# Magic cures for a disabled child - would you do it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354 "2018-09-14T19:59:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/61 "2018-09-17T00:44:23Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Am I the only one reading the thread who’s seeing a lot of posts that seem to conflate autism and Down’s Syndrome? Probably. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/62 "2018-09-17T04:47:44Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Am I the only one reading the thread who’s seeing a lot of posts that seem to conflate autism and Down’s Syndrome? They are both disabilities. The title of the thread is “Magic cures for a disabled child - would you do it?”, and I therefore take the suggestion of a cure for Down’s Syndrome as a strawman. As for my adult, autistic daughter? I would give her the cure in a heartbeat. She is non-verbal and subject to pretty severe behaviors. Group home, sheltered workshops, the whole bit. I used to dream of such a magic wand and being able to have a conversation with my daughter; fortunately those dreams stopped, because waking up and realizing it was only a dream was devastating. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/63 "2018-09-17T06:31:44Z")
I know a lawyer with DS and a lot of normal people who didn’t finish HS or even primary school… I’d take it, but not for the intelligence (any kid of mine would be a smartass, it’s genetic): for the physical issues. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/64 "2018-09-17T22:02:55Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > Autism and “functioning”: > > [https://www.autistichoya.com/2012/09/so-high-functioning-sarcasm.html](https://www.autistichoya.com/2012/09/so-high-functioning-sarcasm.html) Wait, leaving your dishes to pile up on your counter instead of washing them means you’re autistic? I’ve been semi-carefully\* piling all my silverware on my counter for a couple of weeks because I didn’t immediately put all my 'ware into the silverware tray after the last wash and thus couldn’t put the dirties in the washer, and then hit a ‘tipping point’ where it didn’t seem worth it to move the dwindled remainder out of the washer at all. I assumed that this was just me being a lazy-ass, but I _suppose_ it could have some other explanation. \*As in, they’re not sorted by type and placed in orderly-yet-precarious stacks. Instead they’re just in a loose but reasonably constrained pile. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/65 "2018-09-17T23:17:58Z")
Hmmm - maybe? ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/66 "2018-09-17T23:23:21Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Your child won’t be the same child exactly afterwards - their personality might change, who knows? I need a lot more information about this line. As written, it could be anything up to “we’ve basically wiped the old person from existence and replaced them with a new one,” which would change my answer a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/67 "2018-09-17T23:27:29Z")
More to add: I assume you’re joking, but what you’re describing could be. My son would wear the same outfit (down to the underwear) if we let him. He would not bathe. He would not brush his teeth. I don’t know if he would ever put the dishes away if we didn’t make him, or put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. He just doesn’t find those things important. He’s 13, so daily training on the matter is still not setting in. This is not “teenage boy doesn’t give a shit”. He has always been this way and may always be this way. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/68 "2018-09-17T23:29:58Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > I need a lot more information about this line. As written, it could be anything up to “we’ve basically wiped the old person from existence and replaced them with a new one,” which would change my answer a lot. What I mean is that without the underlying disease, their personality may present differently. I would expect that underneath everything they are the same person, but now that they can communicate differently, interact with you and the world differently, and so on, they will not be to you exactly as they were. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/69 "2018-09-18T00:45:09Z")
In a heartbeat. It honestly doesn’t matter what the disability is, from something as mild as having moderately bad ADHD like I do to more life altering issues like deafness, blindness, a generic disorder or autism, of course I would level the playing field for my child if I could. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/70 "2018-09-18T14:34:17Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > What I mean is that without the underlying disease, their personality may present differently. I would expect that underneath everything they are the same person, but now that they can communicate differently, interact with you and the world differently, and so on, they will not be to you exactly as they were. Sure, but how extreme is the difference? Someone being cured of insomnia and now being able to sleep well could have a dramatic effect on behavior (particularly attentiveness, memory, and irritability). Likewise, a cure for paralysis (or hemophilia) might make someone interact with the world differently, though no so much differently with individuals. And even for mental conditions - a cure for schizophrenia or bipolarism could end up changing a person’s personality and interpersonal relations a good bit. But if the person thinks the same way, but communicates differently (and I think the difference would be more extreme than that in severe cases), that’s very minor. That’s like a typical person taking a personal communications class and then communicating differently. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/71 "2018-09-18T15:53:49Z")
Hell, let’s go even further. I’m just on the wrong side of “obese”. I believe this contributes at least in part to some of my romantic failures. What do you reckon the chances are I’d “interact differently with the world” if I had the body of Chris Evans, or even if I just lost 50 pounds? Pretty decent, I’d reckon! It’s more extreme with autism or ADHD, but there’s a reason these things are considered disorders or diseases - they’re not neutral changes. Like, a popular meme I saw recently was this: [autism.jpg - Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ykhnuEzlCQuERS51lweIqhm-gy5ly1HW/view?usp=drivesdk) That was largely my reaction as well. Guys… You don’t react like that for something neutral or positive. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/72 "2018-09-18T17:58:03Z")
Absofuckinglutely yes, how can you NOT do it? I’m sure there’s a very specific and special case here and there, but aside from that, 10000000% yes ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354/73 "2018-09-18T18:18:02Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > More to add: > > I assume you’re joking, but what you’re describing could be. > > My son would wear the same outfit (down to the underwear) if we let him. He would not bathe. He would not brush his teeth. I don’t know if he would ever put the dishes away if we didn’t make him, or put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. He just doesn’t find those things important. He’s 13, so daily training on the matter is still not setting in. This is not “teenage boy doesn’t give a shit”. He has always been this way and may always be this way. I most certainly wasn’t joking about my silverware pile. (My yogurt spoon this morning was the last spoon in there, so this evening I will move the remaining forks and knives to the silverware tray (sorting them by type and putting them into one tidy stack, of course) and put the pile from the counter in to be washed.) As for me being autistic, I’m not really clear on what being autistic _is_ - and I’m not sure I’d benefit from learning I am one, if in fact I am. I’m more commonly accused of being OCD, anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-cures-for-a-disabled-child-would-you-do-it/821354.md?page=3)