About 15 years ago, when I first began reporting on the condition, therapists talked about achieving the best outcome for children on the spectrum. They meant to change the behavior associated with the condition so that the children wouldn't meet the criteria for the condition. Only a small percentage of people could achieve it. It is seen as wrong- minded today.
According to the director of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development in Durham, N.C., we have moved away from thinking of autism as a condition that needs to be eliminated or fixed. If you are conducting clinical trials, how do you measure improvement if you are supporting people who are on the spectrum? The shift was written about by three people in a recent article. The self-advocating voices of people on the spectrum reflect a widespread re-evaluation of the goals of therapy. They have fostered a greater appreciation for what society gains from having different kinds of brains contribute to our world, as well as a greater awareness of the negative impacts of insistence that people with autism behave unnaturally for them.
It doesn't mean that early intervention is any less important for young children with the condition. The defining impairments of the condition include challenges communicating and establishing social relationships and should be addressed by therapies. An optimal outcome is dependent on the ability and desires of the individual and the person's family.
Changing behaviors that are harmless are not important for therapists. A teenager told his therapist that he didn't want to work on eye contact. She says that should be alright. People who make a lot of eye contact are more likely to make less money. She believes that our society should be accepting of different ways of being in the world if someone rocks back and forth.
Scientists have been encouraged to study the high cost of forced conformity for people with a neurological condition. There is a correlation between trying hard to pass and a higher risk of suicide. According to Ari Ne'eman, the struggle to keep up a "typical" appearance pulls attention from other things. All of that is energy and cognitive load that doesn't get spent elsewhere if you're constantly policing where your eyes are pointing and second-guessing yourself about if you're talking too much about the things that interest you. Ne'eman is concerned that biases are built into the tools clinicians use. He wrote that therapists are teaching to the test of appearance.
There is nothing about us without us. A therapy goal is defined by the help of the people with the condition. According to a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, if you were a non-verbal six-year-old and at 12 you could speak, using an iPad or voice. She says that they can be very happy. They are able to work. How you define success in your world is what determines success.
Many people on the spectrum don't want to lose their diagnosis in order to have a better quality of life. She says having a meaningful job and relationships is her priority. It's the same for every human being.
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