Do you want to be 'cured' of Asperger's Syndrome?
Shatbat
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Joined: 19 Feb 2012
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,791
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This. I mean, if I could get what other people mean in a natural way, lose my clumsiness and have an easier time socializing I'd go for it but... Aspergers is a big part of myself, and removing it would take away a big chunk of my personality... and I wouldn't like that.
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To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day. - Winston Churchill
Yes ! !
Might make me less self destructive when it comes to friends and relationships, be able to get a job last longer then 6 months, might be able to sleep ! !. (Oh how I miss sleeping)
Fair enough I might not be "smart" anymore but when you live in a society where you have to dumb down to fit in anyway....
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Boop
Yes please, for all new reasons. Please read and notify if you agree/relate:-
I wouldn't miss getting anxious over the mundane things that most people take for granted/can complete naturally
I wouldn't miss having obsessive interests that take over my mind and my life, or be on edge all the time in case something happens where I can't have my obsessive interest any more and then I would feel all lonely and isolated without my obsessive interest, and become suicidle
I wouldn't miss having sensory issues with sounds, like jumping at loud sudden noises and feeling all shaken up afterwards when everybody else who jumped has forgotten about it again
I wouldn't miss being the only one out of my cousins who sits alone in my room every week-end night, being afraid to join them at the bars because of severe social anxiety/phobia
I wouldn't miss having angry outbursts and dealing with problems in the way a toddler would, or having mood swings and dealing with emotions in the way a surly teenager going through puberty would. Apparently I should be past that behaviour by now
I wouldn't miss living as a groucy, snappy person most of the time, with no enthusiasm for hardly anything most people would enjoy
I wouldn't miss walking around with my head in the clouds and missing out on things, eg like things in shops, etc
I wouldn't miss being hard work for my parents at home
I wouldn't miss being dumb and not knowing much general knowledge (this really gets in the way of having conversations because I am always doubted by people)
I wouldn't feel so patronized by people
And I especially wouldn't miss the social issues - appearing odd to other people no matter how hard I try not to be, becoming really quiet in social situations, always fearing that I might say or do something stupid, never being able to make friends properly or fit in properly
That's basically all of me. The rest of me is just covered by personality traits that have nothing to do with having AS. But, for those who love having AS, please try to explain to me what's so good about all of the above please?
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Female
StarTrekker
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Joined: 22 Apr 2012
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,088
Location: Starship Voyager, somewhere in the Delta quadrant
It's very hard to say. On the one hand, I'm proud of the things Asperger's makes me do well, like focus for long periods of time (especially on things that interest me), have a genuine interest in learning for learning's sake, recognise the importance of intelligence and individuality, and be generally accepting of people and their eccentricities at large. However, the fact that I have found very few NT's who appreciate the previously mentioned gifts can put a bit of a damper on them a lot of times.
If I could get rid of the social anxiety and awkwardness, and just be able to go up to people and make friends no matter where I am in ten seconds flat the way my sister does, and if I could get rid of the constant anxiety and frustration I feel over every tiny change in my routine, that would be awesome. That being said, if those parts of me were gone, I wouldn't be me any more, and its those difficulties that enable me to do things like value individuality, and accept people in all their eccentricities, so, long story short, I honestly feel that if they came up with a cure for Asperger's tomorrow, I wouldn't be in line for it. I like who I am; most of my trouble comes from my perception of how other people see me.
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"Survival is insufficient" - Seven of Nine
Diagnosed with ASD level 1 on the 10th of April, 2014
Rediagnosed with ASD level 2 on the 4th of May, 2019
Thanks to Olympiadis for my fantastic avatar!
Yes, please.
I want to experience genuine love and acceptance. I want to have a job that I enjoy and excel at and where I earn good money again. I want to sell my art. I want to continue making music with my musician friends. I want to learn to speak so people listen and to say the nice things that make people feel comfortable and remember me fondly.
I wish I was NT when I was in the pub last night, because I felt so awkward sitting there really shy. I was with my cousin who is also very shy but is NT, and even he managed to talk more than me. Or rather, when he did talk, it was the right thing. Every time I spoke, I sounded too quiet and nervous, and sometimes the words even came out wrong, making me sound like an idiot.
I also felt everyone (who I didn't know) was staring at me. Even before we went into the pub, we passed a lot of girls who were all dressed up and ready to go clubbing, and I felt they were all looking at me (even though I was dressed up too). I didn't feel right being out in the evening. I liked the people who I went to the pub with (obviously), but I didn't like the other people who were around. I just felt I was being stared at by other women. I had men stare at me, but I like men staring at me, but not women.
LEAVE ME ALONE YOU UNEMPATHETIC c***s!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! (Referring to other women who stared at me but didn't know me).
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Female
I want to experience genuine love and acceptance. I want to have a job that I enjoy and excel at and where I earn good money again. I want to sell my art. I want to continue making music with my musician friends. I want to learn to speak so people listen and to say the nice things that make people feel comfortable and remember me fondly.
All of those things are already within your grasp - and there will be no guarantee you would gain any of them as an NT.
I have found friends who are always glad to see me - I have had good financial success and have done many things in my life that have fulfilled me and left many others glad I came their way. And believe me I am about as Asper as one can get.
Hey -- I have an idea why don't we find a cure for being NT.
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Found in an old and dusty book --- Roger's Axiom: If it is worth doing it is worth over doing!
Found on http://jacobbarnett.org/ -- If you are suffering from Autism - you're doing it wrong!
I don't want to be NT because of believing I would live an easy, carefree life just because I've got social skills. I really don't know why some Aspies think that. I know a lot of NTs who have made a mess of their life. Some people have abusive partners and they do a sensible think which is split up and then a few months down the line they're back with them again when they needn't be. If social skills were a golden ticket to a spectacular life, then why don't they go out and use their ''golden ticket'' to meet another partner? Some people might but most people who I know seem to do stupid things with their love lifes, and sometimes I'm starting to think I'm more sensible than them, in that respect. I have a man fancying me, and I really want a boyfriend, but I don't want him because I don't fancy him back, and I'm standing my ground about it. I am not going to start chasing after a man who I don't fancy. He'll just have to carry on fancying me.
Also, same goes with jobs - I know an NT who had an interview for a job and got it straight away, and it was good hours for her and good money and the job she wanted and she got on well with the other people there, but now she has dropped out of her job just to work for a really dodgy person who can't handle money properly. We all think she's doing such a stupid thing. And now she's been working for them a week now and haven't got paid properly, and now she's complaining because she can't afford to run her car. What a stupid idiot!
I'm not saying all NTs are like it, but I'm just saying that I am not pining to be NT because of believing I will be a lot wiser if I was. NTs make mistakes in their lives too, and a lot even screw up. The only reasons why I wish to be NT are these reasons:-
-I would be able to naturally know the social rules/fashion rules/beauty rules without having to keep asking and checking (most of the time)
-I would not be hard work at home (in an unusual way to other people)
-I would not be having meltdowns when I hear people talking near my bedroom door/hearing other common household noises when in my room
-I would be more relaxed in social situations without the risk of saying something in a weird stupid way
-I would of had more friends through school and been more socially accepted
-In an argument with friends I would not be assumed that it was me who caused the argument because of being the one with the crappy social skills
-I would be able to socialise with my family better without feeling the urge to have an angry outburst from being so overwhelmed in a small room full of people
-I would not be madly obsessed over bus-drivers and getting stupidly involved in them and then making myself just look stupid
-I would not have the dilemma of knowing whether I should tick the disability box or not on a job application form, I would just tick the disability box and move on (unless I had a physical disability but I'm talking about mental disabilities here). When I went with my friend to an appointment at the jobcentre when she first had to sign on, the man asked her if she had any mental disabilities that might interfere with her work, and she just said, ''no.'' How easy is that?! *sigh*
...and lot's more.
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Female
LokiofSassgard
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Joined: 3 Sep 2014
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 719
Location: My own autistic wonderland!
I'm not sure if I answered or not so...
I wouldn't want to be cured of my autism. Why? Because it's given me so many talents and abilities that most people are baffled by. I feel like a cure might ruin that. I do have problems with many things in life, but it's not like I don't get help. I can't imagine being cured or anything. What I would like is to be cured of my anxiety so I could love a much more carefree life like I did growing up. Back then, I never had a hard time going out to play or anything. I could go about my day like any other without crippling anxiety running my life.
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Currently diagnosed with Autistic Disorder, ADHD, severe anxiety, learning delays and developmental delays.
