Autism rights movement: Encyclopedia II - Autism rights movement - The anti-cure perspective

Autism rights movement - The anti-cure perspective

The anti-cure perspective is considered the most fundamental value of the movement. Autistics with this perspective believe autism is not a disorder at all, but simply a variation in neurological hard-wiring. They believe that autism is a fundamental part of who they are and that autism is something that cannot be separated from the person. For this reason, they prefer to be referred to as "autistics" or "autistic people" instead of "people with autism" or "people who have autism", because "person with autism" implies that autism is something that can be removed from the person [3] (see person-first terminology). Autistics with this perspective oppose the idea of a cure for autism because they see it as destroying the original personality of the autistic individual, forcing them to imitate neurotypical behavior (which is unnatural to an autistic person), simply to make mainstream society feel less threatened by the presence of people who are different. Anti-cure autistics believe quirks and uniqueness of autistic individuals should be tolerated as the differences of any minority group should be tolerated [4]. When people talk about visions for a future where autism has been eradicated, anti-cure autistics usually see this as a wish for the end of their culture and way of being [5].

The most quoted person with this perspective is Jim Sinclair, who has written an article titled "Don't Mourn for Us" which has been widely distributed over the Internet. Websites such as autistics.org, Graphic Truth and Aspies For Freedom also present this view.

Autistics who oppose the idea of a cure are often presumed to have only very mild difficulties [6]. As several autistic authors have pointed out, this is not always the case and it is not always reasonable to compare the abilities of an autistic child with those of an autistic adult. The most common complaint is that anti-cure advocates are clearly able to articulate complex opinions in writing, which is seen by many parents as inconsistent with a diagnosis of autism. It is unclear why such parents rule out the possibility that their children will be able to do the same later in life. Autistics who oppose a cure may experience extreme difficulties on a daily basis. They simply believe autism is a fundamental part of who they are. Anti-cure autistics usually do wish they had fewer difficulties in life, and they do find some aspects of autism (like sensory issues) painful, but they do not want to have to sacrifice their personalities, values, and basic identities in order to make life easier [7] [8].

Anti-cure autistics ask that society become more tolerant and accommodating instead of pushing a cure. Anti-cure autistics are in favor of helping make the lives of autistic people easier, but they prefer the word "education" over "treatment", and they support programs that respect the individuality of the autistic person and only try to teach them things instead of change them.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The anti-cure perspective", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki