A man on a mission to cure Autism

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LOL @ Swiper's cartoon.

I don't want to be "cured" - I don't have a disease.

While I respect your opinion, you should probably know that the general consensus of psychologists and psychiatrists seems to be that disorders have different causes. I know this reasoning is often applied to disorders like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but I suppose it can be applied to any disorder outlined in the DSM. The main view is that disorders are caused by a combination of nature vs nurture. For example, the highest heritability estimate (which was published by researcher Irving Gottesman) for schizophrenia is less than 50%, and the estimate varies depending on who you're related to that is diagnosed. So if the estimate is relatively small for most people (the highest estimate belongs to monozygotic/identical twins), why do some people (for example, with a distant relative with a diagnosis) develop schizophrenia whereas others (who, for example, may have an identical twin with it) don't? Why do some people develop worse cases?

What kind of "research" have you done though? I don't mean to sound condescending here (it is the internet and all, so I just want to make that clear), but unless it's actual research and you've got the qualifications to do such research, it really isn't research to me and a lot of people would probably feel the same way - I think that's kind of what the previous posters have been warning you about. Scientifically speaking, there is no real research on the "cure" of autism. You can't determine a cure until you've determined the cause. But yet again, that's just my opinion and that's because I'm actually going to be researching and studying autism in my university's autism lab.

If you really feel like you're on to something, though, by all means, follow the lead. Perhaps you can prove us all wrong.

its been a while since I had Chemistry 102 in my freshman year if college, explain how sitting in clay is going to make all those toxic metals skidaddle right out of your body and into the clay.

(The popcorn thing is fairly common on the internet, it means you are going to be a spectator, and not get into the fight. Sort of like going to the movies and getting a bag of popcorn before the movie.).

Nevermind then..

When you hear the word "detox", run a mile!

Benthonite clay is something peddled by scientifically illiterate quacks in order to make money. Some genuine people buy into it too, but they've been duped and are also scientifically illiterate themselves.

Another thing that should make you run a mile are claims of miracle cures for multiple conditions. This is a sure sign of quackery.

Bloodletting and leeches will cure anything from the common cold to a missing limb.

Really? I should try that!

*jk

I know that unless I see your research described in a reputable peer-review journal of neurophysiology, medical chemistry, or general medicine, it can not be worth much.

Where did you earn your medical degree? Is it a Bachelor of Science or Master of Science degree? How many previous medical papers have you published? Where have you done your post-graduate medical research?

Since from what I understand autism does not come from heavy metal poisoning, not sure what you suggest would 'cure' it in the first place. Though I would not be opposed to giving that a try in case there where contaminates in my body it could rid me of but that would just be for general health purposes, I wouldn't believe it to be something that would cure me and make me 'normal'.

Aside from that it seems the most likely cure would have to be a drug or some kind of brain surgery that could effectively rewire the brain into neurotypical neurology...seems like a lot of brain alteration would be needed and not sure I'd be comfortable with anyone poking around in my brain or taking a drug powerful enough to do that...side effects concern me, coming out of it feeling not myself and being stuck in some new way that's alien to me concerns me as I think that would be very unpleasant. So that is why I do not want a cure....that aside I think there are some aspects I might miss then again not entirely sure those are all necessarily things due to the autism.

I don't think brain surgery could work. They would have to remove parts of the brain that are more developed in people with Autism (not sure if that's possible without causing brain damage), while somehow causing us to grow more brain in the areas which are less developed.

I suppose you could joke that the below picture depicts an attempt to make an Autistic person more neurotypical though



edit: to fix image link

Last edited by eleventhirtytwo on 12 Dec 2014, 8:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

My hope is to continue to enjoy the gifts and talents autism has given to me. A cure I do not want for I perceive myself as not broken. I am an autistic like many of you that along with NTs provides the world with the necessary puzzle pieces to create human marvels of engineering along with other ingenuities. Although I have challenges (as does every human being on earth) a cure I do not seek.

I totally agree! I've also come to this conclusion and I think you're right. Remove the metals, cure "autism".

Could you explain the joke to me? I think I'm taking it too seriously due to my knowledge about Phineas Gage. >_> He had frontal lobe disinhibition after his accident so does the joke involve that?

And if any type of brain surgery were done, I'd think it'd be lesioning but IMO brain studies using fMRIs seem to be the best solution for understanding the neurobiological basis of autism right now.

A tongue-in-cheek suggestion that neurotypical = brain damaged (I don't seriously believe that). Just happened to have said image on hand from a parody article called "neurotypical syndrome" - linked - which had the image along with the caption "only a neurotypical could survive that!" (also tongue-in-cheek I imagine).

Actually haven't heard much about Phineas Gage, but the wikipedia article on him is intriguing.

Well exactly my point, there would be a very high risk for brain damage....and the individual may not be able to handle their brain being changed that drastically without mental health consequences as well. So not practical at all.

Oh, okay, makes sense now! I'd never heard anyone say that before. xD

Yeah, his story is pretty interesting. Psychology and neuroscience are two of my majors so that's how I learned about him. Isn't it amazing how he survived??