At the risk of violating GD etiquette, this is from the pit. But it seemed to fit this line of conversation more than the one going on in there, so…
See, I cannot for the life of me understand that. I’m sorry if it hurts anyone’s feelings, but deafness is a disorder. It is a physiological change which in no uncertain terms worsens your ability to function as a human being, to the extent where communication with others is hampered, life becomes more dangerous, and you are absolutely and indisputably worse off being deaf than you are having decent hearing.
And it’s the same with autism. Yes, autism is generally a defining trait for people suffering from it, but it does nobody good to claim that they’re not suffering from it (relative to not having it, anyways). Make the best of it, but it’s a disorder. Sure, the line becomes less clear-cut as you become more high-functioning, but the fact is that if we could “cure” autism in a child’s early stages, we should. And it’s definitely a goal we should strive for. I also don’t really understand the argument that if you take away autism, what you have is a completely different person. As far as I can see it, it’s still the same person, just with a mental makeup that is significantly different in a handful of ways. Much like a person suffering from schizophrenic delusions who is cured is significantly different in a handful of ways.
I’ll freely admit I’m not arguing from a position of the greatest understanding, but the comparison between deaf pride and autism acceptance (that is, acceptance that the disorder is just something to be lived with and should not be worked against) just seems apt to me - autism is a disorder, and curing it is a good idea. (And for what it’s worth: “Deaf pride” is possibly the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard of. Seriously.)