Having discussed this IRL I have found there to be much disagreement in this area, what are your thoughts?
Clarification: This is a hypothetical so imagine it is one pill (or your preffered method of taking a medication) with no side effects.
Some years back, this might’ve been an alluring thought. But now, I think in the lines of “there isn’t a cure when there’s no disease”. If anything, more and more, I see new strengths to be explored in this “issue” that is autism (as well as it “sibling condition”, ADHD).
Absolutely not. I would not even coherently be “me” anymore - autism is a pretty fundamental neurostructural difference/neurotype. It would be akin to being lobotomised.
Regardless of some of the downsides of being autistic, it is a fundamental aspect of how I experience the world, think about the world, and understand myself. And it has some advantages, too :) .
I would like a medication that would reduce burnout and overstimulation.
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Technically speaking, I’m already taking it (ritalin and sertraline) - and it’s barely working!
The only thing I truly dislike about my ASD is the difficulty with interpersonal communication. I like just about everything else.
Hell no.
Absolutely not. I wouldn’t be me anymore, and I’m too attached to the perks. I don’t really think that it would be possible to only get rid of the stuff that negatively impacts us.
There are times when I love what my sensitivity brings to the table, for example, when listening to music or looking at a painting, but I hate it when there’s a subwoofer on somewhere on the block. I don’t want to give up the first to not have to suffer the second. I’d love to be able to be more spontaneous, but I wouldn’t give up my pattern recognition abilities.
It’s an interesting question, though. Would we know what the expected changes would be before taking the pill?
No. I’m not interested in a cure regardless of application method, efficacy, or side-effects or lack-thereof.
It’s hard to know which parts are autism and which aren’t. I’m not even sure the question has an answer. I’d love to stop the bad parts like meltdowns and shutdowns and sensory hypersensitivity.
But which of my good parts are autism, and which are me? Would I change my interests, careers, social circles? It’s hard to know. If it’s a coin toss for each I’d probably not take the risk.
I should share my own opinion: Like everyone else who has commented here, I wouldn’t either. Autism gives me so many small abilities most NTs lack and I wouldn’t give that up willingly.
The fact there is no cure and even treatment is dubious is the main reason I have not bothered to get officially tested after it was suggested by another doctor that I do. What would be the point?
I still don’t understand what autism is. Surely by now I met lot of people who were diagnosed with autism, but everyone seems normal to me. Maybe I am the autist
everyone seems normal to me
I didn’t learn I was autistic until way into my adulthood. Upto then, the favorite people in my life were autistic, but I didn’t know it. I just saw them as authentic people that had interesting quirks and appreciated their knowledge on subjects they enjoyed and lack of social games. I also had a special place for autistic kids and loved their toys to the point that I would seek them out to get some myself. One time, I was at a farmers market, saw what I now know as a fidget toy, and asked them what it was for. The lady said that it was for autistic kids because it helps them relieve stress. I played with it my hand and seriously said out loud, “Man, those autistic kids know what’s up.” One year later, I get diagnosed with autism 🤦♂️
Point being, I didn’t realize I was autistic nor that my friends were autistic. I just thought that they were cool. Once I found out, I started telling my friends, so which many responded with, “Me too.” That’s how I found out that “autistic” is NT language for my “cool”. Now, the best way to convince me to a social gathering is to tell me if anyone else that is going is autistic/cool.
My brain is my autism pratically- if I were to take the pill, I would not be there anymore- I guess you get my point there
I guess for neurotypical people, a “cure” for autism would be proper social communication… If that is what we are talking about, than that would be benefitial for “socially unadaptive” autistic people, but for me and most likely other “socially adaptive” autistic people, that would be too artificial and forced. I would rather just understand social stuff, I learned many things from doing that anyways.
