Time to stand up against anti-cure

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The reason I don't like the idea of a cure, is because cure implies getting rid of the disorder....which would mean somehow turning an autistic brain into a neurotypical brain....which for one sounds quite dangerous and for two doesn't seem like something that will be possible any time in the near future. So essentially I feel resources could be better used for treatments that can help people with autism(not treatments that force them to act normal and promote the idea any autistic behavior/trait is 'wrong') and what sort of accommodations in society might help.

If there is a treatment that can help non-verbal autistic people learn to express themselves verbally, I'd be all for that....or if there is something that can reduce the intensity of sensory sensitivities then I certainly wouldn't want someone to be denied access to that. But to effectively cure autism they'd probably have to do some very dangerous complex brain surgery or screw around with genetics and things that could be very dangerous and not worth the risk just to have a normal functioning brain.

The irony with curbies anti curbies debate is that the "cure" may just be some form of hormone therapies that may just simply make people that are LFA more HFA. Something that I think both sides could be happy with,

Maybe I am oblivious to this but why a cure? What is society going to cure? To me a cure is for someone suffering from say a disease like cancer, heart problems, etc. To me something like Autism isn't something that is cured. It is the way you are born and your brain is wired. It is what makes you who you are. The whole concept of a cure totally eludes me in this context. To me a cure is something that is used for a sickness. I don't consider Autism a sickness. Perhaps my thinking is too black/white but I just don't see something like a cure being applicable. Cure me from being me? It makes no sense to me at all.

My biggest problem with the cure people is they portray us as helpless, hopeless, and pathetic unless we get a cure. Autism probably has many causes and aggravators - I believe there are certainly things that can be done for some symptoms, but many of us like the way we are. I don't want a cure and I don't want to be represented as needing a cure.

you go to other parts of the world and you don't really see as many curists as america has.

I don't believe in a "cure." I believe in an alleviation of plainly negative symptoms, especially those which hurt selves and others.

exactly. to help autistic kids not to hurt themselves is not curing them, it's just teaching them. a "Cure" would be to get rid of everything there is about autism, both good and bad.

Cis, I understand the argument you are presenting. I believe the problem you are facing is you are defining "cure" by its little used definition, which the medical field has had confusion before. The definition you wish to use has actually switched to the phrase "clinical cure." That means treatments to alleviate symptoms. Theyare using the classical medical definition meaning to remove the cause of underlying symptoms. You may wish to double check words and wordings before you use them, as I have come into habit of doing.

As for your actual post, to assume Cure or Anti-Cure is against treatment to alleviate symptoms is moronic. It seems to me both sides are attaching their prejudice of the other side to everything they say. As an advocate, I would assume you have noticed this, and would have tried to separate yourself and those to which you speak from that unneeded baggage.

Once you've done that, you should notice the other side may have a point to how they believe. Your demonized Anti-Cure people may be afraid to have things like pre-natal testing for the simple fact it WILL be used to abort autistics. You yourself have said it is possible even if that is not what the test is supposed to be used for. To make a compelling argument, you must find a way to address this, not just washing your hands of it. I'd advise looking into Down Syndrome; they have a pre-natal test, and 67% of fetuses are aborted due to the knowledge the test brings. Research into how this is not nearer to 100%. You may find your answer there.

And lastly, it doesn't matter how neutral you choose your words (which they really are not), by dismissing others' opinions you are adding that emotional baggage to your carefully crafted words. Try at the very least acknowledging that you paid attention to the other person's opinion as opposed to just skimming over it as it is not yours, thus it is unimportant.

To recap:
1. Be very careful of your wording.
2. Bothering to learn the other side of your beliefs will not only teach you more about your own side, but help you argue your point.
3. Understand that you cannot change anyone's opinion if they don't wish it to be changed.

I wrote about this on my blog.

HERE

As an additional factor, all autistics from the profoundly disabled to the outstandingly gifted are tossed into the same diagnostic bucket. With such diversity, no one-size-fits-all approach will work. The cure folks tend to be myopically fixed on the non-functional group and end up implicitly representing all of us as profoundly disabled. Honestly, I think the cure folks are predominately closed to the concept of diversity within autism.

At some point, asking autistics to be cured is like asking Africans to wash the black off their faces.

Skipping multiple pages of dialogue that surely have already included all these points:

1. The issue isn't people seeking cures for themselves, it is parents seeking cures for their children, without considering whether or not the children would have wanted them, and sending the message to the child that the child is somehow "less" by being ASD (for why would you cure something if it was already perfect?). As we know now, even non-verbal children are often much more aware than parents realize.
2. There also a very real possibility that the only way to "cure" ASD will be prenatal testing and a choice not to give birth; that idea is rightfully frightening to the community. Who wants to discover that parents would rather a child not exist than be like them? Will our world really be better if there are more abortions and less ASD births?
3. Extremism on both sides is inappropriate. Cures and treatments should be available for those who desire and want them, but the message should not be that a person is damaged or sick without them; as if not being ASD is always better than being ASD. Many with ASD are quite happy with who they are, appreciating the gifts ASD brings and not being too upset about the burdens. If you treat the burdens, you are likely to also remove the gifts; they come from the same place; and it is important to understand that balance. That should be someone's individual choice, and it should be respected.
4. However, once treatment and "cure" are available, will society accept someone who chooses not to use them? I think there is a lot of fear that the answer will be no. Already it is very difficult for parents to hold out against medicating their children, and very difficult for a pregnant woman of a certain age to forgo testing for Downs. Along with cures and treatments tends to be momentum requiring their use, when it remains extremely important that we continue to honor ASD as a difference someone should be allowed to retain.
5. I am not in the least opposed to studying the issue and figuring out what is going on, and how to treat it. But the anti-cure voices are extremely important, because without them many of the fears listed above are highly likely to come to pass.