*claps*
I've been fluttering around the edges of the "autistics don't need a cure" phenomenon, and I think I'm finally figuring out what's going on. There's a big difference between "don't need a cure" and "don't need help to gain the tools to function in society." And people read the former and hear the latter.
I just read this article by a parent and he says it very well:
Saying "I want my child to learn how to learn", "I want my child to learn how to speak", "I want my child to be able to stop self-injurious behavior", "I want my child to be able to overcome the sensory distress he or she experiences", or "I want my child to be better able to interact with, and understand the behavior of, neurologically typical people" is very, very different than saying "I wish my child were not autistic".
So yeah, OK, I'll cop to wishing Pip hadn't been born the way he is. It's not what I signed up for, it's hard work. But now that we have him, I wouldn't trade him for anyone else. I do fear for the difficult row he'll have to hoe, and if through education we can provide him with ways to make it easier, then I'm going to fight tooth and nail to get him that education. Do I think it's going to make him not autistic? Hell, no.
Also, some of the "biomedical" stuff people are doing with ther kids? Creeps me the hell out.
I just read this article by a parent and he says it very well:
Saying "I want my child to learn how to learn", "I want my child to learn how to speak", "I want my child to be able to stop self-injurious behavior", "I want my child to be able to overcome the sensory distress he or she experiences", or "I want my child to be better able to interact with, and understand the behavior of, neurologically typical people" is very, very different than saying "I wish my child were not autistic".
So yeah, OK, I'll cop to wishing Pip hadn't been born the way he is. It's not what I signed up for, it's hard work. But now that we have him, I wouldn't trade him for anyone else. I do fear for the difficult row he'll have to hoe, and if through education we can provide him with ways to make it easier, then I'm going to fight tooth and nail to get him that education. Do I think it's going to make him not autistic? Hell, no.
Also, some of the "biomedical" stuff people are doing with ther kids? Creeps me the hell out.