sharing a post from john elder robison - cure or embrace?
April 12, 2010
http://jerobison.blogspot.com/2010/04/i-am-autism-too-thoughts-on.html
Interesting blog, very difficult topic.
My personal experience. My 7 yo son knows that he has Aspergers. He thinks it’s a funny word: AssBurgers - what is AssBurgers, that isn’t a word! When I describe what Aspergers is, he says “no I don’t do that”, “no that doesn’t sound like me at all”. Because, of course, his view of the social world is different than my view of the social world. He doesn’t see it and he usually thinks he’s right. After all, one of the descriptors that I always use is how intelligent he is when it comes to visual memory, perceptual thinking, putting together complex puzzles, etc, etc. So if he’s so smart, how is that wrong? I don’t blame him for being confused.
And, when I bring up autism, he and his sister both agree that he in no way has autism - because they have personal experience with what classic and regressive autism look like. Yet, he goes to the Seattle Children’s Autism Center for therapy. This confuses him. He says he definitely does not have autism. His view of autism is that of the more significantly impacted. And, in their view, if they talk like typical speakers then he can’t have autism. It is very difficult to explain how it’s all the same spectrum. It’s easy to describe Aspergers and it’s easy to describe Autism, but all the in between is very difficult and it’s even difficult to show why they are on the same spectrum.
I definitely don’t want to cure my son. Am I providing him with opportunities to learn social skills, cognitive behavioral therapy to understand how his brain functions, to help him self identify and self manage, YES! And, he’s getting it. He’s picking up on the Michelle Garcia Winner’s Superflex curriculum brilliantly.
But he has the ability to communicate, he is very bright so he’s able to incorporate the teaching and the skills, we’re able to get the behaviors under control so that he can participate. Some don’t have these abilities. And I completely understand the need to unlock autism, or some would say, to cure it.
It really begs the question whether the changes to the DSMV should be made. It’s almost like we’re fighting two different fights. I mean where would we be if there weren’t people like Einstein, Mozart, Lewis Carroll, Andy Warhol, Thomas Jefferson, and Bill Gates. I don’t want to cure Aspergers because they are potentially the person who will unlock autism.
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