Don't try to cure us we don't want a cure. Curing us suggests you would rather we didn't esist, that we are burden and must be eradicated. Most of us believe that autism is such an intrinsic part of us that there's no way to tell how we'd be affected by a cure.
You're not actually for equality when you would deny autistic people the right to -- or belittle autistic people for speaking in favor of their own existance.
Do you consider autism a disability? Why or why not?
Hi! My name is Vector, and I'm autistic. It's hard to explain what autism is, partly because autistic people are so different from each other. Some people say autism is a disability. Some people say it's a difference. I think it's both.
Disability? Autists are more likely than others to:
- think outside the box
- resist peer pressure
- overcome childhood indoctrination
- make important discoveries and inventions
How disabled is that?
Autism to me is not 'wrong', not subhuman, not a collection of deficits, it is simply 'other'. Another reality. And like anything different, it is going to jar.
For us, autism is not simply an add on to our personhood, but is in fact foundational to our identity.
Should autism be treated? Yes, with respect! Hit "share" if you agree. Always Unique Totally Intelligent Sometimes Mysterious
The things that make me different are the things that make me ME! - Piglet
Autism is not a parenting problem, it is part of a person.
The idea of "cure" is tied to the medical model of disability which holds that a person with a disability is "sick" and needs to be "cured;" some internal flaw has "caused" the disability. This is the perspective still taken by popular culture and many autism organizations.
In contrast, the socio-ecological model of disability holds that there are problems instead in the relationship between the disabled individual and their environment; disability is "caused" by a poor person-to-environment match. This perspective rejects the idea of "cure" as nonsensical (and in some ways offensive) as it does not view disability as a flaw that resides solely within an individual. Instead, this perspective asks, what needs to be done to bring the individual and their environment into better alignment? Sometimes that answer is better accommodations and environmental support. Other times that answer some sort of therapy or other form of self-improvement. The social or socio-ecological model is the perspective taken by the general disability advocacy community and many autism rights activists and self-advocates. Socio-ecological perspectives on disability favor the ideas of acceptance, education, and support as keys to a happy, healthy life.
Socio-ecological Model of Disability: Ability is a dynamic relationship between an individual and their environment.
I am not broken, poisoned, defective, or diseased. I am autistic. I need acceptance, not a cure.
Good News, Everyone! Most autistic people don't want to be cured!
I don't hate being autistic. I just hate being autistic in a neurotypical world.
Thing's Asperger's Syndrome / Autism Is Not
- Autism is not mental retardation. Some autistic people may be very intelligent.
- Autism is not "savant" syndrome. Some autistic people are "savants", (instant calculator, etc.) but most are not. Other autistic people are "gifted", however, and have high "general" intelligence. Many autistic people have normal intelligence, and some may be retarded.
- Autism is not an emotional problem. Autism is a neurological condition which people are usually born with. Psychological trauma doesn't cause it.
- Autism is not a psychosis or lack of reality contact.
- People do not choose to be autistic.
- Autism is not "a fate worse than death." Autistic people have some disadvantages, but some live very happy and rewarding lives. Many autistic people wouldn't want to be "cured", as this would be like erasing them and replacing them with different people.