Thread by @slooterman

A question that comes up a lot in response to my writing: Why don’t you want a cure for autism? Well. A lot of reasons. (thread)

I’m not convinced curing autism is actually possible. I’ve been to @AutismINSAR and talked to a number of researchers over the years. The thing is, autism is incredibly genetically complex, as are the causes.

At minimum, curing or even conclusively detecting biomarkers for autism is extremely difficult. And we’re currently pouring millions and millions of research dollars into it. Comparatively, almost nothing is going into improving the lives of autistic people who already exist.

Suicide is the biggest killer of autistic people without intellectual disability after heart disease. Seizures are the biggest killer of autistic people with intellectual disability after heart disease. We have very little understanding of why in both cases.

So instead of looking at questions, treatments, and factors that could save autistic people’s lives, we’re spending a ton of money on cheek swabs that are more than 33% accurate.

Does that make sense to you in terms of priorities? Because it doesn’t make sense to me.

I don’t think being autistic is easy. I’ve written dozens of articles and essays about why. Some of those articles and essays are very personal.

This is my life. It’s the only life I’ve got. And I want research dollars to go to making my life as good as it can be. I want the same for other autistic people.

Another reason a cure for autism might be a bad idea is because humans are incredibly bad at determining which genetic traits are desirable and which aren’t.

There are more genetically straightforward conditions that have some genetic benefits. For example, Tay-Sachs disease. Tay-Sachs is a neurodegenerative condition that kills toddlers. But the genes that cause it give resistance to tuberculosis.

Autism is incredibly genetically complex. We have no idea what most genes associated with autism even do. Eliminating those genes could impact human survival. There are threats we can’t imagine. Newly mutated diseases we have never encountered. Genetic diversity is survival.

Another reason I don’t want a cure for autism is because maybe instead of fixing people, we should fix the world. Maybe disability is an important part of human experience. Maybe caring for each other and helping people who need more help matters.

I’m not a spiritual person. But I think curing disability would impact human morality in troubling ways.

tl;Dr finding a cure is possibly a waste of resources. Diversity is important for human survival. Tolerating difference and caring for each other is important for the human soul.

There are a lot more reasons. These are just some of the ones I think about most.