Who is against a cure for Aspergers?

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I'm just curious if my hypothesis holds true that opposition to the possibility of Aspergers cure/treatment is primarily a male phenomenon, based on studies which show that females with HFA/Aspergers try harder to cope and, as a whole, develop better coping strategies for "fitting in" with NT expectations than do males who had the same level of functionality as children. My theory is that high-functioning autistic women, as a whole, have a greater desire to change themselves than do autistic men, as a whole, and so would be more likely to fall into the "curebie" category.

I'm separating out transsexuals from their identified gender just because they have had experience living as another gender and so may have adopted attitudes from that gender, thus throwing off the results.

Disclosure: I am an HFA male who is strongly in favor of a cure -- and of making an effort to fit into NT society generally.

Last edited by Tyri0n on 30 Jan 2013, 1:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.

That is an interesting question. Could you possibly point me to any good studies?

I don't know, I'll have to see how I feel about it when and if they actually create one.

This is the study which shows that HFA females make more of an effort to conform to NT society and are, as a whole, more successful at it when compared with autistic males who had a similar or higher level of functioning as children. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Ad ... ne.0020835.

EDIT: the link doesn't work when I paste it, so go to Google/Bing and search for "A Behavioral Comparison of Male and Female Adults with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Conditions" in quotes, and it should show up.

Last edited by Tyri0n on 30 Jan 2013, 1:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

My ASD it totally not my mainproblem anymore.
I was trained extremly well and mostly successfull as a child (still have some quriks).
So, being able to communicate on a "normal level" now, it wouldn't make a lot of sence to me to want a cure because of my differences that come from ASD that are left. Officially my social understanding is now in the normal range.

So in my case "no", but because of this reasons and that's a very personal desicion and a lot of ppl on the spectrum are having a lot more trouble than I do.

Also with my dyslexia that I had as a child and my tics it wouldn't make that much sence.

But with Bipolar I would like that cure any minute.
That's actually my mainproblem

So for me there is no "right" or "wrong", but a very personal desicion.

Every day since the Newtown shootings I have been given more and more reasons by the general public (mainly their general treatment of Asperger and Autistic people in response to the incident) to NOT want a cure. They want to cure us just so we could be ignorant bigot morons towards autistic people like they are? No thanks.

Edit note: I am female, btw

Last edited by raisedbyignorance on 30 Jan 2013, 1:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

If science makes us able to change our neurology I'm all for it, but I'm not going to improve my social skills. Identical memory here I come! Reading a book in 15 minutes, oh yeah!

I agree with Sweetleaf's sage reply. It would all depend on the specifics of what we would become after being "cured". For example, I'd love to have normal social skills, but if I were offered the chance to become statistically normal in every way--like Joe Bowers in the movie "Idiocracy"--I would decline. For me, AS does have distinct advantages, though there is plenty I dislike about it as well. As Nietzsche observed: Be careful when casting out demons that you don't cast out the very best thing that's in you.

I am opposed to any cure that is forced on people, but that's just because I am not a fascist. I would like a cure for myself. I would give up decades of my life to live the rest of my days without Aspergers.

Hopefully the link listed below works.

Behavioural Comparison Study

For my own self, I can't imagine life as a normal person, that is, the wife, the kids, the house in the suburbs with the dog and cat, the mortgage and 401K plans, etc. I've had years and years of perfecting my oddity, so to speak. The bits I'd get rid of would be the depression but I don't think that has anything to do with Asperger's. I still don't do holiday parties, get togethers or other social functions but I guess I'm used to those.

I would actually predict the opposite pattern - that wanting a cure would be more of a male thing.

See, my Mom is a feminist and anti-racist, and she taught me from a young age not to blindly accept societal prejudices. I grew up on stories of girls who fought back against sexism.

So when I started being the target of ableism, even before I knew I was autistic, I knew how to recognize prejudice. I knew my teachers had it wrong - that I was just fine the way I was, and shouldn't have to change for their liking. I drew strength from the knowledge that society could change due to the brave resistance of oppressed people.

I suspect white males have a lot less awareness of discrimination in general than women or people of color do. So when they get targeted by a less acknowledged kind of discrimination, it's harder for them to see past it.

Incidentally, this study shows that disabled women and people of color were a lot less likely to support physician-assisted suicide than white disabled men. That would fit with my theory.

There isn't an option for me in the pool.
There isn't a cure yet, and I will remain neutral about it unless the cure is found. I don't see why I should think about something that doesn't exist yet. I'll decide when the cure will be found (if they will ever find one).

Thank you. I will read it when I have a chance. I find it interesting because my daughter is HFA and she astounds me by how well she learns to mask things. She is 4 years younger than my son, and she seems to have an easier time than he does, and is markedly ahead of where he was at her age.

I agree with your theory.
That's one of the reasons in my opinion why "cure" can always be just a personal choice.

It's Not The Cure. It's Stopping The Vaccines That Do This To US....

One Word. Mercury

Should I even bother quoting all the research that disproves that theory?