Can Autism be Cured or Managed?

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Individuals with autism have all the health problems that the general population has; with the exception of seizure disorders, there is no evidence that individuals with autism have any specific health issues in greater proportion than the general population. And there is no evidence to date that treating the health problems of individuals with autism will make their autism go away. Maybe there will be a day when this is proven false.  

More specifically, it has not been well established that individuals with autism are prone to having diagnosable conditions that involve brain inflammation or gastrointestinal disorder. There is also no evidence that treating these conditions produces the kinds of changes that the authors describe, and the treatments themselves (e.g., hyperbaric oxygen for inflammation, elimination diets for gastrointestinal issues) may indeed pose risk to the individuals. Not too long ago, chelation was put forth by some proponents as safe and yet we witnessed the death of a young boy with autism ( see full story below ).

There are some errors in logic that must be considered when making arguments such as that above (i.e., A and B co-exist. A must have caused B. You treat A, and B will go away). We have seen this faulty logic time and time again when proponents of treatments such as secretin, chelation, and psychoanalysis argue that autism is caused by a “leaky gut”, metal toxicity, or “refrigerator mothers” but fail to produce data to substantiate their claims. ?

Take a 5 year old girl with autism that undergoes extensive allergy testing. She is allergic to beets and peanuts. Should we assume that her beet and peanut allergies caused her autism? Should we expect that restricting her diet will improve her autism or lead her to lose her diagnosis?

Let me offer two non-autism examples.

Take a boy with ADHD who also sleep apnea. His ability to pay attention in class would deteriorate each time he experienced episodes of sleep apnea the night before. Treating the apnea has improved attending to some extent. Should we then assume that apnea caused the ADHD?

Take a man with serious issues with anger management. He suffers from migraines. When he is experiencing migraines, his anger episodes increase in frequency, duration, and intensity. He is prescribed a medication that helps his migraines. Should we expect that treating his migraines will eliminate his anger issues?

Comprehensive healthcare is a critical need for people with autism. It goes without saying that co-existing medical problems in individuals with autism should be treated with state of the art, empirically-validated medical treatments. Treatment can help them feel better, which is important in itself and?can lead to improvements in mood, behavior, and overall functioning.

Therefore, proponents of medical treatments that have not been empirically validated who are using our children to “try out” various medical procedures must recognize their ethical and moral responsibility to “do no harm.” In fact, the ethical imperative to “do no harm” is even more pressing when an individual is diagnosed with autism. Communication deficits may render self report of medical symptoms problematic – that is, individuals with autism may not always be able to let their parents or caregivers know that they are experiencing side effects or adverse reactions from medical or nutritional interventions (e.g., “I feel nauseous,” or “I have a bad headache”).