Can you “get over” ASD (or other disabilities)?

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I’ve been thinking about how I’ve managed my disabilities and illnesses over the years. I know some illnesses can go into remission, so you effectively don’t have them any more. In terms of my disabilities, I’ve had extensive speech therapy, social skills therapy, and OT over the years and it’s helped a lot, to the point where I can live a normal life. Even before my ASD diagnosis I learned social skills to cope, and though I’ll always be a little clumsy my balance and hand-eye coordination improved with OT to the point where I didn’t need it any more. I’ve heard stories (that frankly don’t sound very credible) about kids diagnosed with full-blown Kanner’s autism who later “beat” autism and had no symptoms of it after several years of extensive therapy. My point is, do you think you can “beat” or “get over” a disability? I think you can’t, even in my case I will always have what I have no matter what, I’ve just improved to the point where it’s not much of a disability any more.

People grow, people gain skills, but it cant change their wiring.

Can a blind person just get over not seeing? Can a deaf person just get over not hearing?

The answer is obviously no. But they can still live normal and decent lives. That is true for autistic people as well.

My social skills have improved to the point where I have friends who I can ask for help in interpreting things I don't understand. Or drive me to where I need to go.

In regards to the specific words "get over" and "beat", the answer is no. ASD and other disabilities are not sicknesses, it can not be "purged" from you.

However, a few things can happen that might make it look that way.
1. As we grow and interact with the world we learn to adapt
2. Various therapies, training, learning of skills, etc have shown successes in 'normalizing' or lessening certain behaviours in some of us
3. Our brains continue to grow, change, and mature into young adulthood, this sometimes means we may grow out of parts of ASD.

I don't consider the way the brain may 'right' itself as it grows to be the same as getting over what was different. The changes it may do are small and not likely to be able to do a complete switch from Neurodiverse to Neurotypical. The basis of our brains it down in the womb, things may alter and change later but the base remains the same.

I have no idea about other disabilities but I can't think of why It'd be any different than ASD

One cannot 'get over' ASD -- as it's a part of wiring.
If the wiring itself leads to whatever you're struggling, it can be worked around and compensate something for. But never 'get over it'.
If the wiring's reaction leads to more struggle, it can be worked around by filthering them off or some work arounds. It can get rid of it with the right environment, right training/therapy, and circumstances, only way to get rid of those issues is really work around it -- some can be outgrown, some adds to this by changes overtime.

And if those struggles leads to some human consequences like low self esteem and anxiety, those issues can be overcome and get rid of as far as I know.


The problem is which issues is which. And it can get more complicated than that.
Which is really ASD's dysfunction? Which is just ASD's reaction leading to dysfunction? And which is human reaction that leads to dysfunctions due to ASD's dysfunctions and it's own reactions that leads to more dysfunctions?
Parts can be get rid of, parts can only get changed of, and parts could never get rid of nor changed.


At the end of the day, one cannot get over 'wiring', no matter how well off one goes -- things that cannot get rid of and cannot be changed.

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You have to explain what you mean by "get over".

A blind person can not usually be "cured",and start being able to see(if that's what you mean by "getting over it").

But a blind person could in theory emotionally "get over" feeling bad about being blind (or even never start feeling inferior in the first place if they happened to have been born with the condition). If that's what you mean.

And some blind folks do find a successful niche in the world (like Stevie Wonder).

Some ASD traits can be gotten over, like if you practice eye-contact and the like. I used to have meltdowns as a kid but I very rarely have them as an adult and they aren't as extreme.

ASD can't be overcome, but it can be managed.

It depends on the disability. ASD no, broken arm yes.

You can learn to compensate with the issues that you have so that you can manage your life more easily but you can't change your neurological makeup that easily.

Right. Not so easily:-)

Neuroplasticity is a new, very optimistic science, but it sees the brain doing work-arounds rather than normal repairs.

I learned about neuroplasticity decades ago first hand. I think it helps to be cross dominant. I also had a partner who used it for a few more years of mobility.

I got over my language impairment so I voted yes. I also got over my hearing impairment too.