The idea of a cure for autism is itself controversial. Some people with autism say they don't want to be cured, because autism gives them a different way of looking at the world.
Interpretation
The notion of curing autism is debated, with some individuals embracing their unique perspective instead of desiring a cure.
In this quote, Simon Baron-Cohen highlights the controversy surrounding the idea of curing autism. He points out that many individuals on the autism spectrum view their condition not as a deficiency but as a different way of perceiving and interacting with the world, suggesting that the desire for a cure may not be universal among those affected.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion on neurodiversity at a conference.
When I first started in this field there were all kinds of stereotypes about autism, as if these were children from another planet, or children who had been brought up by wolves, that they weren't part of our population and were somehow separate.
Empathy is like a universal solvent. Any problem immersed in empathy becomes soluble. It is effective as a way of anticipating and resolving interpersonal problems, whether this is a marital conflict, an international conflict, a problem at work, difficulties in a friendship, political deadlocks, a family dispute, or a problem with a neighbor.
Brains come in different types and they're all normal.
Well, in the general population, we find differences between the typical male and typical female. For example, males seem to be more interested in systems and females seem to be more interested in people and particularly people's emotions.
Empathy is a skill like any other human skill - and if you get a chance to practice, you can get better at it.
There are people with Asperger's whom I've met who certainly would be very upset to learn they'd hurt another person's feelings. They often have very strong moral consciences and moral codes. They care about not hurting people.
Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be likened to a finger. The finger can point to the moon's location. However, the finger is not the moon. To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger, right?
Publication is to thinking as childbirth is to the first kiss.
The cost of a thing is something called life which is given in exchange for it.
Now let us find solace in the finished work of our Lord Jesus. Everything is fully done: justice demands no more.
You are not in the world...the world is in you," what did he mean? [That is, you are not in the world," that is, there is no "you" that is real or in any world. "The world is in you" means that the world is in your "mind" and is nothing more than a figment of your programming-and-conditioning-induced imaginings.]
Who can leap the world's ties and sit with me among white clouds?
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