Autism as a Culture

From Future

This page is speculative in nature.
If you can shine some light on this topic, please do it by contributing to this article and making it more factual. Alternatively, think about creating a scenario based on it.

By the 2030s, people will no longer think of autism as simply a birth defect or disability. Rather they will take something closer to Oliver Sack's view on diversity in human nature and mentality. In part this more open view will be promoted by new drugs like Cardinal, a drug which gives people temporary Asperger's like syndrome to enable them to access 'savant' abilities. To be sure, the drug is hypothetical at this moment, but the Cognitive Science behind it is not. This will cause people who were born with Asperger's to protest the drugs.

Autism is rapidly becoming a part of many people's lives across the world. By the end of the 2030s, most autistics will have well-paying full time jobs, have become parents, live a life that they could never afford while on a disability pension or being dependent on their parents' income. One prediction is that with the help of mental enhancements, even the most severe autistic will be able to have a spouse, a career, and a family of his/her own. However, some parents of autistics will try to "protect" their "mentally disabled" children from marriage and having a family of his/her own.