A Cure...?

[Crossbreed]

In various other threads, people seem to be very polarized on this question. Instead of trying to suss out each position indirectly, I created this poll so people could say so directly.

I am not talking about differences in intelligence. A simple distinction would be depression or anxiety.

Do you believe

• That the presence of depression/anxiety makes all autism bad?
• That one may oppose depression/anxiety while still embracing autistic neuro-diversity?
• That autistics should embrace their depression/anxiety as part of the complete package?

 

[Sarah S]

In various other threads, people seem to be very polarized on this question. Instead of trying to suss out each position indirectly, I created this poll so people could say so directly.

I am not talking about differences in intelligence. A simple distinction would be depression or anxiety.

Do you believe that autistics should embrace their depression/anxiety as part of the complete package?

That the presence of depression/anxiety makes all autism bad?

That one may oppose depression/anxiety while embracing autistic neuro-diversity?

As i have said from the get go in here in my case and speeking for my self

ALL my NPD diagnosis have compleatly managed to destroy what ever chance or hope i might had once in to actually having a normal vanilla life and although yes i do have some gifts from all this but i can honestly say i would gladly give them away if someday they were to find a way to cure ALL my diagnosis permanently ,Painless . In the mean time i just accept my faith & receive the few gifts this has given me and try to do what i can of the life that have been given me to deal with & make the best of it with what i have to work with.

I can defenetly respect those in here that feels that this is part of them and if it were to be removed it wouldn't be them anymore but in my case i have NO problems in giving this up because it have given me SO mush pain and suffering and as i said compleatly destroyed any glimpse of chance and hope to ever have a normal life

 

[Isadoorian]

ASD in itself isn't too bad; as seen of this forum, everyone has differing views on how they see their ASD and ASD as a whole. The Co-Morbids however need to be contained. Having one or many of these just adds to the Difficulty of Life w/ ASD for many.

 

[Joshua the Writer]

Autism Spectrum Disorders are neurodiversity, and are caused by genetic factors. It shall not be cured.

However, co-morbid disorders such as depression and anxiety need to be cured. I can say that from personal experience.

During the second semester of 8th grade up into the first three months into the second semester of 9th grade (last school year), I felt depressed. I could not contain it very well. I started cutting myself because I didn't know how to handle all of that emotion I kept inside of my head all of these years. I started with my thighs, then lower torso, and then went to my left wrist. I occasionally considered suicide.

My parents wouldn't let me out of the house and started taking me to a therapist (same therapist as my best friend) to help a bit and started putting me on an anti-depressant (that I had to discontinue since it made me even more depressed) after I did something that I am not comfortable sharing right now and is honestly a long story.

I started getting help when my mom noticed the scars on my wrist one time. She had me go into my room with her and closed the door and asked if I was feeling okay. I admitted that I was feeling depressed then after a few minutes of me stalling. This was at the point I was put off those anti-depressants I mentioned earlier.

I also wasn't officially diagnosed with depression, since I was diagnosed with PDD-NOS in the 2nd grade. They were unsure about diagnosing me with depression because of that. But me, my family, and my therapist did make steps to treat that.

By about sometime in April last year, I can confidently say that I no longer feel depressed, I have been cured of it, and I no longer want to hurt myself in any way. That holds true to this day.

If I embraced feeling depressed and doing that crap, I don't even know if I would alive to post this at 6:12 PM New York Time on January 25, 2019. If I didn't get cured of my depression, I wouldn't have came out to my friend as autistic the other day because I would have committed suicide before I even got the chance to meet him and start conversation with him.

So, no. Don't cure ASD. It does not have a cure, and never will, so don't even try. ASD is neurodiversity. However, we should cure the co-morbid conditions that maybe indirectly or directly caused by Autism that are curable and preventable. If we don't try to treat/prevent/cure the co-morbids such as depression, bi-polar disorder, etc., many of our allies might commit suicide because they have those things.

 

[Pats]

I said other because:
well, depression and anxiety affects nt'S as well and should be treated if the person experiencing it feels the need for treatment. The other co-morbids are also treatable and treated if the person seeks treatment.

I could not imagine being not autistic. It would be educational if someone (that wanted to be 'cured') could go into detail the differences it has made in their thinking, feeling and aspects of their life. So unless we would be able to know what it is really like to be NT instead, how could we say, for certain, that's what we would want or for certain not want. I think many things that happen to us, may be blaming autism and probably not everything is truly due to the autism, but the fact that life throws us oranges sometimes. Not every NT is happy. Not every NT is without bullying or prejudice. Not every mistake we've made is due to autism - Nt's make just as serious mistakes as we do. The only true difference is the way our brain interprets things differently - which leads to meltdowns, distrust issues, insecurities, etc. If we could learn to remember when something is going on that we may be perceiving something as threatening that may not be and try to reason with ourselves, maybe it could help the meltdowns - or is that one of the abilities we lack?
I think this question is more of a 'does the grass look greener on the other side' question. You don't know until you get there and it may or may not be, but usually is not.

 

[Crossbreed]

I said other because:
well, depression and anxiety affects nt'S as well and should be treated if the person experiencing it feels the need for treatment. The other co-morbids are also treatable and treated if the person seeks treatment.

I could not imagine being not autistic...

How is that different from #2?

 

[Pats]

How is that different from #2?

because I also think if someone wants to attempt a 'cure' for the autism they should and #2 sounds like not cure autism, but cure the co-morbids only.

 

[Lysander]

I don't think autism should always be cured, and although the prospect of a cure at this point is probably impossible, if a cure did exist, it could benefit a lot of people. The relief to low-fuctioning individuals, to their families could be huge.

My problem with it is that we barely understand what causes autism, but people have already invested themselves into curing it. I fear that the first "cure" for autism will essentially amount to medical malpractice. What I fear even more is that people with ASD may be coerced to "try out" these early cures long before the treatment is suitable for human consumption.

I'm very uncomfortably in the "a cure should technically be allowed" camp.

With that said, autism being a neurological condition, as a person with mild ASD myself I can't really imagine being "cured" of my own thought process. If someone were to offer me the cure for autism on a silk pillow stuffed with cash I'd throw it back at them.

 

[Crossbreed]

With that said, autism being a neurological condition, as a person with mild ASD myself I can't really imagine being "cured" of my own thought process. If someone were to offer me the cure for autism on a silk pillow stuffed with cash I'd throw it back at them.

Do think that it's okay to fix side conditions like depression, anxiety, learning disability, etc., or do you think such autistics are stuck with those things?

 

[Fino]

I wonder how far the rate of things like depression and anxiety would drop if abuse and neglect were somehow magically eradicated.

Why don't people wish for that instead of Autism being cured? Aren't they equally likely?

 

[Lysander]

Do think that it's okay to fix side conditions like depression, anxiety, learning disability, etc., or do you think such autistics are stuck with those things?

Absolutely I think it's okay. My position is that people should 100% be allowed to seek effective treatments and/or cures. My own distrust and reluctance aside, I say develop the treatments.

The thought that they might be stuck with those conditions is thought provoking, but even if conditions comorbid to autism are more difficult to treat, I think it's worth it to try.

I just don't trust certain people to exercise restraint - human nature is capricious. The excitement that would follow the announcement of an autism cure would be more than enough to make some people irrational.

The motive exists for those who wish to be credited with the breakthrough, parents who fantasize that their lives could be completely changed, ect. The historical context also exists to justify my suspicion - wealthy parents used to bring their errant children into hospitals to be lobotomized and electrocuted, believing through group think that it was a cure when it was not.

I don't want people with ASD seized upon by a horde of greedy hominids in the excitement by those who are over-eager to see a cure where one is honestly very unlikely to actually be.

 

[Crossbreed]

I wonder how far the rate of things like depression and anxiety would drop if abuse and neglect were somehow magically eradicated.

I was thinking more of clinical depression/anxiety. What you have described sounds more like PTSD.

 

[Fino]

When you say "fix" things like anxiety and depression, would saying no only be saying no to an absolute cure and still allow for the current treatment we have, or does saying no mean zero treatment and no cure?

Because zero treatment must be considered by everyone to be a bad idea, right?

 

[Fino]

I was thinking more of clinical depression/anxiety. What you have described sounds more like PTSD.

Abuse can lead to clinical depression/anxiety, likely triggering a predisposition.

But let's be honest, I was thinking of myself and BPD, which is thought by some to be a form of PTSD but is a personality disorder and involves depression and anxiety.

Would we want the genetic marker for it removed so that I can be abused and not develop it, or would we rather remove the abuse?

I think I'm just saying that I think I would prefer prevention over cures, if we had to prioritize one.

Edit: referring to comorbids, not prevention of Autism which doesnt make sense, as far as I know.

 

[Crossbreed]

When you say "fix" things like anxiety and depression, would saying no only be saying no to an absolute cure and still allow for the current treatment we have, or does saying no mean zero treatment and no cure?

Saying "no" in the context of this thread, aligns with the point-of-view that "curing my autistic depression/anxiety" is just as bad as "trying to 'cure' the rest of my autism..."

If an autistic child is born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, saying the FAS is preventable is not the same thing as trying to "cure" autism. There is no cure for FAS, either, but it is preventable.

These are the three views of "cure" that I have seen here,

1. Autism & co-morbid,
2. Autism & co-morbid, and
3. Autism & co-morbid (it is part of me).

When I suggest that ASD2/3s could be healed/prevented [#2], I hear a number of people chanting #3. (And they claim that I am advocating #1.)

 

[Pats]

Saying "no" in the context of this thread, aligns with the point-of-view that "curing my autistic depression/anxiety" is just as bad as "trying to 'cure' the rest of my autism..."

If an autistic child is born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, saying the FAS is preventable is not the same thing as trying to "cure" autism. There is no cure for FAS, either, but it is preventable.

These are the three views of "cure" that I have seen here,

1. Autism & co-morbid,
2. Autism & co-morbid, and
3. Autism & co-morbid (it is part of me).

When I suggest that ASD2/3s could be healed/prevented [#2], I hear a number of people chanting #3. (And they claim that I am advocating #1.)

I didn't take it as you advocating any views, but provoking thought to each person with their views. And I enjoy provoking thought and enjoyed this thread more because of that.
I feel if there is treatment available it should be offered but not forced with anything.

 

[Crossbreed]

I think I'm just saying that I think I would prefer prevention over cures, if we had to prioritize one.

Some of these things can only be fixed by prevention.

 

[Fino]

Saying "no" in the context of this thread, aligns with the point-of-view that "curing my autistic depression/anxiety" is just as bad as "trying to 'cure' the rest of my autism..."

If an autistic child is born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, saying the FAS is preventable is not the same thing as trying to "cure" autism. There is no cure for FAS, either, but it is preventable.

These are the three views of "cure" that I have seen here,

1. Autism & co-morbid,
2. Autism & co-morbid, and
3. Autism & co-morbid (it is part of me).

When I suggest that ASD2/3s could be healed/prevented [#2], I hear a number of people chanting #3. (And they claim that I am advocating #1.)

Ah, "autistic depression/anxiety," so you're referring only to depression/anxiety related to Autism, and depression/anxiety from a clearly different source would not be relevant in this topic, if I understand you correctly now.

Whether I understand or not, I voted to be able to prevent/cure co-morbids. It's not that I necessarily don't think someone with Autism should have the option to be cured, it's just my difficulty understanding the concept of a cure. What is it that would be cured?

It's similar reasoning as to why personality disorders are not considered curable. They're a way of relating to the world, a way of thinking. They're complex machines that can be worked with but to tear down the entire machine would just kill the person, I would imagine.

 

[Catalyst]

I don't just have depression/anxiety... I have Bipolar Disorder Type 1. That being said, if I could cure my bipolar, I would. It's made my life a living hell, put me into debt, and put me at risk for many things like STDs (mania includes risky sexual behavior for me). I'm pleasantly medicated now, though my anxiety is still making it nearly impossible to do things that a lot of people can do like drive more than 20 minutes from home. And of course I can't drive using anxiety medications, because drowsiness is a big side effect of most of them.

 

[Ylva]

Anxiety and depression are not "part of" autism in my view. Anyone would get anxious and depressed from being treated the way we are treated.

If there were cures then who's going to care about our right to not get abused?

Autism is fine. It's neurotypicals that are hell. Sure, "not all neurotypicals", but when their children bully us it's all "oh, that's what children do", so they do consider that behavior natural. Conformity is too much a part of them for them to consider alternatives, and that's a majority. Maybe we should cure them of that instead.