Want info on possible cures for autism/AS?

Post Reply New Topic

I've got it on both sides of my family for 3 generations in grandparents, parents, cousins, brothers... I know very well about how it runs in families, and that yes, there is a genetic component. My mother is an autism adviser to schools and the education department, so I have a fair idea of what the latest findings are.

It doesn't mean I'm opposed to finding out about potential causes of it or means in which it could potentially be exacerbated in susceptible individuals though. It doesn't mean I'm not going to listen to different people's ideas about the cause. It doesn't mean I'm opposed to a potential 'cure' for those who want it. It doesn't mean I'm arrogant enough to automatically call anyone who suggests any of these a crook, fraud, crank, quack, or troll.

End.

I think is was Greg Bear who wrote "Darwin's Radio", about how the junk DNA was governed by environmental cues, and when triggered, the introns would rewrite the genetic code of the species, to the next stage of evolution. Neat premise, I just think it works more slowly than that. If I had a way to collect, I'd bet cash that in a few thousand years "Autistic Spectrum Humans" and NT's will have difficulty interbreeding. The people pointing out the increase in autism is related to better diagnosis, are correct. However, there are many more of us finding other autistic's to marry and procreate with, raising the chances our children will be on the spectrum. I think our technological progress over the past 200 years is directly related to that as well.

the nature vs nurture argument is way too tantalizing... interesting idea but i sincerely doubt things are that easy. but hey... maybe it's involved. who knows.

I wonder if mutations in introns can modify the behavior of the selective mRNA splicing mechanisms that allows a a single gene to code for several proteins.

BTW, I just joined an undergraduate biochemistry research team at my university headed by my advisor and one of the things we are working on is the biochemistry of autism spectrum disorders, particularly a cell signaling protein called a phosphokinase and the neurotransmitters oxytocin and vasopressin.

Yes it is, it's bigotry against the Autistic Spectrum. The only people who "want a cure" are those who can't cope and won't accept their diagnosis. Solution - support systems that helps them cope and understand which leads to acceptance.

Lack of acceptance is commonly associated with all forms of bigotry and discrimination.

I voted the bottom one.

No, there is absolutely nothing wrong with people wanting a cure for themselves. Why shouldn't they be allowed that if they want it? What gives you the right to decide who can and can't help themselves be rid of whatever co-morbids have plagued their life and made it hell?

Don't be so arrogant. All our experiences of autism are different, and some cope far better than others. There's nothing bigoted about wanting to help those who want to be helped.

The lip/mouth thing is interesting because of some research coming out on that, too. (Part of which I mentioned, tangentially, in the above post.)

It turns out, they were testing autistic people who had high receptive vocabularies but some amount of trouble understanding auditory words. So they would augment their listening with lipreading.

They tried it on people with a low receptive vocabulary and found that they did in fact look all over a person's body and not specifically at lips/mouths, and I think also responded to body language but I'd have to look it up again.

This correlates with my experience that when I am unable to understand words at all, I am very good at understanding nonverbal cues compared to usual, and in fact can sort of pattern-match the collective non-verbal cues of an entire roomful of people (as long as I don't have to interact with them in anything resembling a typical way). If I have to be thinking about words at the time, however, I can't, because I'm thinking about words. Another instance where autistic people have been saying something a long time and the research finally catches up to it. (I think also because it is easier to ask people things -- thus requiring language-related thought, driving out non-verbal-cue-related thought. So it's an easy shortcut but it does not account for those of use whose receptive language is either sometimes or always completely gone rather than just auditorily garbled, nor does it account for the fact that some people can pay attention to non-verbal cues when not dealing with verbal ones.)

So... yeah. My guess is that the mirror neuron research will turn up flawed for the same reason a lot of other research has. But I could be wrong there.

I selected NO-I'm not interested but it's ok to post info. I made this choice as, personally, I don't want to be cured as I am so very pleased to be different, so glad not to be NT. My AS is fairly mild so I cope quite well and can blend with NT's if necessary, but I wouldn't want to be one. I would never wish to be cured as it would radically change who I am, I would no longer be myself 100% and this would destroy me.

However, others might think differently to myself and may benefit from your information. If that be the case, post it to them.

anbuend wrote:

Now that brings up something else I've noticed. If I'm locked in on something "hyperconcentrating", in other words, and someone says something to me, I can hear the words and noise, but not as words. I have to look at the person and ask them to repeat it, while I concentrate on what they're saying. I never really thought about it happening to others, as well. I'm guessing that what's happening is the the words are routed to the auditory center of the brain, but never make it to the language center, which I'm usually using by reading or watching some video. Does that make any sense?

Anyone suffer from:
facial recognition problems
light sensitivity
speech problems
word retrieval problems
noise sensitivity
problems with sensory perceptions
trouble sleeping
headaches
brain fog
memory problems
seizures

All of the above are associated with autism but they aren't unique to autism. Lyme disease can cause every one of the symptoms above and can be treated with antibiotics. Imagine how someone would act if they were born with Lyme disease (a mother can transmit it to her fetus). Do you think they would see the world differently? Do you think they would act differently? I'm not saying it would necessarily cause autism but they certainly wouldn't be considered normal. Many mothers who have Lyme disease while they are pregnant give birth to children who test positive for Lyme disease. Many of these children born with Lyme disease are diagnosed with autism. If I test positive for Lyme and take antibiotics to cure the above symptoms, it would definitely make me less autistic since the symptoms above are part of autism. When I say I want to be cured of autism, I mean I want to treat known causes of my symptoms. Does that offend anyone?

A 'Cure for whatever ails you' topic

What is the most debilitating for People Living on the Austism Spectrum is the Curemongers, NTs who want us to be just like them.

Maybe I am lucky but I take the wonderful aspects of AS in stride with the less pleasant ones. This is called self-acceptance. Those who would welcome a cure must realize that if the Asperger's is cured then all the desireable traits will disappear along with the less desireable ones. The same could also be said for those who are living on other parts of the Spectrum.

I don't think that's true. How do you know the desirable traits aren't part of your personality and the negative traits caused by something else?

im sure they do.... many genes have many splice-variants (slight differences in the proteins that get made, affecting gene expression... as protein production is gene expression) as it is...

tres cool! let me know about all the cool stuff you find!

very interesting abu