Gardenia Report post Posted March 16, 2008 Does anyone ever think that there will be a 'cure' for autism in the future. Gardenia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lucas Report post Posted March 17, 2008 To make it short, no. Long answer, it's far too complex. Whenever someone finds a consistent physical feature in Autism, someone else investigates and fails to find that feature. Then someone claims that there must be different types of Autism, one with this feature and others without it. This then gets thrown on the bonfire because they do a study on a group of Autistics with the feature and a control group without the feature and their similarities are so overwhelming they wouln't know which group is which if they hadn't already specifically picked out that certain feature. So they scrap that and say "Well then instead of there being different types of Autism, Autism must be more than one condition". This turns limp after each and every 'condition' they discover which is supposedly part of the make of Autism: Autistics often magically make the symptoms of that condition lessen or disappear when they are in a comfortable enviroment. Has anyone ever noticed Flu, Eczema or some other condition miraculously get less worse when a room has brown rather than blue curtains? It's like left-handedness, homosexuality, Down's Syndrome or personality-predispositions. All these have been heavily investigated to find an absolute root cause, often with not very nice intentions so that some preventive treatment can be used, but they are too complicated. I think Autism may even be a tad more complicated than all of them too. They will never find the left-handed or gay gene, they won't ever find out WHY chromosomes sometimes misbehave or why some squeeze the toothpaste tube at the top and others at the bottom. They will find out some whys, some hows and these will always infuratiingly produce more questions than the answers originally sought. I fear for Down's Syndrome folk; most thankfully choose not to have a test in pregnancy but of those that do, they nearly always choose to abort. That's the closest to a 'cure' and it seems to satisfy society, the individuals affected can suck a lemon. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted March 17, 2008 .................. .................er........sorry if this offends but ...this is just my perception(a crucial word as that is what this is all about)...but to me autism is a way of being , as much as brown hair ....or green eyes, its how you are.A different way of thinking and doing . ................of course there are those that suffer because of their" autism" ...??(in a sensory capacity and how they percieve their environmentas well as others)..........I feel society instead of searching for a "cure".........should look to itself and ways of adapting itself to those who don,t "function"in the typical neurotypical way...............................I agree with Lucas eeking out the ones society percieves as not 100% neurotypical just leaves us with a elitist type of human race. ................of course I ,m not saying we should,nt strive to finds "ways"...rather than "cures".............of making those on the spectrum more comfortable in society.................must dash now this was a little rushed. ............I don,t think anyone will ever find a cure.......as I think its a way of being rather than an illness. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cariad Report post Posted March 17, 2008 .................. .................er........sorry if this offends but ...this is just my perception(a crucial word as that is what this is all about)...but to me autism is a way of being , as much as brown hair ....or green eyes, its how you are.A different way of thinking and doing . ................of course there are those that suffer because of their" autism" ...??(in a sensory capacity and how they percieve their environmentas well as others)..........I feel society instead of searching for a "cure".........should look to itself and ways of adapting itself to those who don,t "function"in the typical neurotypical way...............................I agree with Lucas eeking out the ones society percieves as not 100% neurotypical just leaves us with a elitist type of human race. ................of course I ,m not saying we should,nt strive to finds "ways"...rather than "cures".............of making those on the spectrum more comfortable in society.................must dash now this was a little rushed. ............I don,t think anyone will ever find a cure.......as I think its a way of being rather than an illness. ITA, if there was a cure it would totally change my son into another person. He would be my "T", it's like rubbing away his quirks and personality! I do feel quite defensive about this, maybe if he was still a baby but...now he is 12 and is a person in his own right it wouldn't be right! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lynden Report post Posted March 17, 2008 I agree with Suze too - I think its a way of being. I did struggle when doing my assingments for my course because I spoke about Logan being autistic, rather than having autism, because thats what I believe, but apparently I was using autism to define him - which I wasn't - he's just Logan, but in terms of the essay which was about autism, he is autistic! I will do as much as I can to help make his life as easy and enjoyable as possible, but I dont think they'll ever find a cure, andif they did I'm not sure I'd want him to have it as it would change my little boy completely (although if he were to choose to have it himself, then I would accept that). Lynne x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baddad Report post Posted March 17, 2008 (edited) Hi Gardenia No, there will never be a 'cure' for autism, for the kinds of reasons Lucas has highlighted... Hopefully, what will happen is that awareness of the condition will continue to grow, providing both a cultural environment that is more willing to accommodate 'difference' and a series of systems which will enable autistic people to develop self help skills to overcome some of the challenges those differences create, and to be supported appropriately when the obstacles are insurmountable. [Developing self help skills, BTW, is not 'normalisation', which is a totally unrealistic and 'cruel' process based on impossible medical models. Negotiating between the two will always be difficult, but it's not impossible ] BD PS: Just seen Lynden's post... personally, I find the 'PC' semantics over is autistic/has autism quite pointless (though i know others think their important, so I'm not having a go at anyone with a different POV). At the end of the day, it's how people respond that matters, and knowing the 'correct' terminology doesn't guarantee anything else whatsoever. This years 'right' terminology is next years 'wrong' terminology... I was really offended when I heard someone recently say 'I see the person, not the chair' when refering to physical disability... apart from being totally patronising and untrue (but for that you'd need to know the individual, but for my money it always sounds patronising!) - How can you 'overlook' something that is such a fundamental part of another persons being? Or am i just a grumpy old get? (no need to answer... i said......) Edited March 17, 2008 by baddad Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bid Report post Posted March 17, 2008 (edited) I wish it might be possible to help some individuals move to a different place on the spectrum. I have AS, and I don't need and don't want a cure. I work with some young people who are severely autistic, and are happy and contented for most of the time. BUT I also work with some young people who are so profoundly autistic that for a large amount of time they can be acutely distressed, screaming and hitting themselves and banging their heads. There is almost nothing we as care staff can do to comfort or help these young people, as they are non-verbal and unable to use makaton or pecs. They literally have no way to communicate their needs other than by this extremely distressed behaviour. As the people who care for them, it is almost impossible to find out/work out what they need or want or what is upsetting them. At times I find it extremely upsettting...I can't begin to imagine what it must be like for their parents. I can understand why some parents will do literally anything and spend thousands of pounds searching for a 'cure'. I can also understand why some parents can be very defensive at what they see as the 'luxury' of such a cure debate. So, as I say, I wish there could be a way to help some people move to a different place on the spectrum...which is not the same as thinking we need a 'cure'. Bid Edited March 17, 2008 by bid Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LizC Report post Posted March 17, 2008 Hi I agree. I don't think there will be a'cure' either. It is far too complex and would totally change my son. It makes him who he is and although it can be hard that is just life and wouldn't change that! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lynden Report post Posted March 17, 2008 Just seen Lynden's post... personally, I find the 'PC' semantics over is autistic/has autism quite pointless (though i know others think their important, so I'm not having a go at anyone with a different POV). At the end of the day, it's how people respond that matters, and knowing the 'correct' terminology doesn't guarantee anything else whatsoever. This years 'right' terminology is next years 'wrong' terminology... It was something I hadn't even thought about till I was reprimanded/gently advised that it wasn't the right way to word it and that I was being highly offensive - apparently LOL Agree though - to each their own and there really isn't a whole lot of difference IMO! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gardenia Report post Posted March 17, 2008 Very interesting remarks thanks to all who replied. Gardenia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elun1 Report post Posted March 17, 2008 I completely agree with Bids post as it totally sums up what I feel about my son. When it's really hard to help him I wish that things were different. My absolute nightmare is knowing that one day when I'm not here anymore he'll be at the mercy of care staff who may not be kind and understanding. It doesn't bear thinking about really Elun x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cmuir Report post Posted March 17, 2008 Hi I don't think there will be a cure for autism. I think it's a incredibly complex neurological disorder that specialists cannot as yet identify the cause. There's still no real cure for cancer, aids, ME, MS, etc. Fact is we aren't perfect human beings. I must confess to thinking if there were I'd be glad of a cure for my son. He's 6 and I constantly worry about what the future holds. Even when I look back over what we've had to overcome together, I feel saddened. ASD children and adults in my opinion are truly special people (it's not good to have clones ie everyone/everything the same - life would be truly dull!), however, life is difficult - much more difficult than living as NT's. I believe that my son would be much happier (not because it would be easier for me as a parent) if he didn't have AS eg he wouldn't get bullied because he's different, other kids would want to play with him because he wouldn't be obsessing about one thing, he'd get invited to parties, etc. Through all of my son's little quirks (some of them are endearing)/traits/characteristics/etc I can see what a truly amazing and lovely little boy he is, but he faces much more than most on a daily basis eg trying to make sense of everything, trying to fit in in maistream school, etc. Hearing a little boy talk about wanting to die and self harming is truly heart-breaking - so YES, I would want my son to be cured if there was a cure. Caroline. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss Report post Posted March 18, 2008 I completely agree with Bids post as it totally sums up what I feel about my son. When it's really hard to help him I wish that things were different. My absolute nightmare is knowing that one day when I'm not here anymore he'll be at the mercy of care staff who may not be kind and understanding. It doesn't bear thinking about really Elun x Elun <'> Have to agree with Bid's post too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
