Gutierrez 1

Gutierrez Cassandra
Professor Batty
English 113B
4 April 2016

Autism, A Way of Being

For many years, there has been a huge controversy that people are born with autism so
we should treat it as a natural expression instead of seeing them as people with diseases. Instead
of trying to cure them, we should let them live as they are. We should not be looking for ways to
fix them; instead, we should focus more on making a place for them in our society. In the
article, Should Autism Be Cured or Not, Adrienne Warber said that, Many people with autism
believe that removing all their symptoms will eliminate their personality. They view autism as a
difference, not a disability. Every person with autism is unique in their own way. They all have
different weaknesses and strengths. Many people on the autism spectrum have high abilities in
visual, academics, and music skills. Although people who believe autism is caused by
environmental factors would disagree with me, we need to make a place for these autistic people
in society instead of trying to find ways to fix them, because they are just like us. They have
feelings too.
There is so much bullying happening all around towards people with autism, especially
now that it has become so common. I am sure you guys are familiar with the terms used against
people with autism. Being born with autism is totally out of peoples control. Autism is a
neurodevelopmental disorder that individuals themselves are born with. It affects people in the

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way they communicate with others. People with autism find it very difficult forming
relationships with other people. In the article, Should Autism Be Cured, Adrienne Warber said,
Many individuals with autism are offended by the medical terminology and societal attitudes
toward autism as a disease. To them, autism is an identity that sets them apart from the average
person. People with autism are aware that they are different. Trying to find a cure for what
people call a disease is offensive to them because they see it as they are getting separated as a
non-human. Separating them and putting them down is foul. When in reality individuals with
autism have their own strengths in their own subjects.
When dealing with real life situations with people with autism people are more focused
on trying to cure them, or sadly embarrassed of having a kid with autism that they try to find a
cure for them. In the process of all this, they do not take the certain individuals feelings into
consideration. In the article, Can Autism Be Cured by Kristina C. she said, Ive come to think
that focusing on recovery distracted me from truly helping and truly understanding Charlie. I
wasnt keeping my eyes focused on the real boy in front of me. Charlie is her autistic son who
she says she lost track of really getting to know. She failed to get to know his interest in the
process of getting caught up in trying to cure him. When you are too focused on what you want
them to be you lose track of appreciating how they really are. Trying to find a cure for their
autism is basically saying you are not accepting them for who they are and trying to change their
way of being. How sad it is to say that you are not accepting your own child the way they are.
Parents should see their kids as a blessing and not look down on them. Although many parents
wish to find a cure, we should just accept the fact that there isnt and focus on keeping them

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happy. Of course there are ways to better them. For example, speech therapy or occupational
therapy can help them to get out of their comfort zone in many situations. Occupational therapy
provides treatment to help people learn how to deal with daily life situations. It is extra skills to
help perform activities of daily living. Speech therapy reaches out to those who have trouble
communicating. They are put with a professional to specialize communication disorders, produce
sound, better fluency, etc. Which is perfect because many people who have autism have trouble
speaking. Allowing them to get help and practice at their own convenience will make them feel
comfortable with themselves and could possibly lead to better communication skills and a better
life style. Throughout time, everything will fall into place, but to start it off, it all begins with
acceptance. It is up to us to just accept them as they are and make them feel at home in society
instead of making them feel like a fish out of water.
Although people believe autism is caused by environmental factors, they fail to realize
that when a person is first born it is not clear to anyone that this person is autistic. Symptoms are
not recognized up until a couple years when they begin to show their lack of communication or
disconnection with other people. In the article, Should Autism Be Cured by Adrienne Warber, she
states, The underlying processes are triggered before their signs and symptoms become
obvious. Although we are not able to tell right away, the malfunctions in the brain are already
there. There is no known cause for autism. Autism is cause by abnormalities in the brain, but
because people believe that autism is developed later on they do their best to try and find a cure
for them to completely remove their disorder. Failing to realize that some people can grow out of
it. Of course they will always be autistic, but they learn to cope better with their disability. In
which, makes them feel as if they do not have it anymore. That is exactly what we should be

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doing, making them feel comfortable. The more comfortable we make them feel the more
confidence they will have to succeed. Instead of looking down on them, we should support them
in any way we can to let them know they can do it.
There are so many stereotypes towards people with autism. They believe that every
autistic person are all alike in the same ways, with the same malfunctions and features. They use
very offensive words towards them calling them stupid or retarded. I have seen people mimic
their hand movements not knowing that their unusual hand movement is out of their control. In
all reality people believe that they do not understand because they are stupid when in reality
they are no different from us. They have feelings too. Being autistic is difficult already we do not
need to make them feel any less. As a matter of fact, I have a cousin who is autistic, and one day
during a family gathering a family friend named Gabriel of ours once told her, I am truly sorry
to hear you have autism. She replied, I do not need your pity, you should not be sorry for the
way I am. I am who I am, and I am not ashamed. I am sure it was not Gabriel intentions to
insult her, but feeling bad for someone because they have autism is in reality putting them down.
We have to put ourselves in their shoes and get a feeling of their everyday struggles they go
through in their lives.
The American Disabilities Act is a law that got passed in 1990. This law bans any type of
discrimination towards people with a disability. Even with the American Disabilities Act banning
all type of discrimination to these people, we still see this in everyday life. The American
Disabilities Act bans all type of discrimination in public places, schools, transportation, and etc.
This law was made up to give even those with disabilities the same rights and laws as everyone
else. It also presents them with the same opportunities as anyone else,

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including job opportunities. In the article, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Reference
for Business Organization said, there are two types of action employers or public places must
undertake for people with disabilities: Reasonable Accommodations and Readily
Achievable. Reasonable Accommodations has to do with employees, and no modifications must
be undertaken to fulfill the reasonable accommodations requirement until a qualified individual
with a disability has been hired. Reasonable Accommodations must be made unless they impose
a significant difficulty or expense. Employers are required to work their way around the
situation and make it possible for the individual to perform the jobs duties unless they are
showing they are not capable of performing their duty. They need to adjust their system to make
a fair choice, and if wanted, the individual can receive help and have someone trained by their
side. They would just provide them with extra help and help them along way if they come across
some difficulties. Making them go out of their comfort zone and getting them to work where they
are surrounded by people who do not have a disability is the way to go. They will actually feel
like a part of society, instead of feeling like a fish out of water.
It is on us to respect, accept, and support them for their natural way of being, instead of
making them feel out of place and putting them down. Autism is not caused by no vaccines or
any type of environmental factors. It is neurodevelopment disorder that happens in the brain
before they are even out of the womb. It is out of their control to decide whether they have
autism or not. Autism is what makes them unique, it is who they are.

Works Cited
Warber Adrienne. Should Autism Be Cured?. Autism.lovetoknow.com. Love To Know. 20062016. Web. 14 March 2016. This article talks about how it is wrong to compare autism
to a disease. They explain the way people with autism feel, and how they feel that their
autistic ways make them who they are. They believe that trying to find a cure for what
they seem to call a disease is like removing some of their own personal personality traits.
They argue that their differences should be respected in society. They present us with the
articles counter argument and how people believe it is a medical condition that should be
cured.
Anonymous. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Referenceforbusiness.com. Reference
for Business. 2016. Web. 14 March 2016. This article explains who established the
Americans with Disabilities Act. It provides us with a clear description of what the
Americans with Disabilities Act provides those with a disability. It explains the rights for
them as well as no discrimination is tolerated. Gives us reasons why separating them and
treating them any less is not tolerable.
Care2. Can Autism Really Be Cured?. Care2.com. 23 January 2013. Web. 14 March 2016.
This article presents with real life situations in which how parents feel about trying to find a cure for autism. They explain how focusing on the cure of autism removes the focus

from the person itself. They are telling us that even when the parents wish to find a cure,
it is best to be focused on making them feel at home rather than a fish out of water.