What if Autism never existed?

[Dillon]

There are always certain things that I wished were never real like various diseases or other struggles we may go through in school, work, and at home. The main one I wonder is what would life be like if Autism never existed and none of the sysmptoms were even there?
I and many of you always struggle with the fact that we have trouble in certain social situations, have depression, anxiety and whatever else it may be. I at times feel like I’m trapped in a hole I could not get out of and feel this sense of feeling like I don’t belong in society to the point my life felt like it sucked all the time . I just imagine a perfect world where disabilities just do not exist feeling like you blend in with the rest of the crowd. We can be able to interact and do all the things NTs do as well as feeling less stress by our abnormal behavior from the average person. I feel like there is a parallel world out there where I do not have this condition.
Honestly though as much as I like the idea of Autism not being a reality it really doesn’t define who I am.
Say that I never had autism and I never had any problems I’m still going to be the person I want to be in life;who knows, the two parallel worlds I just mentioned one leads to a same life or slightly different such as both world going to college but maybe having different careers. Maybe I would be way more outgoing in this parallel world but would my other self learn any challegenes of what I’ve overcome in reality today? Even if there was a cure one day and it suddenly was not there the next day I wouldn’t feel any different than I do today. There are people who have are really successful with autism or aspergers such as Bill Gates and Stephen Spilburg.
If everyone were all perfect and the same then there would not be much in the way of some various ideas and methods of coping with life no matter the struggle. It took me a while to accept myself in terms of being different and being yourself shows how unique you can be, creating and establishing new ideas for others which I’m hoping to do one day for society. Whether I’m thinking about reality or fantasy and even if I never had autism, I still want to live a positive life for myself cause that’s just what people do no matter what direction I take or problem that exist.

 

[TheFreeCat]

There are always certain things that I wished were never real like various diseases or other struggles we may go through in school, work, and at home. The main one I wonder is what would life be like if Autism never existed and none of the sysmptoms were even there?
I and many of you always struggle with the fact that we have trouble in certain social situations, have depression, anxiety and whatever else it may be. I at times feel like I’m trapped in a hole I could not get out of and feel this sense of feeling like I don’t belong in society to the point my life felt like it sucked all the time . I just imagine a perfect world where disabilities just do not exist feeling like you blend in with the rest of the crowd. We can be able to interact and do all the things NTs do as well as feeling less stress by our abnormal behavior from the average person. I feel like there is a parallel world out there where I do not have this condition.
Honestly though as much as I like the idea of Autism not being a reality it really doesn’t define who I am.
Say that I never had autism and I never had any problems I’m still going to be the person I want to be in life;who knows, the two parallel worlds I just mentioned one leads to a same life or slightly different such as both world going to college but maybe having different careers. Maybe I would be way more outgoing in this parallel world but would my other self learn any challegenes of what I’ve overcome in reality today? Even if there was a cure one day and it suddenly was not there the next day I wouldn’t feel any different than I do today. There are people who have are really successful with autism or aspergers such as Bill Gates and Stephen Spilburg.
If everyone were all perfect and the same then there would not be much in the way of some various ideas and methods of coping with life no matter the struggle. It took me a while to accept myself in terms of being different and being yourself shows how unique you can be, creating and establishing new ideas for others which I’m hoping to do one day for society. Whether I’m thinking about reality or fantasy and even if I never had autism, I still want to live a positive life for myself cause that’s just what people do no matter what direction I take or problem that exist.

I hate being disabled. If I were not disabled, my life would not be the same at all. There are many tiers of disability. Mine is bad. I hate it and always will.

 

[Nervous Rex]

If the hardest thing we can think of didn't exist, we'd all be on some website speculating about what it would be like if the second hardest thing didn't exist

 

[Nervous Rex]

According to traditional religion, we're here to be tested and life is going to be hard.

According to science, evolution only guarantees the spreading of genes, not your comfort or happiness and life is going to be hard.

So, life is going to be hard no matter what.

 

[BrokenBoy]

Then life would be easier and better for me.

 

[tlc]

I think the world as we know it would not exist. Many of the programmers and engineers who got us to this point are autistic. Even in the ancient ages, we were probably toolmakers and such, that did best with little social interaction.

I don't think I am perfect, but I also don't think that NTs are perfect. I have my strong points that are AS related and I wouldn't trade that.

 

[Nitro]

I honestly feel like my version of autism is actually a wonderful gift with a little tarnish on it.

In either manufacturing or mechanical design work over the years, I have been able to contribute something that had an effect on everyone on our planet.

If they found a way to make it go away, I would have never been able to share my gift with anyone, so no, I don't want it to go away.

 

[Nauti]

I can suffer all the not-fun side of this and still see how the difficulties make me unique and stand out in the ways that I contribute that are different to everyone else because of my Autism. It's made me work very focused and long on.the things I'm good at and the things I struggle with, like socialising.
I still have my bad days (today was one of them, depression is one of those very not-fun things) but my skills and talents that I've honed, so that I can continue existing on this plane of existance, I attribute, in.great part, to my autism and its challenges.

 

[Crossbreed]

Adult discernment with child-like, flexible thinking...? What's not to like!?

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

If I wasn't autistic I wouldn't be myself. I suppose I might be a better or happier person, but I still don't particularly like the idea not being me. There are a lot of people who are better and happier than me in the world and I wouldn't want to swap places with any of them.

In the end, autism has made my life harder than it would be without, but it has also made me a stronger and more versatile person. If I didn't have it I would have other struggles instead, and may well still struggle with anxiety and depression anyway.

 

[Progster]

A lot of my social anxiety comes from the effects of having Asperger's, so I would be more confident, sociable and outgoing.

 

[Iamnotarabot]

You know i'v been speculating for years when I was a kid for the reasons that lead my mind to be in this specific body/person (me) , It was THE BIG QUESTION I had in mind as a kid but I never shared it with others.
It still feels weird sometimes to watch myself in the mirror.

But autism never was in my mind anyway , i'v learned about it not even a year ago.

Too me thinking about a world without autism is like thinking of a world without human being, they say its around one and 68 , some other numbers are lower, some highter, IMO the number is greatly under evaluated and our way of life in the west will only increase this number.

So thinking if a world without autism is as relevant as thinking of a world without , I don't know, a missing country or a missing ethnicity.
Things change and what might happen is that autistic individual will receive better care especially in behavioral and cognitive therapy.
We may also treat better other problems commorbid with autism.
So only the "very best" part of it will remain.

But what might happens is that earlier treatement may cause more bad than good overall, I dont know.

 

[FreeDiver]

Here's a question for ya! What's the worst part of having autism? Having it or having it and not knowing you have it? There's an old saying that "knowing is half the battle." and if I had just know about it at a younger age. Things would've been a lot better because I would've known how to manage it better. Yes, there are times that I wish it would just go away all together. But just being aware of it would've/did help a lot.

 

[Mia]

Have had an interesting life and it's ongoing. Didn't know I was autistic until my middle fifties. Feel as if I have an advantage, an edge, considering all the things I've done and have been able to do. Most of the decisions made are directly attributable to my intelligence, my skills, my talent. From the very beginnings of my life, autism has played a part, without my even knowing. Yes I'm different, and I'm strong and capable and able to adapt to most situations. If anything autism has been valuable to me, rather than something I find destructive.

 

[Pats]

The world would certainly be a boring place without diversity. If everyone was the same - would we like them or dislike them or just feel nothing toward them because they are us?
Life has certainly been difficult for myself and it was a relief two years ago to finally discover why. But because of the difficulties I have been greatly blessed and I'm the only one in this entire world that will ever know that without question.

 

[Dillon]

Here's a question for ya! What's the worst part of having autism? Having it or having it and not knowing you have it? There's an old saying that "knowing is half the battle." and if I had just know about it at a younger age. Things would've been a lot better because I would've known how to manage it better. Yes, there are times that I wish it would just go away all together. But just being aware of it would've/did help a lot.

For me it’s knowing i have it but was not fully aware what it was until I started high school when I was diagnosed at 3 years of age. I never understood for instance why I needed speech therapy in elementary school or needed the extra help at school that my mom provided towards me when I felt like I didn’t need it. I guess I hated the fact as to why the universe made me the way I am why as I seem to get older the depression kicked in during high school.
Now I can hardly care much anymore even though being aware I have autism hurts emotional at times and I do have some social problems but that’s just who I am. Even If never had any form of autism I’m still going to have some sort of flaw and that’s something I’ve been aware of that no one is completely perfect.

 

[Dillon]

If I wasn't autistic I wouldn't be myself. I suppose I might be a better or happier person, but I still don't particularly like the idea not being me. There are a lot of people who are better and happier than me in the world and I wouldn't want to swap places with any of them.

In the end, autism has made my life harder than it would be without, but it has also made me a stronger and more versatile person. If I didn't have it I would have other struggles instead, and may well still struggle with anxiety and depression anyway.

I feel like my life at this moment has made me stronger compared to the challenges when I was younger feeling like I was living in a nightmare. If I didn’t have struggles such as lack of social cues, not interacting with people, not having many freeness at all, and not accepting myself then I would never learn and be independent as I am now. I am about to graduate with a bachelors degree pretty soon and I can say wow what I’ve been through has lead to something extremely positive. Anyone can get through anything he or she wants to accomplish no matter how big or small you are and flaws you may have, after all diversity is what makes society unique.

 

[Nitro]

I don't really feel it would have changed anything had I known what it was that effected me early on.

I kind of feel like I had an advantage from it at times, with added deficits that came along with it to balance it out.

Because of the risk of projecting an us vs. them attitude, I explain my self as different, not better

Lower functioning individual might be for the better with a total cure in the bigger picture, but as a higher functioning autistic person, I'm going to still stick to my guns.

 

[Bronzelincolns]

I've never been one for wishful thinking.

i'd much rather except the problem for what it is and find real solutions to it.

 

[Nervous Rex]

posted my cynical remarks above and didn't think much more of it.

But now I'm really enjoying reading everyone's remarks and insight. Very good thread, @Dillon Campbell.