About "curing" autism

First off, I wanted to thank all the parents who have encouraged me, and informed me of what my pediatrican would never have told me.

Especially big thanks to you Dr David! This would not have been possible without you!

I also want to thank everyone who has told me that despite autism, Jade will be ok, and that quirky is ok.

Heck, thank you for finally allowing ME to realize that quirky is ok for me, too. Life is so much more fun when you can finally be who you really want to, even if it means being different.

Mostly, I have been feeling so much hostility regarding "curing autism" among autistics and their families online everywhere, I felt I had to share my view.

I know I can't be the only one who has discovered middle ground.

Instead of debating "cure versus culture", why can't we find middle ground, and work together to help our children have a better tomorrow?

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• autism
• cure
• neurodiversity
• biomedical
• holistic

[foresam]

You can't have middle ground with terrorists. All of this bunk about autism being genetic is propaganda from Pharma.

Accepting brain damage in your children is intellectually lazy. You have to recognize that all of the autistic spectrum is caused by mercury in vaccines and that should make you angry, not accepting.

[aware4autism]

@foresam seriously JB, enough with your pseudoscience mercury drivel. You are making my daughter's legitimate vaccine injury claim that much more impossible to obtain.

It's not the mercury- it's the genetic deficiencies in the immune system.

Please do not comment on any more of my daughter's videos. You have done NOTHING to help children with autism!!!!!!!

[foresam]

Wake up! What do think the genetic deficiency is?

It's the inability to excrete mercury.

I've helped lots of autistic kids but, none with simpletons for parents.

[aware4autism]

seriously, stay over on your side. You are correct, you can't have middle ground with terrorists, including yourself.

I love that Offit has to apologize to you, (and the donating to McCarthy's choice- classic) but seriously, when it comes to what happened to my daughter, your vitriole is equally as damaging as Offit's.

I don't ever claim that mercury was not involved in your son's autism, I am not his doctor. However, you have never met Jade, do not know her history, and are not her DAN.

[aware4autism]

Jade never had a thimerosal containing vaccine. However, her claim cannot be tried outside of the thimerosal omnibus, regardless of how many mainstream doctors agree that thimerosal was not involved in her case. It was her genetic immunodeficiency causing her have a severe adverse reaction to live virus vaccines. Vaccines she has a contraindicated condition against, which caused her cytokines to skyrocket, causing neuroinflammation, resulting in her diagnosis of profound autism.

[aware4autism]

Until you, Offit, Orac, and the rest stop terrorizing parents nationwide, they won't receive the understanding and support they deserve and need. Their children may miss out on groundbreaking treatments that may help them.

The IVIG my daughter has been getting for the last 7 months has helped her become moderately autistic, and mainstreamed half the day. Profound at 2, moderate at 5. I'll take it :o)

Oh, and she stopped having seizures every time she got sick :)

[judet2006]

cuz drug companies are there to make money and they can buy "scientists"

[TVSheShe]

@aware4autism, autism is a spectrum. Aspies are within it. An umbrella term with thousands of shades of grey.

[petchharrison]

@aware4autism yes the auto emoune system can be a problem whatch for gut ulcers i get these its a real pain,i also have hearing SPD and retina dystrophy.

and have ADD but i am trained in childcare and i am a bit nutty,the kids love it,

so i am fine with that .. jeff ..

[petchharrison]

@foresam well i am an aspie and 50 this mercury stuff is just balony dont mean to be rude but your wrong ,, jeff ,,

[sweetalker79]

I'm not questioning your parenting - looks like you're doing very well as a family - but might I suggest having a small quiet place with a single, soothing color and very little distraction for Jade when she gets upset? Too much stimulation (posters/pictures/toys) made my sister's tantrums worse, at least when they're caused by overexcitement.

Hope you're all doing OK. Beautiful kids!

[TVSheShe]

separate me from my humanity. It would be no different than saying you wished I was dead. Now as far as those very low functioning persons, I am not opposed to treatments that help them adjust, survive, and eventually thrive in modern society. But, no amount of medication is going to cure a neurological differentiation-autism is not bipolar disorder, or any chemical imbalance in the brain. Everything is wired differently, entirely. You can't normalize that-but you can help us adjust.

[TVSheShe]

@swampdonkey152000, I see your point. The problem lies in the belief that most autistic persons are very low functioning. This simply isn't true. Actually, only around 18% of ASD diagnosed persons are along that that line and the vast majority of those persons ALSO have mental retardation. Autism isn't retardation OR mercury poisoning. Why I said I am offended is that autism is such a profound influence on who I am that to separate me from it would be no different then to -cont-

[swampdonkey152000]

@TVSheShe It seems to me you do a grave disservice to your autistic brothers and sisters when you say it's offensive to look for a cure. Sure, you're fine with your autism and I applaud you for it, but what about those autistic persons who can't even lift a fork to their mouths? Do you seriously mean to tell me that all he needs is just more understanding? Don't be absurd.

[otherwheregirl]

By the way, we are a medication free house hold. I love my son exactly the way he is. I don't care how much extra work we have to do, we are going to make sure little Adrik is free to be himself. He is happy, and healthy. That is our goal in life ^___^

[otherwheregirl]

My son is autistic and he LOVES this song! I find your back story very interesting. I learned to read at age 3, and I was going through the medical encyclopedia by age 4. My husband was also called the "little professor". He began reading when he learned to talk at 2 and did advanced math also.

People need to see that autisum is beautiful and amazing at times. Life is hard with autisum, but with true understansing and therapies that teach children how to cope, they can do ANYTHING! ^__^

[TVSheShe]

I have autism! I'm very offended by the idea of "Curing" myself or any of my friends, high functioning or otherwise. What we need is to offered understanding! Show us that it is alright to be us and how we can function in this world without trying to make us like you. Do not force eye contact, do not force hugs, do not label us "diseased". We are victims of thinking, learning, and interpreting things differently. No more, no less.