Re:The Autism Phenome Project: Toward Identifying Meaningful...
by melissalobos on Tuesday January 18, 2022 @03:35PM
(#29985351)
Thank you for your response, I really appreciate it!
> Autism is not a disease.
I will try to keep this in mind in the future.
Re:The Autism Phenome Project: Toward Identifying Meaningful...
by collegeburner on Tuesday January 18, 2022 @04:02PM
(#29985764)
This is like trying to say that because some blind people have improved auditory function, and because that is sometimes useful to society, deafness is "not a disease". We can have sympathy for autistics and try to make reasonable accomodations while also trying to cure it so nobody in future generations is born that way.
Re:The Autism Phenome Project: Toward Identifying Meaningful...
by Aaargh20318 on Tuesday January 18, 2022 @04:40PM
(#29986331)
So you’re basically promoting eugenics ?
My brain works different from yours, it is not a disease and doesn’t make me disabled. Just because there are fewer of us than there are of you doesn’t mean we don’t have a right to exist.
Re:The Autism Phenome Project: Toward Identifying Meaningful...
by SubiculumCode on Tuesday January 18, 2022 @04:13PM
(#29985914)
I'd just say that it is a sensitive topic with many legitimate stakeholders and perspectives.
In short, yes. Autism may one day be meaningfully classified as different conditions that share some similar symptoms, but have different causes, outcomes, etc. The common symptoms of autism tend to be seen in high-level cognitive functions, that depend on a lot of subsytems, if you will. Car analogy: A car may exhibit the same symptom (won't start), but the cause can be different (out of gas or a dead battery). But this analogy can easily be misconstrued to mean that autism is about being broken. Emphatically, it is NOT. This brings me to a final comment of your post: Autism is not a disease.
Much of the autism spectrum represents valuable neurodiversity that does not impact their quality of life, and actually provides a net benefit to themselves and to society by allowing diverse thinking styles and perspectives. However, I will venture to say that some aspects of the spectrum do need to be addressed like a disorder: severe intellectual disability, severe anxiety, these can be really impactful on QoL.