Do Autistic people need to be cured?

When I conceived my fundraising effort, I thought that the tagline to all my communications and promotions should be “Cure Autism”. After all, I assumed that those who are interested enough in donating to the Childrens Hospital Boston clinical research project on Autism would also be interested in seeing Autism prevented.

But then it occurred to me that perhaps those who already have been diagnosed with Autism might not feel that way. So I posted the question “Is the phrase ‘Cure Autism’ offensive to you?” on the AspergerInfo.com discussion boards and I confirmed my suspicions. Interestingly, out of 16 people that participated in my poll, 57% felt that the term and (my web site) were either highly offensive or somewhat offensive. I also received comments like “I don’t think I need to be cured and am fine just the way I am”, “I would be thrilled if my kids had Asperger Syndrome”, “If you could choose no AS [abort after conception], then we would have no Einstein, Bill Gates…” (this from the mom of an “Aspie”).Upon further introspection, I realized that I never wanted to make my son “normal”, but rather ensure that he’s able to care for himself, have supportive relationships, and have a career that makes him proud. For him to have all these things, he needs to be able to regulate is emotions so that people trust him and want to be with him, and right now he is showing signs that he’s not able to do this.But this still begs the question, what do we hope to achieve with the research being conducted by organizations like the DMC at Childrens Hospital Boston? I envision earlier diagnosis, better treatment and more informed decisions when advocating for these kids. But I hope to speak to some of the doctors on the project and see what they have to say. Stay tuned to get their point of view.