While y'all are waiting for my documentary upload (I'm smoothing out the details), check out this interesting poll posted by AutismTalk on whether we should be researching a cure for autism.
I saw it around when it was first posted, it was around 80% "Yes" and 49% "No." I watched the comment section for a while as autistic people posted their thoughts and many were incredulous at the numbers (I was surprised too as AutismTalk appeared to be a pro-Neurodiversity page), and the numbers changed after a few hours. Wow! Here is the final result.
There is a still a ton of controversy surrounding the idea curing autism. Many autistic people lean towards "no, we don't support a cure" because autism is neurological, it's how our brain develops, and--for many of us--our identity. It's an issue of "is it even possible?" and if it is, "should we?"
On the other hand, many parents and caretakers of autistic people--especially if they are neurotypical and have mostly encountered autistic people with more problematic behaviors and higher support needs--might say "yes, we support a cure." They see the suffering of "low-functioning" autistic people and wish for them to live a full and normal life.
There are also some autistic people who DO want a cure and NT parents/carers who support Neurodiversity, so it's not always neatly divided between autistics vs. neurotypicals.
A couple questions this debate sparks in my brain:
1. To what extent should we enforce an idea of "normal" behavior?
2. How do we define "normal?" What does it mean to "live a full life?"
3. If we found a cure, would we be curing autism or just the negative side effects?
Stay tuned: I will address each of these in my next series of posts, "The Autism Debate."
I don't think it's an all or nothing deal. We should support finding a cure for some of the most problematic SYMPTOMS of autism, but the thing itself has numerous positive aspects.
ReplyDeleteI say this as the mother of an autist, and the daughter of one, and possibly two, undiagnosed others.