51–60 of 65 posts
Horrific. Autism is about neural difference not deficiency . The problem is neurotypical societies pathologising and disabling neurodivergent people. What this article discusses is analogous to treatment for homosexuality. Shame on you, Duke university.
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Ok Im glad you were able to do that and that you can still have a good life. If we could fix it though, more opportunities would be available, maybe you'd have enjoyed it and could have it as a career you liked. There are also a lot of other people not so high functioning that literally just couldnt, and others who can't even live on their own as adults. Maybe you dont need a treatment like this but there are people…
And what if in the process if making everyone "salesman material" we divert a potential "weirdo genius" from making a much larger contribution? Diversity is important and valuable. I highly doubt that ASD (and our cognitive diversity in general) is an evolutionary mistake. That isn't to say that we shouldn't make tools and treatments available, but it absolutely does mean we shouldn't insist on "fixing" everyone with…
Wtf, how is it legal to charge people thousands of dollars for a medical treatment that has no evidence it does anything. Seems like the worst kind of predatory business.
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And what if in the process if making everyone "salesman material" we divert a potential "weirdo genius" from making a much larger contribution? Diversity is important and valuable. I highly doubt that ASD (and our cognitive diversity in general) is an evolutionary mistake. That isn't to say that we shouldn't make tools and treatments available, but it absolutely does mean we shouldn't insist on "fixing" everyone with…
I guess my phrasing wasnt clear, I wasnt talking so much about "weirdo genius" level of function but more people who just cant function well. Theres a level where some people are very good at certain things but not so sociable, more like Aspergers disease, thats fine and caused by more stuff than just autism. Its when it starts preventing people from doing basic function, caring for themselves, holding basic conversa…
Empowering people is very different than fixing them.
― Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures, Expanded Edition: My Life with Autism
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Blind people also have capabilities that sighted people don’t have. Give the kids the treatment. If they want to choose later in life to blind themselves, fine, they’re adults. Don’t make them part of a crusade that they didn’t consent to. I say this as somebody who had several major surgeries as a child to save my eyesight.
> I say this as somebody who had several major surgeries as a child to save my eyesight. The moral calculus here depends on how severe the impairment is and the potential risks / harms associated with the treatments. At one end of the impairment/risk ratio, it is certainly ethical. Somewhere in the middle, I think you need to obtain the minor's consent. At the other end the treament isn't ever ethical ever to conduct…
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> Like with ADHD, the benefit of a diagnosis is usually more 1-on-1 time with a teacher, which leads to better scholastic outcomes regardless of if the underlying issue is truly present. My observation has been that usually diagnosis results in dependence on amphetamines.
That's what my parents tried to avoid for the first 15 years of my life. Finally, in my junior year of HS, they relented. My live improved 1000% overnight. There's a reason why they're used. Because they're effective for the vast majority of people.
I'm glad I didn't get diagnosed until I was an adult. It means I don't have to worry about my parents subjecting me to shit like this and applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy.
That's interesting, can you elaborate on your qualms with ABA? After my sister's belated diagnosis around 1990 (it was still quite rare compared to the present) my mom became an ABA practitioner (eventually getting a PhD). Sister went from completely non-verbal to speaking well, which was remarkable considering that there were professionals saying she'd always need to live in an institution. As best I can tell ABA ma…
You mean aside from thinking that I shouldn't have to change my behavior for the convenience of others as long as I'm not breaking the law or making a public nuisance of myself?
I'm not interested in pretending to be "normal" for the sake of neurotypicals who don't give a fuck about me. I do more than enough of that at my day job just to be seen as "employable".
Never mind masking because of COVID; I've been masking because of autism my entire life[1] and I'm getting sick of it.
Autistic people don't need a cure or treatment that only makes life easier for neurotypicals. Neurotypicals can go fuck themselves.
[1]: https://www.tiimoapp.com/blog/masters-of-masking-autistic-me...
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I mean, no more dependent than a neurotypical person is on their naturally-produced neurotransmitters.
Although purely annecdotal, I've seen a close personal friend with ADHD develop severe abuse issues with their prescribed medication. I don't have data on how high the risk is, but it does exist.
While addiction can occur in anybody, the data seems to support the opposite conclusion^1 in regards to ADHD people and addictions to prescribed stimulants. Though a simple search on the topic can yield you many other sources citing the same observations.
In fact, people with ADHD are far more prone to developing addictions if ADHD is not treated properly. In an elementary way of thinking, the ADHD brain craves dopamine. So, in a sad way, the options for many ADHD people are:
1. to acquire their dopamine through the care and monitoring of licensed and trained medical professionals => improving their life.
2. to acquire their dopamine through whatever means works for them, typically the ways of boosting dopamine are quite dangerous, unproductive, inefficient, etc.
The average person is either ignorant or refuses to admit that ADHD psychostimulant medications are by far one of the most well researched and well understood medications ever utilized in medicine. This might sound a bit alarming for those unaware, but it's actually hard to find a medication that has this large of an benefical effect with so few side-effects in the large majority of individuals who use them properly.
Speaking of dangers, almost no one ever mentions the dangers of a person with ADHD going untreated. If you want to learn more, I would recommend you read points 78 - 136^2.
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25158998/
[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014976342...