Gutierrez 1

Gutierrez Cassandra
Professor Batty
English 113B
8 May 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. Many
people believe autism is caused by environmental factors like vaccines, because we are not able
to tell if a newborn is born with autism or not. Symptoms do not begin to show until a couple
years of age. 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 mentioned, 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. They have feelings too.
There is so much bullying happening all around towards people with autism, especially
now that bullying and being autistic has become so common. I am sure people are familiar with
the terms used against people with autism. Being born with autism is totally out of peoples

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control. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that individuals themselves are born with. It
affects people in the 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, parents 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 people 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

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wish to find a cure, we should just accept the fact that there isnt and focus on keeping them
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. This type of help is beneficial 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 caused by abnormalities in the brain. Since
people believe that autism is developed later on they do their best to try and find a cure for them

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to completely remove their disorder. Failing to realize that some people can get better with time.
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
bedoing, 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 similar 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 Gabriels 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

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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,
including job opportunities. In the article, The 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. Allowing autistic people to go out of
their comfort zone and getting them to work where they are surrounded by people who do not
have a disability is a right step to take. 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 on their natural way of being, instead of
making them feel out of place and putting them down. Autism is not caused by vaccines or any
type of environmental factors. It is a neurodevelopment disorder that happens in the brain before

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they are even out of the womb. It is out of their control to decide whether they have autism or
not. We have no right to look down on someone because of their disability. Autism is what makes
them unique, it is who they are.

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Works Cited
Warber Adrienne. Should Autism Be Cured?. Autism.lovetoknow.com. Love To Know. 20062016. Web. 14 March 2016.
Anonymous. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Referenceforbusiness.com. Reference
for Business. 2016. Web. 14 March 2016.
Care2. Can Autism Really Be Cured?. Care2.com. 23 January 2013. Web. 14 March 2016.