Autism: Let's Talk About Not Talking About Cures

Autistic people need acceptance, accommodations and proper supports that are respectful of their differences, not cures.

Over the last few days I started to write an article about the dangers of unregulated quack treatments. One page turned into two, then three, then four and before I knew it, I had the beginning of a small novel and I hadn't even begun to scratch the surface of the topic. I had to stop myself and take a step back. I really could write a novel about how dangerous and misleading quack cure products are. I could list them all and talk about the dangers of each one providing evidence against each claim, but the internet is already overly saturated in this proof. Despite the several public health warnings issued, legitimate news sources, and scientific study after study constantly debunking these bogus claims, criminals still push these products and abusive therapies. They are dangerous, misleading and sadly a dime a dozen in the autism community. Writing about these quacks,

naming their poisonous products and horrific abusive and experimental treatments, only continues to give these monsters yet another platform to use for promotion. It keeps the discussion about cure open, and I want to help close that discussion. After all of the abuse, experimentation and death I have seen and read about, I am tired of even wasting a single breath to give these crooks any more platforms. There is a reason these quack cures still linger to take advantage of desperate families. It's time we started looking at the bigger picture here. Let's talk about not talking about cures

The reality is, there is no cure for autism, and there shouldn't be. The amount of dangerous products, diets, therapies and false miracle potions that crawl out of the woodwork is immeasurable. We could fight until our last breath to tackle each specific dangerous product and abusive treatment away from consumers, away from our children, and out of the homes of desperate families. Maybe, with enough support in pushing our governments, we could even win. But without a tighter legislation to protect autistic children, there will always be another technicality or dangerous product to take it's place, another family to get taken advantage of, another child will be abused with dangerous unregulated treatments, and another fight with another quack will begin. You can help push for legislation by clicking here and signing the petition. Supporting this petition in the UK can start the springboard of other petitions globally because this is a world issue. The problem is not just that these monsters have a platform, it's that we fail to hold those accountable for making that platform so sturdy. We must start to ask some very important questions in how our community is failing to support autistic people.

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What sources are paving the road to take such extreme measures to make their child more like that of a non-autistic child, and not to accommodate and support autistic children in their own personal development?

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Who is benefiting/profiting from pushing cure rhetoric, misinformation and fear mongering?

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Where are families getting this fear and desperation from that are driving them in this invisible race to seek a 'cure' for a neurological difference?

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Why is autism treated as if it were worse than a death sentence?

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We have a lot of cleaning up to do when it comes to the information given to parents about autism, and that starts within the organizations that claim to represent autism and support autistic people and their families which rely heavily on them for accurate, safe, and ethical information. These organizations that drive fear, that push for cures and waste so much money on researching for the next medical breakthrough that will "destroy" autism, refuse to accept that autism is not separate from their child, it is a valid part of what makes them the unique, special, beautifully different children that they are. That difference should be nurtured, encouraged and supported so that every child has a chance to grow to their fullest potential without ever believing for a single second that they are a broken version of "normal", that they are not enough, or that they are a burden. What an unfair weight to put on any child who just wants to be accepted for who they are. We tell our children "be yourself and the world will love you" they must not grow up believing that they are an exception to this rule simply because they are autistic.

We can never expect true autism acceptance so long as the world keeps trying to 'cure' autistic people. Autistic people do not need cures, they need acceptance, accommodations and proper supports that are respectful of their differences. Autistic children need to grow up safe in a loving environment that accepts them as they are, and encourages a supportive path of development at a pace fit for them. In the rare event you find an autistic person who actually wants to be 'cured', you soon discover they are very likely a victim of the results of why it is so dangerous to spread misinformation and marginalize people. They have been subjected so much to 'defeating' of such an intrinsic part of their identity that they have given up hope of ever fitting in. Autistic or not, anyone who is valued solely based on the burden of what they can not do and not on the beauty of what they can, would feel the exact same self hatred. This is why we advocate. The fact that there are autistic people out there who have such self destructive thoughts and want to 'cure' themselves is the very reason we promote acceptance so passionately. We fight for them when they have given up hope for themselves. We fight for those who have had enough of the discrimination, oppression, abuse, experimentation, being silenced,

looked down on, and presumed incompetent. They are a result of a society that has failed them terribly for being different and differences do not need cures. The sooner we respect that fact, the better off the autistic

community will be.