Why is autism such a bad thing?

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Autism ruins lives, destroys families, etc.

If you really can't understand why people think that autism is a "bad thing", you don't know what autism is. Yes, I'm sure you can rattle off DSM criteria...but you don't know what autism is.

Nothing good comes out of Autism, unless you're clever and ambitious and able to focus on what you want to do for the rest of your life, ie your special interest.

I've gone back and forth and back and forth and back and forth on responding to this...

First of all, the poster who wrote the antagonizing post was clearly overly harsh and inconsiderate. AS is as much "real" autism as any other form of autism is.

That said, I run into a good many people with AS who profess that they are just "differently wired" and "not disabled." So, they say, "AUTISM ISN'T A DISABILITY!" This is where I take issue with their ideas. You see, if you run around spreading the word that people with autism don't have a disability, you're really screwing it up for some of us. I need staff, and my staff is through the state. I need transportation through the state to get to medical appointments, as I don't drive or take the bus. I need medical insurance through the state in order to stay both alive and out of the hospital. I can't take care of myself, manage my finances or balance my checkbook, I don't know what medicine to take when I'm sick. I don't know how to clean or cook without direction from someone, step by step.

I say all this because how can you say I'm not disabled by my autism? And don't even get me started on things like people saying "But in a predominately autistic society..." Yeah. Who would take care of me?!

So for me, that's the portion of the poster's ideas that I understand. I think we all need to be more careful about speaking only for ourselves and the language we use.

I also can't stand when people say autism isn't a disability or AS. It's great they feel that way about themselves and have found ways to adapt or accept who they are despite their struggles. But they are lying to themselves. It be like me saying I don't have a disability just because I feel that way about myself. But I know I have a disability so I say I do. It be like a dyslexic person saying dyslexia isn't a disability just because they are living normal lives and gotten a college degree and can read fine and not do spelling errors or poor grammar because they had learned despite the fact they still read slower than others and still see words out of place and still get them turned around. Heck even a blind person can say they blindness isn't a disability just because they are living fine and are happy with themselves and don't care about the fact they can't see.

Not everyone with autism is disabled just like people with other disabilities aren't disabled, not all of them I mean. Even some people in wheelchairs feel that way too about themselves.

Sometimes I do feel disabled because of limitations I face in life or will.

It's because it is a bad thing. No one wants it. It's something you tolerate.

because they're stupid. i hope a cure NEVER comes. it would be like the Soviets blowing us out with nukes if that happened.

Many people still see it from a disease model rather than a support model. Yes, autism may come with challenges, but it is not exclusively a bad thing or something that has to be eliminated from the population, because it comes with many strengths and gifts. It is just a different way of thinking and percieving the world. There really should be more focus...especially from a research standpoint...on supportive environments and therapies to support people on all ends of the spectrum.

Well if you look at the severe cases, that is why people want a cure to it. All disabilities get seen as bad and diseases and obesity. That is why parents are always hoping for a normal child. It doesn't matter how mild the condition is or how mild people have it, people still wish for a normal child. NTs can have it bad too and still suffer without a disability but it's human nature to want something normal and even animals are the same way too and they abandon their young when something isn't right and we don't because we're human and have knowledge but back in the days we did and then we had institutions.

But the main focus right now is autism. I wonder what their next focus be?

I don't see it as such a bad thing, its more how you get treated if you come off weird which might happen if you have autism and stupid social difficulties like not being able to start a conversation with someone I don't know. I have worse things than autism anyways so I usually see that as the least of my worries.