Published on 12, July, 2020
I was reading an article on Zerohedge today,a well known "far right conspiracy nutcase site" which was about the rising prevalence of Autism.
We all know that many people claim that vaccines (or mercury used as an adjuvant in vaccines) cause Autism, (which doesn't work in my case, but what the heck, people claim all sorts of unlikely things to be true nowadays) and that position is made very clearly in the comments sections amongst many others.
Where I agree with the strident people here who ALWAYS pop up to rubbish any ZH link I publish, is that there is a lot of rhetoric, misguided or actually 100% false opinion and information to be read in the comments section, and some of the articles are not much better, indeed.
Where I disagree with those same detractors is that reading them is a useless or even BAD experience. JUST as this forum has ME, Malojian & Juniper from Gallifrey all very different posters with different styles coming from quite clearly diffferent places ALL of us have a "place at the table" (even if it does mean putting up with the likes of me!) and a right to be heard*.
SO that being in mind, I read a lot of them as well as the article..
Sometimes a comment really makes me sit up and think, such as the "Autism can be cured but the cure is being suppressed" comment, not least because the author has put a lot of effort in and has added citations and evidence that can be followed up on... and I did do some of them before I needed to do something else. (It's not just laziness, I am struggliing through interruptions and "new tasks" even during the writing this post, and am now irritated with how long everything takes to get done...
I saw a well dressed person clearly more successful, comfortable, and articulate than me, telling the audience to her you tube video that "yes Autism can be cured". I would rush to believe but for the fact that I've also had a bunch of very similar appearing people telling me that a succession of MRNA injections can make sure I don't catch covid I believe "Safe and Effective" was the psychologcial "baited hook" in that case, so why should I believe her?
BUT nevertheless, the question having been raised in this "fixers" head remains:
COULD Autism be "Curable"??
Not interested in the modern idea of "treatments" which are about as effective as the "servicing" that modern cars get, I'm wondering if it can be CURED like my own suicidal ideation was a few years back.
no... its a personality type (i said type because i know alot of people dont like its classification as disorder)you cannot change or cure a personality.you can prevent the traits and development though and prevent it.... by changing how you raise a kid in their development... any kid can become autistic if you smother them and hold them back from social development by keeping them away from other kids and locking them up. thats pretty much how you cause autism personality, by smothering and locking your kid up a bit too much. which makes it so they cant socially develope, which then theres a window for that and once you miss it you cannot actually socially develope later in life and you will always have autistic traits... or so was explained by certain phycologists to some degree, i kinda agree with it. and autism is called a social developmental issue and any help is focused on children because that is the only time you can prevent it by ensuring the social developmental time for the brains growth isnt impeded. so no, if the damage is done its too late. but it can be prevented in kids by ensuring they get the correct social development in their social development growth window.
Conspiracy theory believers are motivated by the same thing that attracts people to fringe religions and cults. It is the idea that they know something that 'Mr Average' does not. It gives them a specious and entirely false sense of superiority. This is why, even when faced with the truth and lots of supporting real evidence, they cling to their, often idiotic, convictions.
Many years ago Putin’s propaganda tzar openly stated that their policy is to spread numerous lies AND the truth and thus leave people overwhelmed with (dis)information, unable to tell what’s true and what’s lies and ultimately give up trying.
And that’s where a lot of people are now.
But the people who believe nonsense like Covid was a false flag operation to let Bill Gates inject us all with monitoring devices - they are simply nutters.
Lies NEED to have "incalculable damage" inflicted on them.
MOST (not all, some are as you correctly intuit, driven by malevolence or insanity, we have our "bad apples" too) are trying to raise awareness of some very inconvenient truths.
What you have been carefully trained to call "conspiracy theory" others call the "Truth Movement".
It really is a matter of perspective.
For those of us you call "Conspiracy Theorists" (at best, a lot of the names are less flattering) it is not "news" to learn that The Ukraine war is not going well, as I've been provided with copius evidence that Ukraine aided by NATO has been relentlessly crushed by the Russian army. Worse, the when the truth is generally known, we will all find that the Russians have done it with incredibly low civilian casualties compared to anything we've ever accomplished in our MANY, MANY, invasions of other nations...
We have a dark joke which goes:
Q. "What is the difference between a real fact and a conspiracy theory?"
A. "about eight months, currently."
Eek I've said too much, there'll be a black helicopter full of lizard people coming to get me...
Wisdom and grace are catalysts for embracing the self and others. And your sentiment is reverent, but isn't the same being said of the Human Condition ringing from every pulpit? But I'd suggest for those who want to join, church communities have been know for rejecting the Autistic and ADHD. While one is accepted by a Divinity, just as "a body without soul is dead, a soul without a body is a ghost". So, too, the individual without a community.
I do know a few theologians trying to change how Autism is perceived in the church at large. I don't for a second agree it's a condition, there is one condition, being human, and we're just another design of that human. :)
As a Catholic myself, the idea of a “cure” for autism does not sit right with me either, as the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church has always been that “all human life begins from the moment of conception” and as I get older, I am much clearer on the concept of being pro-life compared to my teens in the 1980’s when we had the abortion debates in Ireland which I never really understood - many recent scientific and technological “advances” that are out there, in some cases being misused by mankind for evil purposes and that seek to usurp or replace the role of God in the story of human life and creation are things that I can never agree with, such as test-tube babies, egg/sperm banks, artificial insemination, artificial wombs, artificial eggs/sperm, DNA editing prior to conception, are all things that I cannot agree with, as mankind does not have any right to alter God’s designs and our autism comes from the Hand of God, if we are to be “cured” of our autism, only He by His Divine Hand can do this
I haven't read the article, but my thoughts on the topic of an Autism cure...
If it was possible to eradicate what I perceive to be my negative ASD traits, whilst ensuring my positive traits remained, then that is something I would be in favour of. After all, I'm over the age of 16 and legally old enough to make my own decisions about "medical" matters.
However, if when I had been pregnant with my son, I had been told, "Your son will be autistic", would I have embraced the prospect of a "cure" if it had been offered? No!
Why? Because I would not have known when I was pregnant how ASD would affect my son. Therefore, why cure something that might not cause him severe difficulties in his life? Also, the thought of me "playing God" with his life wouldn't have sat comfortably with me.
We need to stop looking for a cure for Autism and simply accept the Divine & Holy Will of God as He in His Infinite Wisdom has given this condition to us - we need to bend down deeply into the priceless waters of prayer to ask God to help us to bear our Cross of our condition and join our own sufferings to that of Christ on the Cross as for many of us, our condition is a trial sent from God
...I have to admit, you do have a great point.
If autism could be cured, sign me up! But it’s too late for me, so I’m happy I can medicate in a similar vain to I sperg but now legally. It’s the only thing that has helped me calm down and limit my meltdowns. It helps me to accept who I am and be cool with it, to a certain extent. For many years I’ve struggled with not being able to form friendships, and even after thinking I’d found someone who I got on with, always ending up being hurt or driving them away. I’ve been able to pretend to fit in for a limited time before having to practically run away from that environment because I couldn’t cope with it anymore. And/or being so burnt out by engaging in ‘normal’ every day activities that I end up deliberately pushing it away. And to add to that, even at my age I still don’t understand how to act to form relationships. I’ve been in very dark places in the past due to this, as well as struggling my entire life with working full time and being able to mentally and physically cope with that. That in turn means I have money struggles because I’ve never been quite able to make something of myself. Even still I pretend to any acquaintances that I am a fully working, everything is grand type of person. If I could have had a cure all those years ago I would have definitely tried it.
You make a lot of good points. It is so true that people often try to ‘fix things’ or ‘normalise’ rather than accept someone the way they are and accommodate their differences.
I don’t think autism is curable or that we should try to cure it. There are differences in brain development, including with respect to developmental timing. There is likely to be a critical period during which any intervention could impact relevant aspects of brain development. There are so many papers on autism and brain development being published recently- it does irritate me- I understand that from a purely basic biology perspective it is interesting to study differences in brain development related to autism (eg how does an autism risk gene affect brain development) but what really gets to me is when they then mention treatment etc. This kind of research will not improves the lives of autistic people. It’s interesting from a basic biology perspective but I am concerned that is not the only reason it is being conducted. It also contributes to misconceptions and negative portrayal of autism- as it is being referred to as a ‘disorder’ and any differences in brain development in autism as ‘defects’. Sorry for the rant. This is something that is on my mind a lot recently- especially as my coworkers keep presenting papers on autism in journal club ….
It's a thought provoking question. I noticed my name up there LOL. So, here's some thoughts!!!
My conclusion is we're all born with a set of qualities and circumstances. Heal the trauma first. Emerge from survival mode. I think this is what needs to be cured for most of us who weren't raised in supportive, middle class environments.
And then hopefully, to whatever degree, learn new, healthy ways to become the 'best self'. Help instead of hurt. Appreciate manners, assert and afford boundaries, learn to properly invest and grow a friendship. Chose a new family if we wish, focus intensities on to things, ideas (rather than people) and allow for the difficulties of others. There's nothing wrong with being kind, valuing ethics and aesthetics and calling out cruelty. Personally, it's just taken me a LOT longer to understand these things and there needs to be specific education plans for Autistics and other divergent thinkers as we mature slower. My mother should've never expected me to just change costume and suddenly appear adult, the day I turned 18.
The bigger problem I run up against is a Mad society, completely Desensitised to stuff that is Really Unhealthy.
___
Historically humans have always been looking for a cure.
In the history of psychoanalysis, there is the continual problem of Neurosis. And according to Freud, "we're all a little Neurotic" and "Sick... sick of ourselves" And so, "psychoanalysis, the discourse of bad conscience and guilt, always rises up and finds its nourishment—what is called being cured."
The church, not just the therapist, has a history of claiming to cure guilt, release debt, and these 2 things continue to pop back up in to the social schema everywhere, according to a great deal of philosophers and analysts. But the ever pressing problem is how do you help the Neurotic know they have a problem? Especially when what is uniquely neurotic is to betray one's own desires in such an unhealthy way as to change both the good and potentially harmful nature into civilised behaviour. Forever displacing, always misrepresenting everything.
And so it is only those who don't play along with the: Forever Return of social stratifications and their Moral and Hierarchal exchanges who are the problem. Those who don't identify with the social indoctrination of guilt, who cannot socially perform the improvised theatrics of expressing indebtedness. These are the significant problems Autistics face. And what one can see in the cracks of ABA demanding moral behaviour to 'cure' the autistic.
It's this ^^ Social "current" one has to work out how to 'flow' with. Affecting our livelihood, our ability to stay healthy, to afford to live in this model of society where Autistic and even Introverted values are not appreciated, even seen as 'wrong'.
But even now, more articles are finally appearing about Misrepresenting Trauma as 'mental illnesses'. Not taking account of what genuinely impacts a person from their environment and economic situation. The myth of "I can be whatever I want if I put my mind to it", because no, you cannot grow a new leg and you might not get that brain design which helps desensitise.
However... I have personally found things which help balance my biology so there are fewer "user errors" I need to troubleshoot. I post about them often, the science of our apparent differences makes sense to me and just seems as if it's a different 'blood type' or 'skin colour'. Some can handle the sun others are better off in the Arctic. Work with what you've got...
It does seem to me there are a few fundamental Autistic differences with their own potential and difficulties. Much like a deeper examination of the MBTi and how traits can help one thrive or barely survive. The medical community needs to catch up with biological differences. The education system needs to catch up... and so on. So yes, the social impact is very impactful.
I stole it from a Google search.
I agree, it would be better if it was simply "nothing".
"Nothing" written in stone. Literally.
Well, obviously not to imply that ALL NT's are the cause of everything negative in the world.
That said however, everything negative in the world IS caused by NT's.
So to contemplate a "cure" for Autism would be like contemplating a cure for world peace.
Yeah, pretty much.
There's a rise in diagnosis, but that doesn't mean there are more people with autism, which certainly isn't caused by the measles vaccine.
Genetics probably plays a part
The problem is they see a sudden rise in autism cases and they think there must be a cause to it like vaccines and they don't look at the fact that the definition ("Not sure if the right word") of autism changed in 2013 and there was also a rising awareness of it so more people getting diagnosed. Correlation does not mean causation. Most of the people are worried parents who see their child stop looking them in the eyes after the vaccine and think the vaccine caused it and didn't notice the other signs before it. Also all their energy is campaigning against this instead of actually helping their child.
Yep.
I wonder why people who believe this nonsense don't ask themselves basic questions like - Oh, I don't know... what caused autism before the measles vaccination was introduced, maybe?
Hmm...
Also I like your profile pic. I like the play on words of it. I wonder if I would have gotten it if it was just Nothing written there.
I have a hypothesis that the people behind them are undiagnosed neurodivergent, the reason being it gives them a sense of belonging and purpose which they haven't found anywhere else. Which I think is common among neurodivergent people. I am probably wrong though and it doesn't excuse their actions. I also agree with you, so much money has been spent disproving the vaccine causes autism claim even though the evidence was shaky behind it in the first place that it set back support for autism. All of that money spent on research could have been spent on support for us and all because of these conspiracy sites. This makes me a little bit angry. There purpose isn't to make the world better it is to create misinformation, and confuse people and waste resources. This is such a waste of time and money.