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Xenu
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25 Apr 2012, 11:36 pm

http://www.boston.com/Boston/dailydose/ ... index.html

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While many potential drugs to treat autism are being tested in experimental settings, a new one appears fairly promising -- at least in mice. Researchers from the National Institutes of Mental Health and Pfizer reported Wednesday that an experimental compound, called GRN-529, increased social interactions and lessened repetitive self-grooming behavior in a strain of mice bred to display autism-like behaviors.


This honestly disgusts me... While I know there are many people with aspergers who hate themselves they in my opinion aren't thinking clearly whatsover... These "autism-like behaviors" aren't something that needs to be cured! They are part of who we are, part of our personality! Part of what makes us US!. I mean hell, I feel like in the middle of a X-Men movie right now, I don't want something to change me. I don't need to be fixed! I am who I am and while it took a long time for me to love myself and deal with the fact that I am different from neurotypicals I couldn't be happier to be who I am, despite the struggles I have to deal with. They are part of what built up who I am today in pretty much every way. This is just disgusting and completely unethical in my opinion. And also yes, I know that if this cure ever comes to fruition and works on humans that it won't be mandatory, but that doesn't matter! The fact is that these people think that they know best and need to cure us! What if they created a cure for being gay? Because since it really is something biological it possibly is feasible in the future. That would be causing a massive f*****g uproar from LBGT groups, yet all this gets is praise. We aren't sick, we are just different. Think of all the amazing people in history who have aspergers, they have been the people who have built the world and created many of the things we love the most. It's sickening to me how something that would literally change who you are as a person is being created and thought of as a good idea.

<< Edited, by Mummy_of_Peanut, to remove expletives. >>



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26 Apr 2012, 12:48 am

Who says you need to take it? If are going to go with the x-men analogy some took the cure, but (I think) most didn't



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26 Apr 2012, 1:07 am

Delphiki wrote:
Who says you need to take it? If are going to go with the x-men analogy some took the cure, but (I think) most didn't


Did you even read what I wrote? I wouldn't take it. But the people who would I honestly don't even think should have been born if they are willing to change themselves into a different person. The quirks and traits we have because of it aren't flaws or a disease! It's a part of who we are and if we were "cured" we would be a different person. How do you think people would react if a "cure" for being gay was found?

<< Edited, by Mummy_of_Peanut, to remove expletives. >>



piroflip
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26 Apr 2012, 1:55 am

"While I know there are many people with aspergers who hate themselves they in my opinion aren't thinking clearly whatsover... These "autism-like behaviors" aren't something that needs to be cured! They are part of who we are, part of our personality"

What a load of rubbish.
You are obviously not AS.



Xenu
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26 Apr 2012, 2:47 am

piroflip wrote:
"While I know there are many people with aspergers who hate themselves they in my opinion aren't thinking clearly whatsover... These "autism-like behaviors" aren't something that needs to be cured! They are part of who we are, part of our personality"

What a load of rubbish.
You are obviously not AS.


Excuse me? Just because I accept who I am and am not a self loathing pessimist doesn't mean I don't have Aspergers. I used to hate it too because I wasn't the same as everyone else and I thought my differences were a terrible thing and I wanted a cure as well. But then I grew up. And are you saying the countless other members on this forum as well don't have Aspergers either?



MotherKnowsBest
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26 Apr 2012, 3:11 am

The article isn't talking about a cure, it's talking about a means of alleviating some of the symptoms. If it works that is fantastic news. People who are troubled by those particular symptoms can feel better. People who aren't troubled by those symptoms carry on like usual.



Inyanook
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26 Apr 2012, 3:19 am

Xenu wrote:
piroflip wrote:
"While I know there are many people with aspergers who hate themselves they in my opinion aren't thinking clearly whatsover... These "autism-like behaviors" aren't something that needs to be cured! They are part of who we are, part of our personality"

What a load of rubbish.
You are obviously not AS.


Excuse me? Just because I accept who I am and am not a self loathing pessimist doesn't mean I don't have Aspergers. I used to hate it too because I wasn't the same as everyone else and I thought my differences were a terrible thing and I wanted a cure as well. But then I grew up. And are you saying the countless other members on this forum as well don't have Aspergers either?


I agree with you — to a point. I'm certainly proud of being an aspie and I think the benefits outweigh any deficits by a huge amount.

However, you are speaking as someone who is high-functioning. For people on the autistic spectrum who are low-functioning, their symptoms can be debilitating. Think of people who can barely go outside, or who have an incredible mental life but can't adequately communicate verbally, or are incapable of functioning on even a basic level without a carer. I imagine this is more what this treatment is geared toward — those who are not "aspies", but who are autistic on a more serious level, and even those aspies who are lower-functioning or have a harder time with it. I don't think you should judge those who might be excited about the prospect of treatment as being self-loathing, or not thinking clearly.


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Xenu
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26 Apr 2012, 3:33 am

MotherKnowsBest wrote:
The article isn't talking about a cure, it's talking about a means of alleviating some of the symptoms. If it works that is fantastic news. People who are troubled by those particular symptoms can feel better. People who aren't troubled by those symptoms carry on like usual.


But what exactly is a cure? A cure is something that removes the symptoms and traits of a disease (which Aspergers is not). Therefore this thing is a "cure". Those symptoms being removed means removing parts of who they are and what makes their brains tick. They wouldn't be themselves anymore, sure they may have similarities to their old selves but they won't be the same person, and who knows how much removing the asperegers would change a person?.



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26 Apr 2012, 3:41 am

Inyanook wrote:
Xenu wrote:
piroflip wrote:
"While I know there are many people with aspergers who hate themselves they in my opinion aren't thinking clearly whatsover... These "autism-like behaviors" aren't something that needs to be cured! They are part of who we are, part of our personality"

What a load of rubbish.
You are obviously not AS.


Excuse me? Just because I accept who I am and am not a self loathing pessimist doesn't mean I don't have Aspergers. I used to hate it too because I wasn't the same as everyone else and I thought my differences were a terrible thing and I wanted a cure as well. But then I grew up. And are you saying the countless other members on this forum as well don't have Aspergers either?


I agree with you — to a point. I'm certainly proud of being an aspie and I think the benefits outweigh any deficits by a huge amount.

However, you are speaking as someone who is high-functioning. For people on the autistic spectrum who are low-functioning, their symptoms can be debilitating. Think of people who can barely go outside, or who have an incredible mental life but can't adequately communicate verbally, or are incapable of functioning on even a basic level without a carer. I imagine this is more what this treatment is geared toward — those who are not "aspies", but who are autistic on a more serious level, and even those aspies who are lower-functioning or have a harder time with it. I don't think you should judge those who might be excited about the prospect of treatment as being self-loathing, or not thinking clearly.


That is a good point... But I still feel that no matter how bad you have it you still wouldn't really want to lose parts of you that make you you... Let's say you were a gay male and you were with your partner for a very long time and a cure was released for being gay, and maybe in a rash decision you took this cure because your grew up ostracized because you were different. Not only would you not be attracted to the love of your life anymore but he also would no longer recognize you because of it as well because of the changes that would be a result of something that literally changes a piece of you. Nobody truly understands the human psyche and changing something in your psyche or body no matter how trivial has effects. People just need to learn to love themselves despite their flaws and not care what others think, people have no idea what changing something like that could do to you mentally.



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26 Apr 2012, 4:09 am

The whole notion that we Aspies could be given some medication or treatment that will either cure or alleviate our symptoms or behavior is absolutely absurd. We are who and what we are, and nothing is going to suddenly make us NT's. The most anyone could hope for are therapies provided to children, which would help them make their way in later life.
Incidentally, I was only diagnosed with Asperger's in later life. But with it came a tremendous sense of relief, after a lifetime of being regarded as eccentric at best, mentally slow at worst. There's a reason for who and how I am, and now instead of trying to hide it, I wear it as a badge of pride.
And no Aspie has the right to question the legitimacy of a brothers or sisters autism. Especially because some of us have been able to accept who we are better than others have.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer



Inyanook
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26 Apr 2012, 4:40 am

Xenu wrote:
That is a good point... But I still feel that no matter how bad you have it you still wouldn't really want to lose parts of you that make you you... Let's say you were a gay male and you were with your partner for a very long time and a cure was released for being gay, and maybe in a rash decision you took this cure because your grew up ostracized because you were different. Not only would you not be attracted to the love of your life anymore but he also would no longer recognize you because of it as well because of the changes that would be a result of something that literally changes a piece of you. Nobody truly understands the human psyche and changing something in your psyche or body no matter how trivial has effects. People just need to learn to love themselves despite their flaws and not care what others think, people have no idea what changing something like that could do to you mentally.


True, but for some it's not a part of what makes them "them" -- and of course, when I say "it" I refer not to autism itself, but to its more disabling symptoms -- it's something that prevents them from realising their full potential, something that prevents them from being able to function and from communicating with others. It is for this reason that many people with autism will undergo speech therapy and suchlike.

The issue with the "cure" for homosexuality is an entirely different situation, as someone who is gay is entire able to function on all other levels -- their sexual orientation is beside the point. If they suffer, it is a result of the social world they are in. This is not always the case with autism. Some autistics obsessively self-harm, not as a result of feeling bad about themselves but as a reaction to overstimulation; there's no reason to deny treatment if treatment is possible.

Now, it's undeniable that all drug treatments come with considerable risk. Often they have side-effects and sometimes they do more harm than good. But there's no reason to dismiss the treatment before it even exists on the grounds that it could do more harm than good.


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Inyanook
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26 Apr 2012, 4:43 am

Kraichgauer wrote:
The whole notion that we Aspies could be given some medication or treatment that will either cure or alleviate our symptoms or behavior is absolutely absurd. We are who and what we are, and nothing is going to suddenly make us NT's. The most anyone could hope for are therapies provided to children, which would help them make their way in later life.
Incidentally, I was only diagnosed with Asperger's in later life. But with it came a tremendous sense of relief, after a lifetime of being regarded as eccentric at best, mentally slow at worst. There's a reason for who and how I am, and now instead of trying to hide it, I wear it as a badge of pride.
And no Aspie has the right to question the legitimacy of a brothers or sisters autism. Especially because some of us have been able to accept who we are better than others have.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer


Yes! But you are ignoring more serious and harmful aspects of autism. This is not about changing the fundamentals of who you are.


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26 Apr 2012, 4:51 am

'Cure' is probably the wrong word here, if they are looking at increasing functionality in low functioning individuals.

Asperger's requires acceptance, not cure, the idea of which is insulting, yes.
Extreme autism is abherrant/imbalanced, as is any other extreme, and requires increased functionality for greater quality of life outcomes for all involved in care.


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26 Apr 2012, 4:57 am

I agree, ThinkTrees. It's treatment for symptoms of low-functionality, not a cure for who you are.


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26 Apr 2012, 5:17 am

Inyanook wrote:
Kraichgauer wrote:
The whole notion that we Aspies could be given some medication or treatment that will either cure or alleviate our symptoms or behavior is absolutely absurd. We are who and what we are, and nothing is going to suddenly make us NT's. The most anyone could hope for are therapies provided to children, which would help them make their way in later life.
Incidentally, I was only diagnosed with Asperger's in later life. But with it came a tremendous sense of relief, after a lifetime of being regarded as eccentric at best, mentally slow at worst. There's a reason for who and how I am, and now instead of trying to hide it, I wear it as a badge of pride.
And no Aspie has the right to question the legitimacy of a brothers or sisters autism. Especially because some of us have been able to accept who we are better than others have.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer


Yes! But you are ignoring more serious and harmful aspects of autism. This is not about changing the fundamentals of who you are.


I do concede, people with low functioning autism need every break they can get; but I just find it hard to believe that some sort of "cure" is seriously going to make someone's autism disappear.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer



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26 Apr 2012, 7:34 am

Xenu wrote:
MotherKnowsBest wrote:
The article isn't talking about a cure, it's talking about a means of alleviating some of the symptoms. If it works that is fantastic news. People who are troubled by those particular symptoms can feel better. People who aren't troubled by those symptoms carry on like usual.


But what exactly is a cure? A cure is something that removes the symptoms and traits of a disease (which Aspergers is not). Therefore this thing is a "cure". Those symptoms being removed means removing parts of who they are and what makes their brains tick. They wouldn't be themselves anymore, sure they may have similarities to their old selves but they won't be the same person, and who knows how much removing the asperegers would change a person?.


Maybe that is what they want.