Is there a 'cure'?

"We are not born to suffer. We are born to thrive. If you live in a dry area and your garden receives little water, you plant plants which like dry soil. But when you are given a plant that likes wet soil, you don't kill it, you water it, you spend one of your 1,440 minutes each day watering that plant. Because you know, that given the right care, that little bit of effort can produce spectacular blooms. And so it should be with children like us."
Joshua Muggleton

This page has been written primarily for parents of newly diagnosed children, but will be of interest to anyone who wants to know about autism and possible 'cures'.

There is a growing movement among autism activists who don't think in terms of 'curing' a disorder but instead of celebrating difference.

Parents of newly-diagnosed children, however, will often ask, 'Is there a cure?'. There is currently no known 'cure' for autism. This does not mean that nothing can be done to help a person with autism. In this section of our website, you can read about some of the interventions which may be of help. Our understanding of autism has grown tremendously since it was first identified in the 1940s, and as we learn more about the condition, more interventions will undoubtedly become available.

Autism is a 'spectrum' disorder and affects different people in different ways. It is very difficult to generalise about how a person with autism will develop over time: two children, both with the same diagnosis, might act very differently from one another and have varying skills.

It is important to realise that an intervention - where intervention is considered necessary - which works well with one person may not be appropriate or effective with another.

Interventions

Most interventions are aimed at helping children with autism. While children with autism are not 'curable' they can be helped, especially if their autism is diagnosed early in life.

Various types of early intervention for autism and other developmental disorders may be available where you live. These include:

• child development centre groups (accessed via a diagnostic team or your health authority)
• portage services (usually accessed via your local authority's education department)
• Hanen programs (run by specially trained speech and language therapists who can be contacted via local health authorities)
• playgroups, including those run by the Pre-school Learning Alliance
• nursery classes - either general or special needs (run by local education authorities).

For more information on interventions, read the Approaches, therapies and interventions section on our websire or call the Autism Helpline on 0845 070 4004.

The Research Autism website offers in-depth coverage of interventions and looks at how each has been researched for effectiveness.

Some thoughts on 'cures' from some adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs)

Although this page has been written primarily for the parents of newly-diagnosed children, it may be helpful to note the viewpoints of some adults with autism spectrum disorders, who don't think in terms of 'curing' a disorder but instead of celebrating difference. (In fact, people with a desire to cure autism are sometimes known by adults on the spectrum as 'curebies'.) Please take time to read their viewpoints below.

• Aspies for Freedom
  "We know that autism is not a disease, and we oppose any attempts to "cure" someone of an autism spectrum condition, or any attempts to make them 'normal' against their will."
  
  
• The Autistic Liberation Front
  A posting on Althouse
  
  
• Autistic Liberation Front fights the 'oppressors searching for a cure'
  By David Harrison and Tony Freinberg. From the Sunday Telegraph. Includes positive comment from Vernon Beauchamp, our Chief Executive
  
  
• autistics.org
  "Resources by and for persons on the autism spectrum"
  
  
• Don't Mourn for Us
  by Jim Sinclair. Originally published in the Autism Network International newsletter, Our Voice, Volume 1, Number 3, 1993.
  
  
• Institute for the Study of the Neurologically Typical
  Includes thoughts on treatment for neurotypicals (people who do not have an autism spectrum disorder [ASD]) and "What to do if you suspect your child has NT". A humorous site born of outrage at attitudes to ASDs.
  
  
• neurodiversity. org
  "Honouring the diversity of human wiring" This link takes you stright to their extensive collection of thoughts on 'curing' autism.
  
  
• Sociological and cultural aspects of autism
  An in-depth article about autistic culture in Wikipedia.

Also in this section:

Related resources

• NAS Information Centre
  
• Approaches, therapies and interventions
  
• Useful websites: approaches, therapies and interventions