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There is so much that is contentious in the autism community; cell phones, vaccines, circumcision causing autism (no, I didn\u2019t make that one up). Even among the issues that create conflict among our group however one question ultimately stands out.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m talking about the cure. And not the fun band I\u2019m old enough to have listened to.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve read beautiful treatises arguing both sides of the white picket puzzle fence. Some of the pro-cure people advocate this treatment at any cost, even if it removed their child\u2019s autism completely. Some parents on the other side of the fence say they\u2019d never give their child the \u201cmagic pill\u201d because it might strip them of their identity and make them lose their autism.<\/p>\n
Not that a magic pill is forthcoming any time soon, but who the hell is right if there were?<\/p>\n
I have a hard time believing any pill could eradicate my sons\u2019 autisms (and yes I use the plural on purpose, they are just that different). I do believe their brains are wired differently, and don\u2019t think a pill could change that underlying neurology. I\u2019ve read many beautiful blog posts by other parents who would beg to differ from me, who claim their children would be forever altered, would lose the essence of who they are.<\/p>\n
My question to them is, how do you know?<\/p>\n
Truth be told, I\u2019ve only ever had two major issues with autism, and both of them relate to my severely affected child, not my mildly affected one. The first deals with the fact that my kid on the severe end of the spectrum has really, truly suffered. There have been sleep issues, gastroenterological issues, eating conflicts, and hell, just plain will-he-ever-be-happy issues. I have read where some parents say \u201cblame the co-morbid disorder, not the autism,\u201d but that has never sat right with me. Maybe the OCD that often torments my kids would not even grace our presence if he didn\u2019t have autism to begin with. The alphabet soup of ASD, OCD, and ADHD may never even have taken up residence in my kids if they weren\u2019t born with autism. I just happen to believe that if your kid is suffering, even if it\u2019s autism, even if it\u2019s not politically correct to go there, parents should want to alleviate that suffering however they can.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s just me.<\/p>\n
My second issue with not slipping my severely affected kid that pill is that I will be dead for probably close to half his life, and not around to protect him unless I can haunt him from the grave (I\u2019m working on it). If statistics are true he has a large chance of being molested, injured, or raped during his lifetime, and frankly I\u2019m not at peace with those odds. It\u2019s not his being non-verbal that bothers me- it\u2019s his inability to be independent, to stand up for himself, to self-protect. If he could never speak a word but be able to fend off anyone trying to hurt him I\u2019d be completely at peace with his type of autism.<\/p>\n
Since I don\u2019t see that happening any time soon, I\u2019m not.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never had an issue with my boys being autistic. It\u2019s not that I\u2019m so evolved, it\u2019s that I had autistic students when I was a teacher, and many of those kids led just as happy and fulfilling lives (if not more) than their neurotypical peers. My kids are unique and interesting, and I love them to death. I don\u2019t want to strip them of anything that is fundamentally theirs.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019ll tell you, if there was a medication I could give my son that would enable him to live on his own and take care of himself so I\u2019m not freaking out on my deathbed, well, sign me up.<\/p>\n
And yes, I know this post will piss some people off.<\/p>\n
I want my boys to be happy, loved, and safe. Whatever brings them that trifecta is alright with me.<\/p>\n
For more on my family visit my blog at autismmommytherapist.wordpress.com<\/em><\/p>\n Follow me on Facebook at Autism Mommy-Therapist<\/em><\/p>\n