Neurodiversity or Disorder?
I get asked about my views on Neurodiversity every so often. Yes, I do believe it’s wonderful that there can be different kinds of human brain wiring. The world would be a pretty boring (and unproductive) place if we didn’t have different kinds of minds. However, I don’t agree that we should just label Autism a “wonderful difference” and end the conversation.
We live in a world where sometimes Neurodiversity gets in the way. A child who has no way of communicating needs help. We can still value his/her differences while teaching him/her ways to communicate with others. Perhaps through speech therapy or ABA. If it isn’t hurting the kid, I don’t oppose treatment for those things that prevent somebody from having a good quality of life. Yes, the kid may be happy at the moment, but 20 years down the road, it would be terrible if the kid was now an adult in an institution because somebody decided “hey, he’s neurodiverse, let’s not change a thing”. A kid who is self-injurious or hurts others presents a problem and NEEDS help for their sake and their family’s sake. It’s just not reasonable to “let the kid be” in a case like this.
There’s a fine line between helping somebody and trying to make them somebody else, so it takes a bit of thinking on what to treat and what is just “quirky”.
And surprise, there are people with Asperger’s who WANT treatment. I don’t want a treatment, I feel happy where I am. But it’s not my place (or anybody else’s) to deny a person the right to seek treatment for what they feel impairs their quality of life.
I do however want to point out, I greatly dislike snake oil salesmen and people suggesting dangerous/unproven “cures” for Autism. No, it’s not okay to put anybody’s life at risk to treat Autism. Please do plenty of research from valid sources before trying anything.
On that note, make sure you read this if you are trying OSR#1, it is NOT safe: http://www.latimes.com/news/health/sns-health-illegal-autism-therapy,0,747838.story
Some resources to check out treatments before using them:
Alternative Medicine (MayoClinic)
Autism’s Alternative Therapies
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