10 ms·

Many people with ASD (not all! not most! but many) can barely survive on their own. I'm not talking about "too shy to buy groceries". ASD should be prevented me

Many people with ASD (not all! not most! but many) can barely survive on their own. I'm not talking about "too shy to buy groceries". ASD should be prevented medically. That is not to say people with ASD aren't often amazing people or that their lives aren't worth it, but minimizing the rate at which ASD occurs will mean far fewer people will suffer in the future from something that is (hopefully) preventable.

SargeZT 6y ago
Barely can be an understatement. My youngest sister is severely autistic and absolutely couldn't survive without a strong support system, both from the state and our family. She lives in a group home with 19 other people in a similar state. With that said, due to my exposure to autism through my sister, I have seen cases that are far worse than hers. Completely non-verbal people with autism, those who experience panic attacks when they see an unfamiliar person, the list goes on. We tend to focus on the lighter end of the spectrum, where people can lead functional and fulfilling lives. Most people don't see the other side of the spectrum, where autism is devastating to every single person involved.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > We tend to focus on the lighter end of the spectrum, where people can lead functional and fulfilling lives. There's a form of survivorship bias here: the greater the degree of impairment, the less broad social contacts the person is likely to have, so on average most people's experience is going to have people who have less severe impairments overrepresented compared to their relative frequency among those with the diagnosis. And I'm sure most people that think about the issue recognize that on an intellectual level, but it's still difficult to tune out the effect that has on one’s “gut feeling” about the subject.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
tokai 6y ago
I worked with a guy that died from malnutrition. We worked hard on getting enough food in him, but he had so many issues related to food and eating that his body eventually capitulated. He was a really sweet dude, we talked a lot about computers. His diagnosis didn't feel like a social judgement. The impairment literally killed him even though he wanted to live.
microtherion 6y ago
> Many people with ASD (not all! not most! but many) can barely survive on their own That part is absolutely true. > ASD should be prevented medically. But this part (apart from the fact that it's not currently feasible) is just too categoric. I certainly know several autistic people who would prefer to get rid of their autism, if given a choice. But I know plenty on the milder end of the spectrum who would not — e.g. because their distress in social situations is outweighed by the benefits conveyed by an increased ability to focus.

SargeZT 6y ago

Barely can be an understatement. My youngest sister is severely autistic and absolutely couldn't survive without a strong support system, both from the state and our family. She lives in a group home with 19 other people in a similar state. With that said, due to my exposure to autism through my sister, I have seen cases that are far worse than hers. Completely non-verbal people with autism, those who experience panic attacks when they see an unfamiliar person, the list goes on. We tend to focus on the lighter end of the spectrum, where people can lead functional and fulfilling lives. Most people don't see the other side of the spectrum, where autism is devastating to every single person involved.

dragonwriter 6y ago
> We tend to focus on the lighter end of the spectrum, where people can lead functional and fulfilling lives. There's a form of survivorship bias here: the greater the degree of impairment, the less broad social contacts the person is likely to have, so on average most people's experience is going to have people who have less severe impairments overrepresented compared to their relative frequency among those with the diagnosis. And I'm sure most people that think about the issue recognize that on an intellectual level, but it's still difficult to tune out the effect that has on one’s “gut feeling” about the subject.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

tokai 6y ago

I worked with a guy that died from malnutrition. We worked hard on getting enough food in him, but he had so many issues related to food and eating that his body eventually capitulated. He was a really sweet dude, we talked a lot about computers. His diagnosis didn't feel like a social judgement. The impairment literally killed him even though he wanted to live.

microtherion 6y ago

> Many people with ASD (not all! not most! but many) can barely survive on their own That part is absolutely true. > ASD should be prevented medically. But this part (apart from the fact that it's not currently feasible) is just too categoric. I certainly know several autistic people who would prefer to get rid of their autism, if given a choice. But I know plenty on the milder end of the spectrum who would not — e.g. because their distress in social situations is outweighed by the benefits conveyed by an increased ability to focus.