magic autism had been eradicated from earth, then men would still be socializing in front of a wood fire at the entrance of a cave.

If a person has severe and non verbal autism to the point where it makes life very difficult for them, then yes, I wish they would find ways to help them more. But "curing" Autism/Asperger and not be me anymore? all of us here with our different personalities, interests, talents, all gone?? no thank you. Do I have some issues? sure I do, but I'd rather have some issues, and try to make the best of it, then become someone I am not just to fit in.

"Defective" is exactly the word I think to myself when I'm feeling negative and, well, defective. "I'm so defective" - one of the repeated refrains of my life.

Recently, though, I am coming to see the delight in slight defects here and there. Like things made by hand, there is charm in imperfection.

Technically, a pink diamond is defective. A "perfect" diamond is absolutely clear.But pink diamonds are sometimes more desired.

It's all in your point of view.

I don't feel defective, and I don't need a cure. I need acceptance more than anything else, and people need to learn to accept people who are different, no matter what their differences are. I'm sorry that you feel this way. I really am sorry. I hope that you learn to deal with it, soon.

I feel I'm defective and I would gladly take the cure. I've struggled with being an aspie for 25 years of my existence. To me, there's too much bad - mostly from social malfunction than the good from being an aspie. I would LOVE to round up all my aspie interests and characteristics and douse them with gasoline and set the SOB on fire.

I do not think this topic thus far is encompassing enough to really form a final judgement. Here is what I have concluded thus far from this conversation and my experience with online content in context.

1. Negative thoughts are not good. I am a very positive and motivated person. I like large challenges in which the odds are against me. Perhaps others are less motivated and want to feel happy. I don't often get sad.

2. The barriers in the way of what I am really positive about still could have external assistance which might be called cures or treatments. By accepting and understanding the differences they become less of a barrier. So acceptance is kind of like a therapy.

3. Aside from the abortion issue most organization try and help even though they call autism a puzzle but I don't think they mean I am a puzzle. I've seen so much unnecessary conflict that creates hard feelings.

Judgement.

Human rights is a mutual discovery. An individual with autism has the right to treatment even though others might think of that as them accepting they are defective and is insulting to them. An individual has the right to not accept treatment which can be perceived as a cure and no one has the right to enforce that treatment against an individuals will less they are a risk to themselves or others which is typically perceived in the mental health realm of politics. Autism makes it hard for a person to take care of themselves at times when applicable.

I agree that acceptance is the real issue. If people accepted people who were different from the mainstream, the idea of being "defective" would be moot. I felt defective for a long time before I finally decided that the people making me feel that way didn't really matter to my life at all. And Dandelion is right; everyone has problems with something, even the ones you think appear to be perfect. You just have to play to your strengths.

*starts the slow applause*

There are things about Temple Grandins speech I could say but I am going to keep it to myself until I think about it allot more. She is what I call a moderate in autism politics and that is what I am. Whereas one extreme is pride to the extreme and the other is extreme cure. Some people claim there is an aspie perspective and it seems unless you think that way your not an aspie. So having HFA even I do not really want to be an aspie because I can think for myself thank you.

I'm happy the way that I am.

Yeah. I would be afraid that I would become worse from the curse. Besides, it takes a few years of testing to work out all the bugs/allergic reactions/imbalances and such. I am happy with how I am at this point in my life. I like my personality, my boyfriend and friends do too so why would I want to "cure" that? :/

Man, what you guys are saying is like having a broken leg and not wanting it fixed because it'd change who you are.

NTs aren't these all-conforming sheep, they can be just as diverse and eccentric as autistics, but without the extra difficulties.

Yeah, NTs have their problems of course, but ASPIES HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS IN ADDITION TO THE EXTRA STUFF. NTs also seem to 'get' life, they seem to not think about how pointless and dull everything is and just do it, and enjoy it. I can't even describe how I feel most of the time (general sense of uncomfortableness) so I can't even get help.

As for aborting austics, I think this is great, I wish that had happened with me. I don't reckon einstein/tesla were aspies either.

What you need to realize is that autism is not you - it's an impairment. Without it you'd have the same personality but would be able to process information faster and basically do everything better. That's kinda just my opinion though since we haven't actually seen what happens when you cure autism.

I'd fix a broken leg. Wheelchairs and crutches are no bueno.

Yes but then we would have to re-adapt to life all over again with a new brain, it would create a similar effect that culture shock does. Just because someone is NT doesn't make them any better than us. Most of the people I know that are worse off than me are NTs. Autism is only an impairment if you view it to be one. You can learn to adapt instead of blaming everything on your AS. It's a lot more productive. Hell, I've been able to adapt well enough that most people think I'm just an eccentric NT. :/

Yea, and look how well aspies are helping the world, especially at Microsoft and Toyota...

Its not the same at all, a broken leg doesn't change anything to your personality, other then possibly a temporary bad mood because you can't do your usual activities.


I would be really curious to see the test results if eccentric people, assumed to be NTs, took the scientific tests here and would go through analysis by a psychiatrist, I would not be surprised if they all have a certain degree of autism too, or some psychologic issue that would be considered "abnormal" by a psychiatrist. But the world wouldn't be the same without eccentric people, it would be dull and boring.

And you consider your issues due to AS as being "extra difficulties", but how would you know if NTs don't have extra difficulties that you don't have and/or don't know about? Just because you can't see them doesn't mean there isn't any. There is the psychologic issues of course, that you may not be aware of. But also so many other health issues, you may have yours and other Aspies or NTs may have theirs, but it doesn't add up the way you said, it doesn't work like "you have asperger and a broken leg and your neighbor only has a broken leg". Lets say for example that you have a coordination issue, well your NT neighbor may not have this specific issue but he may very well have some other issues that you know or don't know about, either psychological or physical.

As the saying goes "grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence".


I couldn't disagree more about this statement. Some NTs do and some don't, same goes for Aspies (and anyone on the spectrum).




I'm very sorry you think that way about yourself. And no there is no proof that they were, and would be difficult to prove since they are dead, however if you read about them you will notice there is many details in their personality that indicate they were on the spectrum, either Aspies or other. This for example "although Einstein had early speech difficulties, he was a top student in elementary school", he is also known to have been absent-minded, and if you read about him you will see that he had many Aspie traits, and was certainly on the spectrum, either Aspie or other. And don't get me started about Mozart, what an extraordinary man he was, he also had many AS traits.



I totally disagree with most of what you said here. No autism by itself is not you, no more then neurotypicality by itself is you, and yes there is some issues that may be considered impairment, however your personality is the sum of everything that is you, and your AS or NT traits are also part of "you".

I will use myself to give you examples of how autism may not be "me" as you said, but it is definitely a part of me. I have always been good at drawing, and am generally an artist (I also love music, and arts in general), and this is "out of nowhere", without any lessons. When someone tells me a story I can imagine the whole scene in my head, and this also means that when I read a book it is very "movie like" to me because I can imagine everything in images. I have always understood animals (dogs and cats especially) well, again this is "out of nowhere", its just natural for me, most the cats and dogs I've "owned", are actually the ones who "adopted" me lol (for example one day I am walking my dog, and another dog tagged along, I never found the original owner and kept the dog). These are just a few sides of "me", of my personality. I am fairly certain that all 3 examples I gave you are related to the autist side of me. And there is many others. Without these I wouldn't be the person that I am. Yes sure I have issues that are less positive, my tendancy to space out for example, my coordination issues, and others ... but I would rather keep those if curing autism means losing all the other sides of me that I like and that are indeed a big part of my personality. I would prefer if they find ways to fix specific issues instead of curing autism as a whole.

Temple Grandin could tell you something about genetics too, about how when you modify something that was negative it often modifies something else that was positive and that you didn't want to change.

And I may feel discouraged sometimes, but I am glad my mother didn't get an abortion, first because despite my issues I am happy to be alive, but also because in my case that would probably mean that my sister and brother wouldn't exist either. Maybe watch "A wonderful life", it really makes you think, and realise that we influence the life of others often without knowing.

I don't know what your strengths and weaknesses are, but I know that if we are focused on the things we don't like we may not see the good things, and realise about them years later. Some things my parents did for me for example, my dad who was buying me the books that I liked (without me asking for them), at the time I didn't realise at all, it is only years later that I realised how well my dad knew me and probably understood me. Like in your "broken leg" example, it is usually only when you do break one that you realise how nice it is to be able to walk.

And honestly the more I know about autism the more I think everyone is more or less on the spectrum with some having very few AS traits and some having many, and some having more or less traits on the NT spectrum.

One thing for sure, Temple Grandin is on the spectrum, and the world would miss out if she didn't exist, and some animals would suffer a lot more.