If there was a cure for autism...

[Vermilion]

After reading many online articles/blogs etc and more books than I can count the subject has cropped up. Providing there were no risks, if there was a cure for autism would I take the tablets/have surgery/whatever?

Personally I think I would. I feel that being autistic has made living a fulfilling life as I want to live it impossible. It has messed up relationships, jobs and so many more things that I don't wish to post here. If I could cure this and no longer have to deal with this crap, I would do it.

On the other side of the debate are those who view autism almost as a gift or at least an integral part of their identity that they love having. This is baffling to me because being autistic is, at least for me, exhausting, confusing, frustrating, distressing and can be downright frightening when having sensory overload/meltdowns etc and knowing that there's no cure makes me feel truly hopeless at times.

I'm not sure why I'm posting this really, it's just something that's been on my mind lately. I figured that maybe someone here can understand a little since there seems to be quite a few people here with autism diagnoses. I suppose this is little more than a rant that I just needed to type out I guess.

[Gerard]

'Cure' leaves a bad taste in the mouth, imo. I associate it with propaganda from Autism Speaks et al. And there's an argument that certain things may not have been achieved/invented, etc, without people with AS/ASD.

I do get what you mean, though. AS is a monster.

[Vermilion]

I'd say that the real question is whether the person is happy or not. I'm not saying the autism is always a bad thing, I feel that the AS propaganda is bordering on eugenics which is an appalling notion and potentially harmful. I personally have had a truly awful time with my ASD but everyone is different of course and some are perfectly content with things. For me though, I would like the autism part of my brain to f*** off and if someone could just cut that part of my brain away then I'd probably do so. ASD is the worst type of monster; one that is everywhere you go, manipulates thoughts, wreaks havoc in life and it will always be there and all we can do is learn to coexist with it and that is just horrible to me.

[icicle]

I wish there was a cure for how badly some neurotypicals treat people with Autism; they can be so rejecting and criticising when people with Autism don't behave how neurotypicals expect people to. People need to be more tolerant of difference. There's a lot of bullying out there.

[Vermilion]

Yes, that would be very helpful too. There's intolerance throughout society in general be it towards autism, down syndrome, disabilities etc, not to mention things like race, sexualities etc and if we could somehow eradicate these things the world would indeed be a better place for all.

That said, I also can't blame society for everything that's wrong in my life; I cannot blame it for my social skills for example nor could I blame it for my lack of understanding of the world in general. If most people enjoy music being played then I shouldn't expect it to be turned off for my sake, others may enjoy sparkly flashing lights at Xmas and shouldn't turn it off for my sake. In this sense life would be better without autism for me. Should the rest of society be expected to work around the minority? I've often been told that no, it shouldn't be, that I should just come to terms with the way society is.

Of course, I'm having a really difficult time lately (as posted in the full member room) so perhaps my thinking is skewed on this subject right now but I am really struggling to see anything that makes me happy to be on the spectrum. Thinking about it, in some ways it's harder on the 'high functioning'/Asperger's part of the spectrum because it's not severe and therefore we should be able to get on with it(or so others believe) and many (I have family members with this view) believe that it isn't a disorder at all.

As things stand I really do feel like I don't belong on this planet and if there was something that could change that I wouldn't turn it down.

[Tucan]

It is hard being on the spectrum. But being different isn't necessarily bad. I have met some really understanding and caring people through being on the spectrum. Knowing what it is is helpful to me, and helps me to understand why I am different and how to come to terms with it. I hate the way I will always be on the edge of social circles but one to one I am not too bad. I also have bipolar and that really effects me. There are happy people out there with Asperger's. There are also unhappy people out there, people with autism are more likely to have a mental health problem than the general population. That bit sucks. Sorry if my rambling doesn't make sense. I think it is an interesting topic/debate.

[icicle]

It could be classed as a difference rather than a disorder, I suppose, but it sure makes life difficult in neurotypical society. Hopefully society will become more tolerant and accepting. I certainly won't allow anyone to judge me according to how well I can act like neurotypicals expect people to be- I have no interest in putting my efforts into that. I use noise cancelling headphones to block out other people's annoying noise, either using pink noise or my own choice of music. Interests can make us happy, whereas neurotypicals rely on other people to make them happy. Some neurotypical friends have said that they enjoy my company because they can be themselves around me.

[Lorien]

Really interesting topic...
If I was offered a cure for bipolar I wouldn't need to think, I'd take it even if there were some problems with it. Autism though for me would be the opposite. I don't think you could offer me anything that would make me want to take it away.

I spent a lot of my life up until my diagnosis at 27 trying to suppress, hide, mask and change things that other people didn't do. It made me very unhappy, added to the other problems I had and made it impossible to just be myself. Pretty much as soon as I understood that it was likely that I had autism, I started to experiment with allowing myself to just be who I am. I'd had a few close calls suicide wise by that point and my self harm was escalating to the point where I needed surgery under general to fix it. But exploring the diagnosis changed that. I think I can be OK now, because I don't need to be anyone else. I don't need to please anyone else and like icicle seems to be saying - I do what I need to manage situations that are hard my way. Mostly that has been in direct opposition to advice from professionals, but they give advice that isn't designed for neurodiversity. So I do what works for me.

I also work in an environment where different strengths and strategies are valued so I am able to be fulfilled and challenged there. I am not expected to be a different person and I don't expect them to bend over backwards for me. But both sides have a preference for the social model of disability. It also helps massively that the service I work for is a service for children and young people who have disabilities - many of them are autistic.

[Vermilion]

Well, perhaps if I can learn to accept my difficulties and try to be who I am rather than who I think I should be, maybe I can have some semblance of a half decent life. I have a set idea in my head of what I should be and it's so far from what I really am that I find myself wishing for a cure.
Part of my problem is that i often wonder if I'm even autistic but all professionals agree with the diagnosis so I must be. I still have a lot of work to even understand a lot of it never mind somehow function in life.. The late diagnosis hasn't helped either because I've had my whole life so far of people telling me that I just need to get on with things like everyone else.
It's certainly frustrating that a lot of professional advice doesn't take ASD into account, it's difficult sometimes to tweak it. I'm finding that a lot of the mindfulness doesn't take sensory issues in to account (as just on example) and I have to change a lot of it to suit me.
So what would the positive part/s of autism be? Or is it more about simply accepting that it's a part of you? I'm really struggling to see anything positive about it and I suppose that I feel like I'm changing everything about myself which is likely why I feel like I'm on the wrong planet..

Apologies for rambling but I'm finding things very confusing.

[Tucan]

I think the acceptance of it and knowing it isn't something you can change helps. Knowing things are not your fault. Don't get me wrong it does suck but I have seen an improvement of the way I treat myself since the diagnosis.