?Too many Clostridia bacteria as one cause of autism?

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Saying parents have a right to know this is odd. I suppose we have a right to know that some people think the moon landing was faked by Hollywood, but that doesn't make it worth drawing our attention to it. We have the same right to read speculation about autism as any other person, but at this point it provides no useful guidance on how to help our children.

Well, The Economist is in fact a reputable source, although perhaps as you suggest science isn't its strongest suit.

As far as the causes of autism, I think the following are some of the credible ideas:

Maybe some cases of autism are caused by some funky autoimmune process, say something roughly similar to Guillain-Barre or PANDAS. (and if vaccines are sometimes one cause, I don't think it's the toxicity of mercury, but it could be something autoimmune)

Some metabolic process like PKU.

And I'd say the hypothesis laid out in this article is another credible idea. More and more things are found to have a bacteria cause. 30 years ago, ulcers were viewed as stress or spicy diet. Now people know about the Helicobacter pylori. There are even studies on whether bacteria play a role in causing build up of plaque in arteries. (The article's theory is actually kind of a hybrid in which bacteria contribute to a shortage of sulphur in the body, and this shortage in turn has a metabolic effect.)

And regardless of whether I'm slightly/somewhat brain-damaged or not, I want to be accepted and appreciated for the human being which I am.

I saw this study, and talked to a researcher friend of mine, and some microbiologists I know. I confirmed with them that the study doesn't take into account the frequently peculiar diets of people on the spectrum who often have sensory issues with food - gut flora is directly linked to diet.

In other words, this researcher just found a link, but not causation. It could just as easily mean that autism causes the bacterium to flourish (which, given the diet issue is more likely,) and not the other way around.

Point well taken. Correlation does not imply causation. And an unusual diet, for whatever reason, may well lead to a different ecosystem of gut bacteria.

But all the same, the hypothesis of too many Clostridia bacteria --> depletion of body's sulphur reserves does have some testable conclusions:

If too many Clostridia bacteria are producing phenols and the body's cells are protecting themselves with sulphate, does that reduce the body's stores of sulphur too much? And do (some) persons on the spectrum have genetic defects with sulphur metabolism anyway?

Perhaps the gist of the article's claim is this: