should autism be cured?

[Ethel mermania]

because only high functioning aspies define autism as a civil rights issue

But high functioning Aspergers people don't necessarily speak for every ASD person.

the low functioning arent saying it. so the focus becomes on those who can. which as a parent i find horriffic as what they say hurts my kid

[Betoni]

Again, the you in you is not a constant. You change all the time. Everything you experience changes you on some minuscule level. I have no idea why the autistic people in this topic seem to have trouble understanding this. You are so much more than your diagnosis.

I haven't changed too much since second grade. Obviously we get more mature, and that has some effects, but you still remain mostly the same.

That's nice. I took a train the other day from my home town to where my parents live. The train sped up to something like 200 km/h, it didn't feel like I was moving at all. That is, until another train came from the opposite direction and it passed me by at the same speed like under a feet away from me. That's when I noticed that I was actually traveling at quite high speed.

[KASSRD]

Also, is it me or are teachers extremely uneducated when it comes to autism? Of course, I understand that everyone's 'form' of their autistic spectrum is differend, but there are still some defining basic points that I think schools should educate to their teachers. Unless you're going to a special kind of school for autists that will limit the chance of an autistic person finding a job later in life significantly, most autists face a lot of trouble at schools because those are either uninformed about the subject or simply don't care.

I've personally had to threaten my school to get them to work on autism after several people with autism on my school were bullied away by both teachers and students because they were "incapable" of doing anything. I'm most likely pushing my demands further because my school has been hiding from inspections with their reputation in the Netherlands as a very anti-racist, pro-everyone school which is very untrue. Alfrink College... Ugh.

Its not just yours. At my school the teachers don't understand anything about autism. They just put my in speech and try to change me, luckily I resist. It always made me laugh whenever they have all the posters saying "be yourself" and "be unique!" Well then why are you trying to turn us all the same?

[KASSRD]

I haven't changed too much since second grade. Obviously we get more mature, and that has some effects, but you still remain mostly the same.

That's nice. I took a train the other day from my home town to where my parents live. The train sped up to something like 200 km/h, it didn't feel like I was moving at all. That is, until another train came from the opposite direction and it passed me by at the same speed like under a feet away from me. That's when I noticed that I was actually traveling at quite high speed.

I'm sorry, what?

[The Remnants of Kobol]

I'm not sure what exactly there is to cure. It's not like they have a defined problem like they can't walk or are blind.

I'm also not sure what else there is for discussion. The people with autism are mostly fully aware of their situation and capable of deciding for themselves whether or not they see it as a curse or a blessing.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

But high functioning Aspergers people don't necessarily speak for every ASD person.

the low functioning arent saying it. so the focus becomes on those who can. which as a parent i find horriffic as what they say hurts my kid

I find it rather bad too.

See, I can understand choice. Especially for those who can make it, but what about those who can't? There was a poster last night advocating not giving a hypothetical cure to low functioning autistic people and I thought that was horrible.

[Llamalandia]

I'm not sure what exactly there is to cure. It's not like they have a defined problem like they can't walk or are blind.

I'm also not sure what else there is for discussion. The people with autism are mostly fully aware of their situation and capable of deciding for themselves whether or not they see it as a curse or a blessing.

Some are some aren't, some are a drain on govt funds and thus the decision is no longer theirs to make.

[Ethel mermania]

Again, the you in you is not a constant. You change all the time. Everything you experience changes you on some minuscule level. I have no idea why the autistic people in this topic seem to have trouble understanding this. You are so much more than your diagnosis.

I haven't changed too much since second grade. Obviously we get more mature, and that has some effects, but you still remain mostly the same.

a neurotypical person would not say that, but my son has not changed as much as he should have.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

I'm not sure what exactly there is to cure. It's not like they have a defined problem like they can't walk or are blind.

I'm also not sure what else there is for discussion. The people with autism are mostly fully aware of their situation and capable of deciding for themselves whether or not they see it as a curse or a blessing.

Only those who are high functioning can make a decision. I rather suspect many low functioning autistics do not have that choice.

[KASSRD]

I haven't changed too much since second grade. Obviously we get more mature, and that has some effects, but you still remain mostly the same.

a neurotypical person would not say that, but my son has not changed as much as he should have.

Wait, you think you are completely diferent?

[San Isicio]

Also, is it me or are teachers extremely uneducated when it comes to autism? Of course, I understand that everyone's 'form' of their autistic spectrum is differend, but there are still some defining basic points that I think schools should educate to their teachers. Unless you're going to a special kind of school for autists that will limit the chance of an autistic person finding a job later in life significantly, most autists face a lot of trouble at schools because those are either uninformed about the subject or simply don't care.

I've personally had to threaten my school to get them to work on autism after several people with autism on my school were bullied away by both teachers and students because they were "incapable" of doing anything. I'm most likely pushing my demands further because my school has been hiding from inspections with their reputation in the Netherlands as a very anti-racist, pro-everyone school which is very untrue. Alfrink College... Ugh.

Its not just yours. At my school the teachers don't understand anything about autism. They just put my in speech and try to change me, luckily I resist. It always made me laugh whenever they have all the posters saying "be yourself" and "be unique!" Well then why are you trying to turn us all the same?

Practically leftovers from when governments used to be a bit more autocratic in their upbringing of children. I think that we'll eventually grow a bit more open into a more social society in which we give every student the attention they need.

[San Isicio]

Right, it's almost 12:00 AM out here, I'll be off to bed. Goodnight everyone.

[Betoni]

Probably because hardly anyone would say that curing ADHD or OCD would be like killing them. The whole spectrum thing seems to confuse a lot of people. The average person is used to medical terms being precise and accurate. The topic is controversial mainly because the confusion of normal usage of words such as "cure" and the thinking that autism is just like any illness, well defined and understood.

How would you define autism as?

I wouldn't presume to define it. I'm not criticizing the spectrum thinking at all. I'm pointing out that people are't used to that kind of looseness in medical terms. Interestingly enough, according to wikipedia there is some controversy whether Aspergers should be included in the autism spectrum. I personally would prefer syndromal autism/non-syndromal autism to LFA/HFA.

[San Isicio]

How would you define autism as?

I wouldn't presume to define it. I'm not criticizing the spectrum thinking at all. I'm pointing out that people are't used to that kind of looseness in medical terms. Interestingly enough, according to wikipedia there is some controversy whether Aspergers should be included in the autism spectrum. I personally would prefer syndromal autism/non-syndromal autism to LFA/HFA.

Last post of today:

Aspergers is a bit more difficult to include as a part of the spectrum since, of what I know, everyone who's defined as having Aspergers have quite differend issues although they do have common points such as being generally antisocial for a part.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

How would you define autism as?

I wouldn't presume to define it. I'm not criticizing the spectrum thinking at all. I'm pointing out that people are't used to that kind of looseness in medical terms. Interestingly enough, according to wikipedia there is some controversy whether Aspergers should be included in the autism spectrum. I personally would prefer syndromal autism/non-syndromal autism to LFA/HFA.

No, no, I'm not saying you're criticizing. I was interested because you also deal with children who are ASD and I just wondered about that. It's always good to hear from care providers too, rather than just Aspergers people. It's not that their opinion doesn't matter, but it's one sided.

[KASSRD]

How would you define autism as?

I wouldn't presume to define it. I'm not criticizing the spectrum thinking at all. I'm pointing out that people are't used to that kind of looseness in medical terms. Interestingly enough, according to wikipedia there is some controversy whether Aspergers should be included in the autism spectrum. I personally would prefer syndromal autism/non-syndromal autism to LFA/HFA.

That's is true. An ADHD kid will have almost the same symptoms, just severity that changes.with an autistic, it can be completely different. Many of us are unable to care for ourselves. At the same time, a huge percentage of the worlds most famous and important historical people were autistic.

[Betoni]

That's nice. I took a train the other day from my home town to where my parents live. The train sped up to something like 200 km/h, it didn't feel like I was moving at all. That is, until another train came from the opposite direction and it passed me by at the same speed like under a feet away from me. That's when I noticed that I was actually traveling at quite high speed.

I'm sorry, what?

I guess you really are autistic.

I'm saying you wouldn't perceive the change in you as you are always experiencing yourself as yourself. You are basically taking a train called your life from point A to point B but it doesn't seem at all like you are moving.

[StellarGate]

Also, is it me or are teachers extremely uneducated when it comes to autism? Of course, I understand that everyone's 'form' of their autistic spectrum is differend, but there are still some defining basic points that I think schools should educate to their teachers. Unless you're going to a special kind of school for autists that will limit the chance of an autistic person finding a job later in life significantly, most autists face a lot of trouble at schools because those are either uninformed about the subject or simply don't care.

I've personally had to threaten my school to get them to work on autism after several people with autism on my school were bullied away by both teachers and students because they were "incapable" of doing anything. I'm most likely pushing my demands further because my school has been hiding from inspections with their reputation in the Netherlands as a very anti-racist, pro-everyone school which is very untrue. Alfrink College... Ugh.

Yes, most teachers are uneducated. It's sometimes hard to tell the difference. for low-functioning, it's probably easy to tell becuase they will most likely have an aide or have to go to special classes. For higher fuctioning it can be really hard to tell.

Is that kid crying because he is spoiled and over dramatic, or is he Autistic? Is this child not answering my question because she's mad? Did that kid just have an outburst because he's bored? There are a million ways it could be interpreted wrong. I know this well because my middle school years were filled with 'black marks' on my record for crying in class, one time I was so unresponsive they called the schools police officer to come and deal with me. (Thankfully I got my ass in gear before he could arrive, but that is not how to deal with an unresponsive autistic person.)

You just need people who are willing to help. Once I got to high school, the teachers were much better. were they experts on Autism? No. But they were informed via a special IEP plan what they could do and what most of my problems were. I had a great special ed teacher who helped inform my teachers of what was wrong. You just need the structure. Some places don't have that structure.

[Quilavaland]

during my journeys throught the internent, i've come across some people who would deem autism as healthy and harmless. some of these people believe that research into autism should be banned and parents shouldn't be allowed to force their kids to take medication for autism. some of them even considered autism a lifestyle. so this leaves us with a few questions;/

1. in case of an eventual cure for autism, should parents have the right to decide not to cure their children? would that consist of child abuse?
2. is autism a lifestyle?

i believe that autism isn't a lifestyle, because you can't choose to be autistic (although some people get very close). i also think that in case of an eventual cure for autism, parents shouldn't be given a say on whether they want to cure their chilkdren or not.

It depends, people with mild forms of Autism Spectrum Disorders like Aspergers and such which often have major benefits and milder versions of the pitfalls are actually beneficial to society and contribute to our scientific and artistic development, without them we will stagnate, so they should not be "cured".

But having sad that for those with extreme Autism who can't even talk or recognise others as people, they should be "cured" to give them a chance to actually live a decent life.

[Ethel mermania]

meds can amerlorate the symptoms allowing them to function. temple grandin credits her nanny when she was young for bringing her out of her shell; and some pretty heavy meds now that help control her stims, ocd behaaviors and anxieties to allow her to function now.

if the family has a history of celiac disease, often a gluten free diet helps enormously

no one really knows what causes autism. if you look at dsm-iv, the diagnoses is a chinese menu, 2 from column a, 2 from colum b, and 1 from column c. the diagnoses is given to a set of symptoms, not really to anything.

As a parent, what's your take on the claims people like Jenny McCarthy have made regarding vaccines causing autism in children?

jenny now says her kid didnt have autism.

i dunno, we noticed stuff with the boy before his mmr, but he had a hideous reaction to it, and his measles titers to this day are rediculously high. i also read wakefields study, and in the study he only said, i opened 12 kids up in 5 of them i found the measles virus in their gut we should look at this. now we know he opened up more than 12 kids and his control group really wasnt, but the hysterical over reaction and claims made about him were absurd (since then he has said things that are false)

also the first studies that said no vaccine autism link were seriously flawed, the numbers were not high enough to prove anything about something that occurred 1:10,000 incidents (now the cdc saya 1:68 so maybe the numbers work now, i havent looked at it agaon).

they dont know what causes autism. until they do, i will withold judgement, but i will not count it out.
i dont think anyone knows what causes

[KASSRD]

I'm sorry, what?

I guess you really are autistic.

I'm saying you wouldn't perceive the change in you as you are always experiencing yourself as yourself. You are basically taking a train called your life from point A to point B but it doesn't seem at all like you are moving.

Okay then. I really hate figurative language, it is useless. Well I understand you are coming from, I'm not the only one who says it. All my friends and family agree I'm mostly the same person I was 4 years ago. I had a year or 3 where I was a bit different, but I reverted back to normal afterwards.

[Des-Bal]

It depends, people with mild forms of Autism Spectrum Disorders like Aspergers and such which often have major benefits and milder versions of the pitfalls are actually beneficial to society and contribute to our scientific and artistic development, without them we will stagnate, so they should not be "cured".

Yeah that's not true.

[KASSRD]

It depends, people with mild forms of Autism Spectrum Disorders like Aspergers and such which often have major benefits and milder versions of the pitfalls are actually beneficial to society and contribute to our scientific and artistic development, without them we will stagnate, so they should not be "cured".

Yeah that's not true.

How is it not?

[MERIZoC]

It depends, people with mild forms of Autism Spectrum Disorders like Aspergers and such which often have major benefits and milder versions of the pitfalls are actually beneficial to society and contribute to our scientific and artistic development, without them we will stagnate, so they should not be "cured".

Yeah that's not true.

Yes it is. Go read up on what you're discussing.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

As a parent, what's your take on the claims people like Jenny McCarthy have made regarding vaccines causing autism in children?

jenny now says her kid didnt have autism.

i dunno, we noticed stuff with the boy before his mmr, but he had a hideous reaction to it, and his measles titers to this day are rediculously high. i also read wakefields study, and in the study he only said, i opened 12 kids up in 5 of them i found the measles virus in their gut we should look at this. now we know he opened up more than 12 kids and his control group really wasnt, but the hysterical over reaction and claims made about him were absurd (since then he has said things that are false)

also the first studies that said no vaccine autism link were seriously flawed, the numbers were not high enough to prove anything about something that occurred 1:10,000 incidents (now the cdc saya 1:68 so maybe the numbers work now, i havent looked at it agaon).

they dont know what causes autism. until they do, i will withold judgement, but i will not count it out.
i dont think anyone knows what causes

True, the causes aren't known which is why I found the claims that it could be caused by vaccines premature.