I Want a Cure for Autism

I have Asperger Syndrome and I want a cure for autism. Yes, the media makes a big show of people with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism who own corporations, design software and lead normal lives but most of us don't. My autism resulted in childhood abuse. My autism resulted in homelessness during which I was beaten and raped more than once. I am now an autistic person with PTSD. I am not intellectually disabled but I am also not able to function on the same level as "normal" people.

People often dismiss Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism because those of us on that part of the autistic spectrum are not as dysfunctional as people with classical autism. Severe autism is a very real and serious problem. I know that I'm extremely lucky to have a very mild type of autism, one that doesn't require constant parental supervision or institutionalization. But I'm not quite as lucky as those who are not anywhere on the autism spectrum. While Asperger's isn't as bad as classic autism, it isn't good, either.

I was academically gifted. I got excellent grades in school. I was the nerd who walked around obsessively reciting pi and avoiding eye-contact. I was the kid who carried around a big stack of books and read only about science, math, and chess. None of that sounds like more than an inconvenience and really, aside from the times the teasing got physical, it wasn't. "Wasn't" is the operative word. In school, my life was structured. Outside of school my parents set bed time, chore time, and play time. They fed me and made sure I wore appropriate clothing. Routine and structure are vital for people with autism.

But there was a very serious problem in that time of my life. My naïveté and complete lack of common sense made me a perfect target for predators. My usual lack of communicativeness made it impossible for my parents to guess that anything was wrong. It's hard to tell that an autistic child is withdrawn due to trauma when that child's normal behavior is to be withdrawn. So some really horrific things happened to me and my parents had no clue.

My parents left once I was chronologically an adult. My social safety net was very weak. I also had a major autistic meltdown in reaction to the abandonment and became less able to function in unfamiliar situations than I previously had been. My inability to deal with unfamiliar situations (a trait common to autistic people) led to homelessness. Once I was homeless, traumatic events pushed me even further into my autistic bubble of self.

I was not diagnosed as autistic until adulthood. I was not diagnosed until my autism had already resulted in horrible, out-of-control situations. I was diagnosed with autism during treatment for PTSD, PTSD I would never have had if I had been a normal person.

Asperger Syndrome may not be a big deal for many people but for me, it certainly has been. So I want a cure for autism, if not for me, at least so that no one else will have to live through this.

Sources:
Life as an autistic person.
http://www.squidoo.com/coping_with_Aspergers