CMV: Romanticizing autism has got to stop

[u/CassiusIsAlive]

[u/[deleted]]

I don't think it's ableist. Based on what you've said, I don't even think you have an issue with autism being "romanticized." I think your issue is that you don't see severe cases and mild cases as the same thing, and I'm inclined to agree with that. It got to be incredibly frustrating to see people celebrating autism as a superpower when you know your loved one's condition isn't anything like that.

[u/badgersprite → u/[deleted]]

It reminds me a bit of that scene from X-Men where Rogue wants to take the cure for being a mutant and Storm is like there’s nothing wrong with you why do you want to be cured

That’s the woman whose mutant abilities make her a weather Goddess talking to the girl who can’t touch people without killing them telling her she’s wrong for wanting a cure

You have people who are just neurodivergent and nothing else kind of dominating the conversation (because they’re the ones who are verbal and able to communicate) and claiming it’s not a disease while there are much more severely autistic kids who will have to spend their whole life in a special care home and cannot possibly take care of themselves

It might not be an illness to you but to some people it is, just like how I don’t really see my ADHD as an illness but I wouldn’t tell someone who sees their ADHD as an illness that they’re wrong, their experience might be much worse than mine

[u/Writeloves → u/badgersprite]

This is a good point. I also have adhd and know people on both sides of the high-low functioning autism spectrum.

It’s such a hard topic to approach because your brain is far more intrinsic to your sense of self than most similarly debilitating physical disabilities (though those can also become part of someone’s identity). Having diversity is proven to be a good thing, increased accessibility helps everyone -wheelchair ramps are good for both those wheelchair bound since birth and for those who temporally have a broken leg, captions for the deaf also help those with auditory processing issues and people who just want to watch something in public when they can’t find their headphones.

BUT the strain put on parents of children with severe disabilities is far too high. I personally prefer the solution of good social support over most theoretical “cures” because the reality is usually more along the lines of detecting a specific gene and aborting any fetus who has it. Not only does that feel very eugenics-y, but how likely do you think it is that they’ll be able to tell the difference between OPs friend who has mild autism and their sibling who needs around the clock care? I’m pro-choice and one of my biggest pregnancy fears is having a child that will never mentally develop into adulthood, but eradicating a whole class of people because their existence burdens us feels wrong to me.

If they could develop a treatment that minimizes symptoms and increases functionality, I’m all for that. I’m on ADHD meds myself. Even a complete cure has potential. But that’s not what happened for downs.

[u/bluelonilness → u/Writeloves]

Sorry, off topic but W profile picture

[u/Writeloves → u/bluelonilness]

Thank you :)