Would you take a cure?

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no, for multiple reasons.

but in all honesty, even if a cure were applied to my experience there's no guarantee my life would be more functional or desirable than it is now. i might end up a pseudo-neurotypical with a whole new host of P-NT challenges i wouldn't know how to cope with because i'd have spent my entire life adapting to the challenges that come along with my present neurological set-up. i think real contentment for me will come from accepting what i have, as opposed to the addition of more unknown variables.

It's interesting that the main opposition to treatment or a cure seems to be fear of the unknown and assuming that an effective treatment or cure would add a different set of big scary problems to deal with.

Ironically, the point of a treatment or cure would be to remove the negative effects of having Autism and make people much more on par with the NT world all around them, which would mean that social interactions and a myriad of other things would become natural, intuitive & fluid vs. being a whole new set of problems and challenges to overcome.

It is a realistic fear. How many times have we seen wonder drugs, food etc have unintended side effects? How many times have we seen these effects denied by authorities, the ones claiming bad effects called crackpots, only to find out "loony's" were right?.

I suppose it's a realistic fear to have of pharmaceutical drugs, especially given the long list of potential side effects most of them come with, including suicidal thoughts and/or death.

But I say this as someone who's utilized natural treatments & diet to greatly reduce my symptoms without having any negative side effects, so my perspective is significantly different.

I don't care if they find a cure (if there is one). My only worry is that a cure becomes mandatory instead of a choice. I want to be able to choose. But to be completely honest, I like who I am. I just wish other people around me could be more open minded.

More on par with NTs? What is exactly is this par? Taking a half hour to do worthless small-talk to in the end, only ask one worth-full question? (sarcasm) Everything would be a lot more efficient if everyone were aspies.

Last edited by RichardJ on 29 Dec 2013, 10:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I actually enjoy smalltalk if I'm talking to someone interesting. Unfortunately this is not usually the case. I don't think everything would be more efficient if everyone was an Aspie. Aspies have too many problems with executive function.

Without a shadow of a doubt. I'd prefer it was a one off change, than having to take a chemical kosh, resulting in a dose dependant addiction. Never being a person to be satisfied, an inauspicious thought would go through my mind, it's a ruddy shame I've spent some of the best years of my life going through the trauma with AS affecting every single area of my being. Rather than having the advantage of a 'cure' when I was about five years old. The precursor to this sort of debate on how I generally approach the issue is, 'would you choose to be born without having AS or would you still be born keeping your AS untouched'.

I would definitely like to be cured of my sensory issues and ADHD symptoms. As for the rest... If I could be upgraded to the very highest-functioning end of the autistic spectrum, I'd be happy with that. Able to get by in the world, yet still feel like myself in terms of basic personality.

No.

I agree. You're obsessing over your 'success' reminds me of the time between Late 2009 and 2011 when I was going on about how I got my life back on track and I can't believe how decent I look, and I've got a great role model that I look like a younger version of and I like the 60s again.

I know that type of behaviour, because I used to engage in it. I'm sure the above poster knows what I'm talking about.

Yeah... it's pretty obsessive. But most of us on here are obsessive. Because, y'know, we're autistic. So we can deal with obsessive; we're used to it.

What about instead of a cure, a life that includes, well a life (for me this is what I would like). A life means more friends, dating guys and finding "the one." Also a secure job that I like and feel comfortable doing without too much stress. That is my dream at the moment to have "a life."

Nope, I wouldn't take a cure.

Yeah, me too. I'd hate to be depending on a drug for my normalcy! Unfortunately a drug that simulates NT brain chemicals might be our best hope...
I really don't understand why AS isn't curable. So we lack neuro-connections where NTs have more than us. But the brain isn't unchangeable as once thought, so why can't they help it develop them? It seems like it should be possible. Is it because there are so few of us (ca 1% of the population) so it's not worth the effort of finding out why? Considering what it's like for those of us affected both directly and our families, I'd say it's worth it!



I made that thread here: If you could have chosen before you were born.... And I would definitely have chosen to be born NT.

Except I have legitimately changed significantly. I go on about it here on wp because it's the most valuable thing I can possibly contribute here & I believe that many of us have the same symptoms due to the same root digestive cause and that it's entirely treatable/curable. If you had achieved what I have, you'd want to share it with this group, too.