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If an ASD cure was made would you use it?

Berlusconi

As the title says.

Yes I would!!! I just want to be normal and accepted in the world. Being ASD is tiring and not a lot of fun half the time. My time at school was awful from the start to end because I was singled out for being different, no one wanted to know me because of that difference and it's kind of like it in adulthood as well. I would give anything to change the way I am.

Parents

  • I would say yes for the following reasons:
    1 - it would remove the root causes of most of th discomfort and pain that I deal with daily through my heightend senses.

    2 - it would allow me to socialise without discomfort / distress and be able to integrate more seamlessly and not stand out as a weirdo.

    3 - I would no longer need to mask as much to be able to get things done day to day, saving energy.

    4 - a few of the other traits (emotional connectivity especially) require significant amounts of effort to manage and being able to do this naturally would help my life a lot.

    It is all academic of course because even if there was a cure, we would have to learn so much of what we missed out on when growing up and the chances to learn would be limited, leading to most of us remaining deficient in those skills.

    Also, how long would it take to reprogram ourselves f
    from a lifetime to coping techniques?

    An interesting thought experiment though.

  • in reply to Iain

    My argument against this is if all those things were changed about you, would you still be Iain? That person you describe is already out there. This is a philosophical conundrum that is beyond my ability, but what I am saying is, if all these things happened would "you" still be there? I don't mean an airy fairy character change, I mean the you behind your eyes.

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  • in reply to Iain

    My argument against this is if all those things were changed about you, would you still be Iain? That person you describe is already out there. This is a philosophical conundrum that is beyond my ability, but what I am saying is, if all these things happened would "you" still be there? I don't mean an airy fairy character change, I mean the you behind your eyes.

Children
  • in reply to Iain

    Can any of us ever be exactly who we want to be? Surely all of our lives have been a mixture of advantages and disadvantages as well as the experiences we've gained through our lives?

    If I was "cured" of ASC would I suddenly understand maths and tech?

    Would I lose the ability to be an extremely empathetic alien, a talent that made me such a good counsellor?

    Would I suddenly feel a need to watch Eastenders?

    At my age, would I have enough lifespan to be able to learn all these things that i supposedly can't do because of ASC? I'd have to start right at primary school level with maths and probably tech too, as I don't think anyones thinking that all this information would be downloaded into our brains along with the "cure".

    Would I even like an NT me?

    I think that apart from the youngest of us, most of us would find our new NT world just as confusing and disabling in a different way to how we are as ASC, I think it would be really really, scary. I've had 63 years of being the way I am, would I want to start clubbing, partying and stuff? How would it change my tastes, would I suddenly think musical theatre was something I'd enjoy? It's not just because I don't like crowded places, it's because I just don't like it.

    Other things would be exactly the same, I'd still have arthritis, hyper mobility in my joints, frozen shoulders and a rotator cuff injury. My legs would still be too long for most trousers, my feet would still be an awkward shape, I'd still swim like a brick and have balance issues.

  • in reply to SpikeyMark
    SpikeyMark said:
    This is a philosophical conundrum that is beyond my ability, but what I am saying is, if all these things happened would "you" still be there?

    I believe you are who you choose to be, mixed with the aspects of your mind / body that place constraints on you (clearly a a balance impairedl person could not pass the requirements to make a fighter pilot for example).,

    If I could remove one or more of these constraints then it would allow me to achieve more of the things I believe i could be, making me a subtly different person.

    This would affect my self image, my abilities and would influence the "me" behind my eyes - in my opinion.

    My counter to your point is, are the constraints placed on us by autim making us LESS than we want to be? Is it affecting who we are?

    When you see the number of people on here who say they wish they could have friends, not suffer such crippling social anxiety, not be afraid of driving, not be so afraid to go the the dentist / doctor because of having to engage with people etc - would the removal of these issues not allow them to be what they want to be?

    It is a good thing this is a hypothetical question. It is an interesting thought experiment though.