Despite What Some May Tell You, There is No Cure for Autism
All I can offer is my own opinion, so thats what follows. Unlike some bloggers I’m not interested in a lawyerly fillibuster designed to ‘win you round’, just in presenting my own opinion.Cure is by its very definition a total removal of something that ails somebody. Anything else is therapy. So now we need to ask if theres anything about autism that makes someone medically ill to the point of non or poor functionality. Of course there is. People who struggle to communicate such as my own child are ill in two ways. One is the fact that societies failure to accomodate more than one type of communication means that society ‘makes’ my child ill. Two is the fact that autism has affected xyr ability to communicate in an NT world and that to ignore the fact that xe exists in an NT world is futile and that therefore ‘therapy’ is required to address this.
Does this mean that speech and language therapy is a cure? No. I don’t think its possible to make that claim. SaLT doesn’t address autism, it addresses communication.
There is, despite what some will tell you, no cure for autism. No pill to take, no drug to inject, no strategy to follow that will remove autism. There are a variety of differing therapies, some of which are valid and some of which are not which will help an autistic person function in an NT world.
However, what we must never forget is that it is not only up to the autistic person to try and learn to adjust to the NT world, it is also up to the NT world to try and accomodate all types of divergence including autism (and schizophrenia, bipolar. quadroplegia etc). This will have an enriching effect on society which largely fears difference.
So we come to the question: would I (hypothetically) cure my autistic child? No. Its not my choice, its xyr’s. Would I would like to do is raise xyr to the point where that choice is able to be seriously considered by xyr alone. Is that likely. No its not. My child has severe learning difficulties. So what do I do? What is the correct strategy? The correct strategy is to live in the reality we have. There is no cure. I give xyr every chance by ensuring the education and therapy xe recieves works as well as it can. And I have seen for myself in my step child just how affective such a strategy can be. Better to live in the real world than exist in a false world of quacky cure.
Despite What Some May Tell You, There is No Cure for Autism
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Thank You for Your Opinion Kev, Such As it Is
Kevin Leitch, as he does so often, reiterates his Neurodiversity ideology and personal opinions. This time he is clear in describing this comments as opinion and nothing more. I thank him for that small grace.
There are several head scratching comments in Kev's opinion. One is his artificial distinction between therapies and cures. While arguing about whether a particular therapy constitutes a cure or not is fair game Kev really does not do that. There is no reference to any consideration of the cases offered by the Center for Autism and Related Disorders headed by Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh, which provides documentation concerning subjects recovered from autism by methods which include ABA. There is no mention of the studies which show numbers of autistic subjects who, after receiving 30-40 hours of intensive early ABA intervention were considered "indistinguishable from their peers". While avoiding the term cure to avoid the ND type hostility when ever such term is used in connection with autism that is essentially what occurred.
Kev sets a limit, an artificial limit, in determining how much help to give an autistic child in overcoming the burden of autism disorder deficits that restrict his/her life. Why stop at a particular point? Why not rid the child of those deficits entirely if a complete cure is available. Kev doesn't really shed any enlightenment at all on that one in his comment.
He also indicates that the decision whether to cure his autistic child is not his to make. It is the child's choice. I make no comment on Mr. Leitch's personal situation but most societies recognize an important role for parents in advancing the health concerns of their children , particularly if they are so young, or otherwise unable to make decisions for themselves. That is exactly the case for the many children with Autistic Disorder and intellectual disability.
Under Mr. Leitch's logic a severely autistic child who does not understand things at all and who could not make such a decision would not receive treatment or cure because ... well because Kev Leitch says his/her parent can not make that decision for him/her.
Mr. Leitch concludes his lecture with the admonition that education and therapy are correct strategies but not cures. Having commenced by arguing against hypothetical future cures or potential cures he changes horses and resorts to attacking existing quacky cures as he calls them.
Mr. Leitch who is ideologically opposed to curing autism disorders, does not address the lack of research that has been committed to understanding environmental causes of autism or of cure oriented research. It is a research failure that has been noted by many autism professionals.
One final note for Mr. Letich's benefit. The "NT" world that he dismisses is ... the REAL world. In some societies the real world adjusts in some cases, to the point of undue hardship, to accommodate those less fortunate, the disabled. But there are limits and I have seen them in lives lived in institutional care, having actually visited such institutions.
I thank Mr. Leitch for once again reminding me why it is so important for parents to push hard for cure oriented research to help their children, overcome their autism deficits and function as well as possible in the REAL world.
- AutismRealityNB January 11, 2010 3:04PM
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Your child will not thank you this way
Sorry, but you are being rather pessimistic and stubborn. What you are saying, reminds me of what a girl once said to me when I was overweight during my pre-teen years: "You are fat, that is the way it is, it is who you are, it is in your genes, your mother is overweight, you are not a dancer, you are plump and that is the way it is." She is a tall (normal, but still tall) dancer, and has always been skinner no matter how much or what she ate, I showed her! I lost the weight .
My point: Anything can be done if it is desired and aspired towards. It has to be a mindset, but it also has to rely on facts. If it is not curable, then scientists would not waste time using neurofeedback. Oh, but they do use neurofeedback, as well as work with psychologists, to help individuals with autism , etc.! You upset me, just saying.
- JenniferCecelia
February 2, 2010 9:55AM
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