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What would a cure for autism be if one existed?

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Ganondox
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28 Jun 2012, 4:00 pm

Lobotomby. Sure, it will leave you incapacitated, unable to do more than stare blankly, but at least your cured, right?


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Ettina
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01 Jul 2012, 9:13 am

Quote:
Lobotomby. Sure, it will leave you incapacitated, unable to do more than stare blankly, but at least your cured, right?


Lobotomy doesn't actually do that. It just affects your frontal lobes, which control executive functions. Many autistic people already act like we've had lobotomies, because frontal dysfunction is commonly associated with autism. (I know I have many of the characteristics of people with lobotomies.) Lobotomies, in fact, usually have no effect on IQ, but alter personality, which is a typical finding for frontal lobe injuries. (Apparently a lot of what people think of as personality is affected by executive functions.)

That stereotype came from the failed attempts to cure catatonic schizophrenia with lobotomies. In those cases, the person was unable to do more than stare blankly, before and after the lobotomy, and people who didn't know the case history mistakenly thought the lobotomy caused the problems that were actually due to catatonic schizophrenia.