If Autism could be cured, would you?

What did they say? It got deleted

When people say "cure" in regards to autism, they make it sound like an illness.

That aside, had I not been autistic to begin with, I'd probably have grown to be quite obnoxious, given the other aspects of my upbringing which I won't bore you with.

Since I wasn't diagnosed until I was in my mid-late 30's, I've been told to "stop acting weird" all my life and I've been forced to suppress a lot of my initial thoughts and try to imagine every possible meaning for instructions I receive from others, which makes me appear to be a slow thinker.

If I could, I'd be more tolerant of bright lights & specific sounds & smells which I find to be extremely uncomfortable, but I wouldn't want my autism "cured". As long as I'm not hurting anyone, I'd like to be allowed to express myself, to be tolerated and encouraged to contribute new ideas with my different way of thinking. But I'm informed these desires are selfish, so I'll stop trying to achieve them.

don't be so bloody ridiculous.

I can relate to this. People who meet me for the first time think I'm witty, funny, clever and fun to be with. And I am...........for the half an hour that I chose to spend charming you. I don't want more than that and if you show up at my door in a few days time, all smiley and friendly, thinking I'll be the same, you'll see the side of me that has lost me friends and family. I could have had a brilliant 'career' as a mistress, just being funny and amusing for a couple of hours a week. Could I be in an office or deal with customers on a daily basis? Judging from my many short lived jobs, no I couldn't.
Masking takes a lot of effort and I can't do it long term or daily without eventually blowing a gasket, usually because people see that I'm easily riled, so they play the "let's see if we can wind her up" game, then act hurt and surprised when I flip, start to swear and cry and throw things and physically attack them if they're daft enough to actually lay hands on me. I don't like to be touched by anyone, even on a good day, trying to pull me or push me when I'm mid flip out is stupid and dangerous (hence been arrested several times in my life for assault too). 
 .

try avoiding being around anyone at all and you'll discover a calmness and peace in your life.

Yes. In a heartbeat. I've had a lifetime of conflict and confusion and I *hate* it. Got expelled from school, divorced 4 times, kicked off forums and discussion groups, been lied to by people who pretended to be my friends in order to take money from me, bullied at school, shunned locally. There's nothing about any of that that I want.

I would not want a cure for my condition but more help/support to educate others around the world to understand it more without judgement.

Yes, we can end up being on medication due to some co-morbid conditions (Stress, Anxiety, Depression) but they are only to help us cope with the Neuro Typicals.

Like I'm done with Christmas Cards, we are expected to act/think/etc as others expect but cannot keep it up thus adding more pressure on ourselves because as I was told "it is our perception that is wrong".

So, the world needs to stop "Talking the Talk" about Diversity/Equality/Inclusion and become a fairer place for everyone to be able to live how they want and do what they do best (their strengths) by "Walking the Walk".

Good question.

Your positives and negatives are very similar to mine.

But I think that those negatives have only ever caused me "trouble" when other people have expected me to behave in certain ways, or rather *I* have put pressure on myself to behave in certain ways because I've observed what "most people" do and told myself that I "should" be like them. So simple acceptance (of me by others,and of me by myself) would nullify all of these negatives (for me, at least) without having to change anything about me. And at long last, I seem to be experiencing this. 

I could add on to the negatives list some executive functioning difficulties particularly around memory, motivation and impulse control, plus my rigid thinking and reluctance to embrace imposed change, and having these taken away might be an objectively "nice thing to have" but I've lived with them for 52 years so.............

As others have said, I don't know what it would be like if my ASD were suddenly taken away, and I think it is entirely possible that I might not enjoy the result. I hate any changes to my hearing for example (e.g. something simple like a blocked ear) so how would I feel about having typical audio processing? I find it difficult to imagine, but think it would be a significant change.

At this point things get a bit more philosophical for me. I'm currently trying to disentangle my ASD from my personality and co-morbid things (I'm not sure I have any but think that these are the three major things that it is worthwhile separating) so that I can better know what is good to work on improving and what is best left alone (masking nearly killed me). Whilst in some sense autism and personality could be seen as distinct, my personality has evolved in the presence of autism, and taking autism away would certainly change *me*, and for that reason, I don't think I'd be up for it.

In conclusion, I'm happy as I am (and now that I know *why* I am like I am, and I'm getting the acceptance that I need from others and from myself, I'm happier than I've been in decades).

This is of course a personal view specific to myself & I wouldn't want to claim it to be the way it *should be* for everyone.

By the way, I think that the concept of "internalised oppression" -or something like it- seems relevant to how we might feel about ourselves (for anyone, generally speaking, as well as in the context of this discussion around how we feel about autism's impact on us). I am no expert here and I'm not asserting anything in particular, except to say that it might be worth exercising caution if we find ourselves criticising ourselves and wishing that we were different. In some cases, that wishing might be rooted in a desire for healthy growth or the amelioration of difficulties ("cures", perhaps), but in other cases might be as a result of internalised "shoulds" that it would be better for us to dismiss.

The truth is I don't know what that would be like if I wasn't autistic, as it's part of my personality and who I am (and I am not talking identity here!)

I would certainly get rid of all the co-morbid conditions I suffer with, but I certainly wouldn't change who I am.

I like the fact people turn to me for honesty, for a problem to be solved and that I have a deep connection with animals.  I love tackling things with logic and creativity - it makes the world must interesting and curious.  Although I am useless as socialising, I also like my own company and I think that is a great thing to have in a society that is becoming more hostile and isolated - I feel it impacts me less than other people who rely on socialising so much.

My interests bring me such joy as well and I pity people who say they don't want to retire because they would have nothing to do and would be bored.  I will never be bored!

Yes, some aspects of it. I don’t want to romanticise my autism but whilst I accept “curing” aspects of it would change my personality but these aspects have caused me pain and bullying all my life. I don’t want to fit it but I feel that changing some of my traits would help me to stand up to bullies.

Autism is absolutely part of the neurodiversity of the species, I certainly don't consider it to 'impair normal functioning' - I function 'normally' for me, just 'differently' than the majority of the population, hence my preference to describe myself as 'neuroatypical'.

Is left-handedness a disease?

or colour-blindness?

or synesthesia?

or dyslexia?

or Dean Karnazes ridiculous ability to run?

I'd say no. It may be that people with these conditions have 'mutations' within their genetic makeup or are simply 'outliers' within the population.

I don't define myself through being autistic any more than I do from having blue/green eyes or crap hair - they are intrinsic attributes of 'me'.

I'm not 'proud' of my autistic nature, sometimes it means I can be an utter *** - but I can also see that it means there are some things I'm really, really good at and I've been fortunate enough to build a good career using those aspects.

I don't 'seclude myself with other autistics', though I work in IT, so to be honest I think a lot of people I work with are on the spectrum (diagnosed or otherwise).

Lupus said:

I've always found it easier to be happy if I stick with NTs and try and fit in.

Really? REALLY? It's easier to be happy trying to be something that you aren't? Constantly masking, burning energy to 'translate' what's going on around you, concerned you might 'slip up' and be outed?

I have been a lot happier since my diagnosis and the fact that I have been able to be honest with people about who I am and what I struggle with... the ability to be 'mindful' of my own anxiety state and communicate that to understanding (NT) colleagues at work has been particularly beneficial.

Totally agree - I know a few aspies that i would not want working for me.    I'm very high functioning and I mask very well as a jolly nice chap who is always very positive and highly capable.    I can pass as 'normal' most of the time as long as nothing difficult happens at work.     They can't see the internal stress that is damaging me and just how hard I'm working to process the social game - it's exhausting.    But in my line of work, most people are a 'bit odd' because we're such nerdy specialists.      If I had to do a job that was all social interaction, I'd burn out very quickly.

I've met a lot of (for want of a better phrase) 'lower functioning' aspies - they come across as a bit strange, intense and 1-dimensional so I totally see why we're so unrepresented in the workforce - I'd be terrified at the responsibility of employing them.

I'm beginning to wonder if the reason that only 16% of autistic adults are working full-time is the fault of employers, or of autistic people themselves. After reading: 

Plastic said:

my idea of hell - doing sales or dealing with people etc. or some other stress job dealing with NTs.

I can't really blame employers for not wanting us, if that's really the case. I imagine for them the sentence would be "Some other stress job dealing with aspies".

I have huge social deficiencies - but huge technical capabilities - I can choose to limit my social stress and play that game on my own terms - conversely, my technical abilities meant I was always in demand to do very niche, well-paid jobs where I could excel.     The money I earned meant I could indulge my hobbies and do 'nice' things in my spare time.

I think a lot of people with autism don't 'know' themselves so they end up in careers that do not suit them or play to their own strengths - I imagine this would be my idea of hell - doing sales or dealing with people etc. or some other stress job dealing with NTs.

I'm not ashamed, but I'm not proud either. It doesn't make sense to me when people make their entire personality their Autism, or surround themselves only with other aspies, because at that point all you're doing is creating an echo chamber. 

In fact, the people that seclude themselves to pretty much only other aspies are the ones that sound "ashamed" to me, or at the very least, aren't experiencing true freedom.

Am I missing something here or do people here genuinely seem to believe that Autism isn't a disease/disorder and just put it down to being "neurologically diverse"?

At the risk of starting a ruckus, you sound like you are ashamed of who you are and spend your life masking... that's not going to end well.

I hope you can find a way to accept yourself for who you are and experience the freedom and reduction in anxiety that self-acceptance brings

It sounds like you're saying "If you could become neurotypical, would you?"

- If I lost all the attributes I ascribe to being autistic, good and bad then 'probably not' (though that depends on what kind of an autie-day I'm having) as I'd lose too much 'awesome'

- If I only lost the negative attributes I ascribe to being autistic then 'yes, in a heartbeat' as I would be 'even more awesome'

Better to ask if there was a virus you could release that would make NTs actually 'a bit autistic' (like they often claim to be), would you?

Yes I bloody well would!

I guess I'm the opposite of your view -  is that because of your areas of interests?    My Aspie-super-powers lead me to the sciences -  I'm a pan-nerdist - anything technical or sciencey - and all my friends are engineers & scientists and we all have huge capabilities.      I revel in listening to other people's areas of interests and their enthusiasm in sharing data.     I love doing nerdy things with other nerds.   It makes me satisfied with being aspie.