I love this editorial. John Elder Robison is a professor at the College of William & Mary and the author of Look Me in the Eye. In this piece he addresses a major pet peeve of mine. If you have not read his book, I highly recommend it.
So much of the discussion of autism in the major media is about the idea of a “cure” or “prevention” and that may be what some people are looking for, but not all of us. We are here. We want to be valued on our own and for the contributions we can make to the people around us and to the world as a whole.
Instead of treating autism like juvenile diabetes or leukemia, why not treat it like the physical conditions it behaves like in our day to day lives? Instead of devoting all our efforts towards preventing more of us from showing up, why not put some of those efforts into making life easier for autistic people already here and the people around them?
Autism researchers have published thousands of papers in recent years. With those numbers, you’d think we’d all be rejoicing over great progress. Yet many people—especially autistic adults—are frustrated by how little benefit has actually materialized. Why?
The simple answer is, we’re studying the wrong things. We’re sinking millions into the search for a “cure,” even though we now know that autism is not a disease but rather a neurological difference, one that cripples some of us while bringing a few others extraordinary gifts. Most of us live with a mix of exceptionality and disability. I know I do.
Read the rest of Robison’s ideas at We’re Doing Autism Research All Wrong in the MIT Technology Review.
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