Cure Narrative

A dominant cultural narrative that frames disability as a problem to be eliminated, cured, or overcome through medical intervention, technology, or personal determination. Cure narratives position the non-disabled state as the default ideal and disability as a departure that should be corrected. In autism contexts, cure narratives manifest as rhetoric about "recovering" from autism, "defeating" autism, or helping autistic people become "indistinguishable from their peers." Autistic self-advocates and disability scholars challenge cure narratives as devaluing disabled lives, promoting harmful interventions, and diverting resources from supports that improve quality of life. The tension between cure and acceptance frameworks is central to debates about autism technology.