Why don't most Aspies want a cure?

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This. Whenever I am stuck on some difficult or exhausting task, I try. Then when I see it is not good enough, I try again. Take a deep breath, try again. Repeat. Sounds obvious, but experience tells me that a lot of people never even get to the second "try". It's exhausting in the long run, though. Taking care of yourself is important.

I fit in pretty well these days, and I've only been lonely once in my life. (I think I was having some kind of oxytocin-related withdrawal effect.) I don't think a personality change would help me with those. "Broad autism phenotype" traits actually seem pretty normal among the NTs in the area where I live, so becoming too un-Aspie would probably make me fit in less.

I've got a big list of problems that I really, really want a cure for. (Like if there was a pill that had a 50% chance of causing spontaneous death, a 40% of no effect, and a 10% curing of curing me, I honestly think I'd take that pill.) There's a few more problems that aren't quite that big of a deal but a cure would still be really swell. Many of these problems seem to be very common among people with autism. However, most of them aren't in the DSM-5 autism criteria, none of them are in the DSM-4 autism or Asperger's criteria, and people who try to research cures and treatments for autism aren't looking to solve these problems. They're trying to fix things like repetitive motor movements, relative lack of eye-to-eye gaze, introversion, and overall subjective weirdness, and their criteria for success is how well you can act like a normal person (who is also extroverted) regardless of the cost of that act. If those folks somehow managed to actually change me to their criteria of a healthy person, I'd still be a loser, but I'd be an extroverted loser who burns fewer calories and makes a lot of eye contact. Not really an improvement.

There are some other problems that are widely considered autism-related that I can understand people wanting a cure for (e.g. inability or severe difficulty speaking), and researchers seem like they actually have a productive goal in treating many of those, but having those problems will generally prevent you from getting a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome because you would have been diagnosed with some other form of autism instead.

Speaking of diagnostic criteria, if I remember right, the "clinically significant impairment" requirement wasn't always a requirement. So there might be a significant number of people diagnosed as Asperger's Syndrome who really never were disordered?

Regardless, there's a reason Asperger's Syndrome is considered "high functioning." Even the Aspies who aren't functioning very well in life overall are still functioning pretty well in terms of autism-related problems.

If introverts were to suggest the need to 'cure' extroversion, people would laugh derisively.
Extroverts would say that they don't need to be 'cured', that they are merely different than introverts.

Many Autists view ASD the same way.

Or the other way to look at it is: the broader autsitic phenotype is autism, it's just so light that it doesn't cause "clinically significant impairment".

People don't like it when others force them to be something they aren't

People want to be accepted for who they are and appreciated for being different.



X-men 3 is the perfect movie that sums this up.
The government tries to force all mutants to give up their powers by taking the cure.
Majority of the mutants revolt causing an uprising, because they wanted to be accepted for genetic diversity not legally forced to genetically assimilate.

Or Heroes: Reborn where the U.S. government makes it illegal for anyone to have powers and you must turn yourself in.
This is the plot for the whole season.

We could cure all genetic variances in the human population force everyone to assimilate genetically.
Just think everyone has the same hair color, same eye color, skin color etc....

Once you open that can of worms, you will be unleashing a horrible thing on humanity.

It would be nice to have the some of the worst issues alleviated, but genetic variance should be celebrated not eliminated.

One new theory states that Asperger's and ASDs are result of Neanderthal DNA that exists in most people (except for parts of Africa). It is believed that AS and ASDs were key in the advancement of humanity.

There is no cure for Asperger's. Sure, it's something I could do without, but I've come to accept that it's something I will always have, and it's part of who I am. I'm an Aspie and proud of it.

Yeah, don't think so.
Autistic individuals are neanderthal hybrids?

The only times I ever start feeling down about my autism are when my frustration about my treatment from NTs surface. I don't appreciate being called weird or a dork, or being treated like a cute, small animal or a child, even by my family members. I don't like it when NTs make fun of me for the intensity of my interests, or when they pretend they can't stand the thought of hearing any more about them or say I drive them crazy. I don't like it when my father calls my autistic traits "annoying", especially when he unwittingly portrays a lot of them himself. I don't want to not be autistic; I want to be respected and treated as an equal by the NTs around me.

^^ This. If I was cured and all of a sudden fit in and had plenty of friends, I would know that it was because I matched everyone instead of being accepted despite my mismatch.

Yes, it's hardly new and even the main proponent seems to have given up on the theory.

Believe it or not the brains of Aspies aren't much different from Neurotypicals, if that were the case we'd see a significant difference or act completely different. We all think, talk walk etc.. I know many feel there's nothing to cure because it's the way you are, but how can you be so sure?

I can only speak for myself at this point, I have been Neurotypical at one point in my life. Yes, it's pervasive and developmental and my autism has gotten much worse. The scientist David Sulzer said the condition may soon be treatable.

Whether or not Aspies decide to get treated is their choice, but anything is possible even turning an extrovert into an introvert but who would want that? I was also much more extroverted; I seriously doubt Autism is completely untreatable incurable and completely hopeless like many suggest.

Are you saying you were neurotypical when younger and only developed autism later in life? Because I'm not so sure that's possible. Usually there is an explosion of neuronal connections between the ages of 2-6 which cause the symptoms to become noticeable because of the atypical hyper-connected "superhighways" being "paved" in the brain during that time. At least that it what has been born out by most of the brain-scan-based research thus far. I don't think it's possible to develop the kind of atypical patterns of connection you see in autistic brains spontaneously later in life.

I dont want a cure partly because I see it more as a benefit. Or, more like I dodged a bullet.

I watch the general "society" that NT's (every single one I've ever known) belong to, and.... *shudder* I'm really, REALLY glad I didnt get sucked into that particular beehive.

See, I wouldnt view it as fitting in, at this point: I'd view it as having my mind corrupted. Just.... no. Dont want, wouldnt accept. They can take their dang cure, and shove it. Shove it where? Heck if I know, just... shove it. Somewhere. Just not at me.

I mean, really, if I ever DID start acting like them enough to even begin to "fit in", I'd like to hope that someone I know would have enough presence of mind to start kicking me until the effect wore off.

Seconded. The thought of becoming NT strikes me as very similar to being assimilated by the Borg collective and being stripped of my individuality (quite literally. The Borg all share a hive mind and are linked to a single thought pattern; they are half-robot half-human automotons.)

Misanthropic much?

Also are you implying all "neurotypicals" are mindless, subordinate drones.

Oh dear.

This argument has been resolved since page 2. Thank you though, two people pointing it out shows that my invective had the appropriate amount of bite to it.