This is sorta out of left field but I wanted to ask this question of my readers because I truly believe that we are mature enough to consider this topic of different perspectives.
The topic of curing #Autism is an emotionally charged one for sure.
There are so many people out their that would even consider the notion of a cure to be insulting to those with Autism. I can totally understand where they are coming from and I completely respect their position.
In most cases of Autism, or at least a large number of cases, kids are Autistic from birth and diagnosed a bit later in childhood.
However, there is a subset of children that seemingly develop just fine, hitting all milestones and then one day, something happens. I'm of course referring to regression and not talking anything related to vaccines so please leave that out of this for right now. We experienced this type of loss with our oldest son, Gavin.
I've shared this story many times but not all of you have heard this.
Gavin is our now 13 year old son, diagnosed with Aspergers in 2005. He developed as a typical child, hitting his milestones and not showing any signs of Autism.
As best we can recall, it was around his 3rd or 4th year of life when everything changed.
I realize how this will sound to many of you but it's not dramatic or an exaggeration. Please keep in mind that this is the best way I can describe it.
For Lizze and I, it was literally like we put him to bed one night Gavin, and when he woke up he was someone else. It was a dramatic change in personality and it was like we were strangers to him and in truth, he'd become a stranger to us.
It was literally like we lost Gavin. We grieved as though he had died because in many ways he had.
The best way to relate to this is alzheimers. Though Gavin's regression or change was very quick by comparison, the end result is somewhat the same.
If I were offered a cure for Gavin, I don't think I would hesitate to much to accept it. Understanding that Gavin has other medical and mental health issues that are likely behind this regression or at least related.
In my eyes, I wouldn't be changing something about Gavin that is just part of who he is. I would be killing off something that stole him away from us and returning him to who he was before this started.
I guess my point is this. If you happen to be in the subset of families that have experienced this type of loss, is the idea of a cure, less controversial?
With my other two on the spectrum, this is who they were from birth. They are who they are and we love and embrace them for that.
However, with Gavin, it was like he was stolen from us. The idea of a cure would possibly bring back the child that was taken.
Is there any circumstances where a cure would be accepted?
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