Do you view autism as a pathology or a difference?

I'm pretty strongly in the difference camp. It giveth and taketh away. I can't get through a full meal hearing people chew food without some background noise going but I also completed my PhD before I was 30 so it feels wrong to call it a pathology ya know?

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beeflet a day ago | parent | next [-]

Is it rare to complete a PhD before 30?

	▲	zahlman a day ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Not much rarer than completing it at all, probably. It's still certainly an accomplishment.
	▲	joshcsimmons a day ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		I just looked it up - I guess it's not! As I said in another thread, paid the price, didn't receive the intelligence.
	▲	a day ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
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	▲	slickytail a day ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		[dead]

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cratermoon a day ago | parent | prev [-]

What I was getting at in my question is, in response to the question about medication, is the intent to "fix" a perceived "problem", or should any medication taken be tuned to provide support for coping with a world that can be actively hostile to neurodivergent people.

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thyristan a day ago | parent | next [-]

Any psychological disorder is treatment-worthy iff the patient suffers from it. So not just "you were diagnosed", but "you were diagnosed, have problems caused by it, suffer from those problems, and want relief". So yes to both, treatment can be intended to fix a problem that a patient suffers from that is just related to his perception of things. But it can also be intended to support your interactions with a hostile environment that you suffer from.

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cratermoon a day ago | parent [-]

"disorder" is a loaded term in this context.

	▲	Dylan16807 16 hours ago \| parent [-]
		It's redundant. "disorder" and "iff the patient suffers from it" are basically the same thing in this context. So you can remove the word disorder and that comment means the same thing.

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lstodd a day ago | parent | prev [-]

FWIW (and I do have relevant personal experience) "fixing" is not in the option set. One can only cope. SSRIs, VPA, amphetamines or whatever (including alcohol, THC, DMT and opiates), they just shift the person's perception/consciousness a bit so it might become more copeable in the current society. That is all.