Do we even need to treat autism?

With new discoveries and publically proven cases that autism is a curable disease, there are also concerns about whether we even want to cure autism. Individuals (rightly) point out that autistic persons have their own specific strengths and skills which they do not want to “cure”, as this would mean that they renounce part of themselves and become the same as “other” people.

These concerns are justified – in certain cases. We all can agree that changing an autistic person who successfully functions in the society and uses his or her skills for the benefit of themselves and society, is unnecessary and even immoral. However, autism is not a single condition or state – that is why we are talking about the autistic spectrum. And the challenges that autistic people and their families face on different parts of the spectrum, are very very different.

In the video below you can see a part of everyday life of a family with an autistic child who suffers from a severe form of autism.

There is no need for any comment. It is hard to imagine a single person saying that in such cases treatment is not needed or that it would take away a part of personality of this autistic person.

Publically documented cases of successful recoveries of severe types of autism are a shimmer of hope for all families who have to deal with autistic persons in the hardest part of the spectrum. The main goal in such cases is to make it possible for the autistic person and their families to lead a normal life without physically and psychically exhausting attacks and incidents that are happening on a daily basis. To break free from this part of the autism spectrum is probably the biggest desire of anyone who is living this every single day. To them, treatment (or cure) for autism is the thing that can change their lives for the better.

How is the treatment implemented?

Zoran Dernovšek, inventor of RENS H, says that autism treatment is a process with no miracle cures (only primary and high science) but hard, systematic work which gives predictable positive results. At lectures about RENS H he presented results they achieved. In the last period he and the team successfully proved that the biomedical part of autism is now curable in reasonable time.

“We are talking about approx. 96% improvements in the first 6 months, where ATEC level is lowered for at least 50% or more. On the average a child with starting ATEC 120-150 can be brought out of the spectrum (ATEC under 20) in approx. 1.5-2 years.”

“Once this happens the focus of treatment is on special education teachers and support environments which work with children who successfully finished biomedical phase and are now aware of their environment, instructions and are following the instructions. This makes it possible for special education teachers to work faster with more success.”

Mr. Dernovšek continues with something very interesting:

“Generally most of the autistic people after their treatment is done still possess advantages they developed while they were deep in the spectrum as a compensation for blocked brain centres, for example photographic memory, hand or mental skills etc. However, coming out of the spectrum enables them to take on a dominant role in their environment.”

Once the hardest problems related to autism are eliminated, only then specific characteristics, skills and advantages that autistic person possesses, become their strengths they can take full advantage of.

So the answer to the question in the title is both yes and no. In cases where autistic person functions well in the society, so the person and his or her family have no desire for changes, treatment of autism is absolutely not needed. However, in cases where autism makes it extremely hard for the autistic person and his or her family to live a normal life, treatment is the right choice.