Our Moral Duty to Prevent Autism

An autism mom fights back against the anti-prevention mindset popular among “neurodiversity” adherents.

By Alicia Mesa

In my moral universe — and probably yours — we humans have a strong duty to prevent neurological disability, and this includes autism.

But online I see this moral universe has turned upside down. “Neurodiversity” proponents wage online battles fiercely condemning the idea of preventing autism. Autism studies such as Autism 10K in the UK, and the huge SPARK autism study sponsored by the Simons Foundation have been caught in the crosshairs of denouncers who jeer at autism causation research and liken it to “eugenics.”

How nice that these anti-prevention advocates have such cognitive privilege that they even know what eugenics means or how to tweet on Twitter. Surely they must cherish their own mental faculties even as they fight against preventing mental disability in others.

Every day I witness the immense dysfunction and incalculable suffering caused by autism, not to mention the massive burdens on families, schools and adult services. For my son Pablito, autism has meant a life of helplessness and self-injury, requiring a small army of caregivers round the clock. At home it means constant chaos, noise…