What's wrong with a cure?

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A cure would be good... but as always technology can be applied in ways that can be considered evil. The "cure" for autism will probably have tons of people wanting to use the technology in ways I consider distasteful or evil.

All the research currently being done is genetic. They may find the genetic cause for our condition, and if they developed prenatal testing, there will be a large cultural push to have us eradicated, but they'll use nicer words. Many young mothers will be pressured by family and friends to have an autistic fetus aborted. The mother will often be given a onesided and antiautistic information in which will often result in abortion.
The world in general has a terrible mental health system. Some countries, such as America, have the ability to actually solve most of those problems, yet those programs in the system are often the first ones up on the budget chopping block.
People, in general, are distrustful, fearful, ignorant, and generally are not friendly towards differences. People choose people who are comfortable to be around and will often stay away from those who make them feel uncomfortable even if it causes an overall negative impact on the environment whether it be a job, a friendship, or an associate. I wouldn't be surprised based on the current culture that a prenatal genetic test may lead to it to be politically incorrect to claim that a mother shouldn't abort an autistic fetus on that basis alone and that the culture will likely claim that anyone who thinks that the literature on the subject is antiautistic is an ignorant crank.
This phenomena already causes many people on this forum a lot of trouble, the trouble they'll receive will likely get worse with a genetic test... not to mention a cure.
Here is how a mere genetic test will likely make things worse:
1. The genetic test will become required for any support and the test might not be cheap, nor is there any stipulated requirement of genetic testing being given to those with the diagnosis. A radical turn from a purely psychiatric diagnosis to a pure physical/medical diagnosis, would upset the status quo significantly and likely cause problems. And I doubt there will be gradual change.
2. The genetic test may be forced and may become a platform for increased discrimination from employers, medical services, and Additionally, some people with the current official diagnosis may lose their identities and their support they need over it, and may find it difficult to get the right diagnosis on account of losing credibility.
3. If someone has been genetically tested, they may find it required to be declared on legal forms or else voiding the terms of service by various groups, this would especially apply to consent form. Could the genetic test be used to void consent? Yes, it could if the legal framework isn't in place. (Or for a less likely legal problem: If someone with a bad heart goes on a roller coaster after signing a consent form and something happens, then the owner of the roller coaster can push the blame off to the signer. There could easily be things in the fine print that discriminate and this could be caused by the paradigm shift away from the psychiatric to the physical/medical.)
4. A large rise of divorce rates cause autism to be far rarer than what would be natural for a population and cause a loss of biodiversity in the human species.
5. Since one of evolution's tools is population isolation, where a certain species is divided by traits into isolated populations and then evolve into two or more similar species thus creating an evolutionary branch... and if genetic
millions of years from now, out in the stars we may miss out on a great new species made by autistic seperationists. I am not advocating the idea that autism is the next stage of evolution, that is unscientific. What I am saying is that in the far future humans will likely evolve into a variety of species based on space colonization and we may lose out on one potential variety in the post-human galaxy.

There are of course many benefits that could be reaped from a genetic test, but I don't think I need to explain that. I just don't think that it will turn out that way and the malevolent side is looming.

Then, if a cure were discovered, we'd find that the discrimination would get worse.
The cure would probably be forced in many countries... probably including France. A cure is so much more comfortable than accepting people for their differences. It is easier to change someone than to accept them for what they are... especially when you've created a world where they can't easily sustain themselves... and grudgingly push a little of the budget their way and shove them under the rug and out of sight.

In America, they'll probably enact some kind of economic sanction against anyone who doesn't get cured. In other words, they would cut off all services to anyone who doesn't get cured. And quite a few don't want to be cured and need those services.

Not only that but the cure would probably be mentally invasive, you've grown up with the mind you have and we don't know how your mind would change if cured. Who will you be? Will you be able to recognize yourself? What if you don't like the new you? Maybe you might find that being NT isn't all that great? There would be no going back to being autistic... not without a cure for Neurotypicality, and trust me there isn't going to be any budget for that. It actually wouldn't be too difficult to change back to an autistic, but it would require you to spend a whole lot of money to have your old DNA preserved and placed in a carrier virus to put you back and there wouldn't be a guarantee of success. The autistic reverse-cure would be customized cure that would cost hundreds of thousands at the very least.
The cure would be a one way street.

Additionally, for those of us who are severely autistic and just want to be better functioning, would the cure be able to make them high functioning or maybe just turn neurotypical? Maybe they would like to stay autistic, but just make it easier to function. The cure won't have dial that where you can find the right setting for you.
In genetics everything is balanced for every positive you get from your genes, you have a negative. Overall the population is balanced. Some people have more genetic positives, some have less. But even at the individual level many genes grant both a positive and a negative. A gene that greatly increases the chances of sickle cell anemia causes a significant resistance to malaria. Survival in the area of the world where the gene originates is greatly enhanced by the gene and survival has caused the gene to thrive as a beneficial trait. It's balanced. Edges come with hinderances. Additionally a wide variety of possible edges and hindrances are beneficial to a population as a whole. What if we managed to cure the sickle cell gene and then malaria mutated to be a far more resilient and efficient killer? The chances of human survival increase with diversity. Malaria already is a deadly killer in many places in the world by the way. Autism isn't quantifiable as a genetic mutation, it is spread across the length of the human genome. It is probably one of the most complicated genetic problems currently being researched and dozens of genes are known to be involved with hundreds suspected. Autism covers a large portion of human biodiversity.

Finally, the search for a cure may take decades or even centuries and may prove fruitless. It isn't currently helping anyone.

We can either spend our money trying to attempt to make society a better place for us (and others) and on creating support, on more attainable remedies for some of the physical symptoms and communication methods... and on fixing our extremely broken and breaking mental health system.
Or we can spend it on a theoretical cure for something that may actually be an integral part of the humane genome.

Either way, we've got hate groups spending money to make a "cure" and I call them hate groups because they crap out propaganda to raise money and damage the chances of the cure being used for our benefit by giving us bad light in culture.

I think the first path should be emphasized because it reaches the roots of some of society's problems. The second path is the path of leveling (in the philosophical definition of the world.)

The reason I don't want a cure pushed on me is because I feel that all of my differences should be celebrated and that includes autism. The second reason I don't wish for a cure is because I'm not one to take a passive approach while somebody else gives me orders. If I feel that somebody is trying to control every move I make, I can become very rebellious. I also don't wish to become a clone of normalcy for the satisfaction of my parents. What next? A cure for non patriotic people who identify more with their origins than they do with their countries?

"This isn't going to happen if there is no cure. "

This is a nonsense claim that is damaging as it creates a defeatist attitude which prevents trying to actually help autistic people, instead hoping for a mythical cure.

First of all, many here have labored mightily to 'fit in'. I'm 64 and only found I had ASD at 61. I had always worked until my early forties. I worked in my own small business and in programming manufacturing processes. I had finally found people who accepted me for who I am and for what I could do. When that changed with replaced superiors, I fell out of favor from the lack of social abilities. I was working overtime to finish 'enough' work. Being on salary, this cost them nothing. It still didn't matter in the end as I was laid off in favor of a friend I taught to do the same job (though not as well as I did). I had given it everything I had, yet it still wasn't enough. How much must one do to 'fit in'?

As to a cure, there will probably be help sooner rather than later. We all have the right to wait to see how well new 'therapies' work before deciding to try them or not. Nobody can make us take it. I'm also wanting to experience what it's like to 'see' social environments. So, I would like to try that if available. We also will have the option of using some things and not others. You might say we will be able to create our own normal in this way. No one can take away our previous lives, so we will have the benefit of our experiences with or without a 'cure'. When this will happen is the open question. It looks like many things will become available in their time, some soon and others later...

We need to hold onto hope for a better future.

I have no problem with the cure per say. My problem is that if I hope for a cure, then what happens when the cure is not feasible. I mean what happens when it is brain surgery. There is no way i am doing that. I am not saying i like or dislike having autism. There are a lot of issues I have I just want to go away like my sensory and and emotional sensitivities issues. To me a cure would be making me functional in society and allowing everyone with autism to be successful in society. I want that cure. I want to stop being terrified of loosing my job because i go into overload. I want to be able to go to chicago and not be totally nonfunctional. People say I am high functioning. I don't like that term actually I hate it. It apparently gives people permission to ignore everything that is difficult. I mean if i didn't live where I live I would be nonfunctional. Do any of you know how that feels? To know that when you leave your city you are suddenly a completely different level of autism. If I had to live in a bigger city I would be unable to work or date I would be completely dependent on my parents. That scares me. So do I want a cure I guess I do, but I am terrified that cure won't be feasible. So I wish they would stop trying, because if they do I might get desperate enough to try it. ANd what happens when it doesn't actually work. Autism is a brain disorder you can't fix every about autism period. So maybe it is better to just find a way to live with it and be proud of it.

It would be great to find a cure, for those whom are severely affected. However the application of said cure, would have to be only applied with total consent. I would not tolerate a cure that is forced upon one without any form of consent.

Anyone with low functioning, I feel sorry for and I feel sorry for their parents. I mean just look at the kid below. You all are nothing like him. At least you all are intelligent and verbal and dont act like this. This kid definitely needs a cure.

If I had that Rosanne-like woman holding me down like that, I'd be having a meltdown as well.