There
are some strong feelings circulating in the autism community about the idea of
a cure, or a recovery, in regards to autism. While this is a tricky subject to discuss for various
reasons and opinions, I often think about the idea of a cure and what the
future may bring. Where does my
own comfort level fall within this spectrum? What do I think about a potential
cure for autism within the near future? Where do I envision our society heading
in this collective journey, in what is still largely a mystery?
I have
read many times about parents being offended at the idea that their child would
even need a cure, when he or she is not sick. After all, autism is a neurological disorder, and not a
disease like cancer, heart disease or diabetes. I completely
understand and can relate to these sentiments. There are parents who feel that autism is as much a part of
their child’s personality, as their hair and eye color is a permanent physical
attribute that a child possesses; this being a part of their core make up. Utilizing a cure (if it were even
possible) would then imply that we are going to and/or want to change our
child’s personality. In that
sense, it is a difficult concept to break down and process. This would also present other challenging
questions such as: if a child is more severely autistic, does autism make up a
larger part of his or her personality? This makes the issue of a cure even more difficult to take in. I am one of those parents who believe that
autism is a big part of who my child is. It doesn’t define who he is, but it does play a large
part in how he perceives the world, and every interaction that he
experiences.
Alex
and I believe in teaching skills through therapies (specifically ABA therapy
and then to a slightly lesser degree, speech and occupational therapies) that
break down learning into smaller steps with lots of repetition on a daily basis. We have many friends who take various
approaches to treatment that work for their child and their family. We are not seeking to impose our view
of therapy on anyone – we are simply sharing what works for us. We also stay open to the idea that at
some point in the future, there could be a cure to some or many symptoms
associated with autism. This
would possibly help with anxiety during transitions from activities and helping
the ability to better focus during certain activities. We already know that there are medications out there that
help reduce anxiety. We know of Ritalin,
which helps those coping with ADD/ADHD focus more easily. Similarly, we also know that in autism there are parts of the
brain that don’t send signals as effectively to each other, causing a weakness
in responding to certain social situations. What if in the future a treatment were to be found to help
with those connections in the brain in autistic individuals? While it is not possible now, if a
scientifically recognized and accepted treatment became available in the
future, we would not be closed off to it.
 |
| Jake's class - reading activity |
For
me, the idea of a cure is not a cure in the sense that one would have a single
or even several treatments and be “cured” or “recovered” of autism. I think of the idea of a possible cure
in which a treatment would help with certain symptoms of autism, but not wiping
out the autistic traits. There are
parents out there who report that their child was autistic and has recovered
from autism. There are kids out
there who eventually lose their autism diagnosis. It is hard to know what to think about such scenarios, as
every individual with autism is so different. From the reading and research that I have done over the past
few years about the subject, I have come to believe that although someone can
make huge strides in therapy, there will always be natural autistic tendencies
in a person, and while he or she may “blend in” to the rest of society, they
will have to fight natural autistic tendencies as they cope through the use of
tools and skills acquired along the way in order to fit in. Depending on the severity of autism in that
individual, it may be a harder or easier task to do so.
I
keep a realistic approach to what we need to be focusing on now as far as
teaching functional social and academic skill building, and I don’t have a
false sense of hope for a potential cure.
I do however think that with more awareness about autism, as more kids
get diagnosed and plugged into therapies, and funding for autism research
continues to grow, it is not far fetched to think that medically treating various
symptoms of autism can be attained during our lifetime.
 |
| The Sensory Room at Jake's school - the Autism class spends time there during the day |
Another
aspect of a cure that is also valuable to me is the idea of a healing taking
place in our society. I envision parents continuing to make
connections with other parents in autism families, providing support to one
another, and promoting a sense of well being and supportive atmosphere as we
lift each others spirits.
I
discuss in other posts how autism affects the entire family and how parents
have to keep it together daily.
The stress that this produces can sometimes be debilitating on parents
emotionally, on a personal level and in a relationship context with one another;
not to mention the affect it also has on siblings. While many of us focus on the daily tasks to maximize
learning while keeping our eyes out for a potential cure, we shouldn’t forget
about being supportive to one another in the present. Let’s help keep each other going and moving forward in this
journey as a community.
Meanwhile,
we will do what we can to facilitate learning and setting our children up to
lead a life that is as fulfilling and as independent as possible. In the case that we don’t find a scientifically
proven cure, we will always know that we did what we could to safely provide
the very best for our children as they move forward in their own journey, with
the tools, skills, support and love that they’ve been provided with all along
the way.
Visit my blog:
Lily and the Roses ~
Creativity with Autism, Twins and Military Adventures
Leave me a comment if you find any of my posts meaningful to you.
Feel free to share posts with your friends to help us raise autism
awareness and acceptance.
Visit my other blog:
Where I display
my artwork, music compositions and travel photos
