(This essay was prompted by a Classmate's question: Are there treatments to help stop autism?)
I do not believe in a cure for my autism. People seem to try anything to cure autism. Please don't treat
us as medical experiments to have tests on. I am all for normal uses of
medicine like vaccines and antibiotics for diseases. The access to doctors
should be the same for Autistics. We are normal when it comes to health
matters. We can have the same illnesses as neurotypicals. My experience was going to a DAN doctor (a specialized doctor trained in using the "Defeat Autism Now!" protocol).
I had to be assumed to have a disease. I made my autism an enemy. Being
autistic found me with no peace. Me and my family made changes in my
diet. I was made to try many nonsense treatments that did nothing for me.
Chelation slacked my muscles. Lollipops had the same effect on my autism as me
going on each supplement the DAN doctor prescribed. Talking about it now makes
me angry about all the capricious stuff I am analyzing. (When asked what he meant by "capricious," Philip elaborated: I meant you were always looking for different things to cure.)
I am teaching you about treatment fads so
you can go make sane decisions. An informed parent should not make decisions
out of beautiful promises of cure. Instead they should teach us to communicate
so we can make our voices heard. My saving method of communication was Rapid
Prompting Method. You follow a helper's lead to give you a regular
education and communicate by prompting you to keep moving with your responses
instead of stimming. No other method has so impacted my life. No peace came
before this road to communication was found. Life began for me finally. You
can no longer fad treat me because I can tell if I want to be treated.
