Treating Autism with Faeces. Does it get any worse?

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It should be obvious that introducing someone else's sh!t (or bleach) to the body is very risky to say the least. Any supporting medical research or endorsement of this practice I would be highly skeptical of and most likely dismiss out of hand.
I mean come on already.

omg that sounds so sh*tty!

The whole idea is to discredit the genetic link to autism or as much of the genetic link as possible. If autism is primarily genetic, then the neurodiversity argument that autism is a natural variation or difference makes sense. If Autism is proven to the be consequence of some type of poisoning(ahem environmental) the neurodivesity argument collapses, in that scenario we are are mutants, freaks an epidemic that must be gotten rid of by any means necessary. That is what is at stake in this debate.

We surely have a sh***y reputation at this point.

As far as I can figure, that crank who claimed autism was caused by vaccinations had also claimed there was some sort of connection with the gastrointestinal system. I think this is just a holdover from that bullsh*t.

There is actually a man in Europe who infected himself with a parasite to combat an autoimmune problem. I know that there have been some people cured of intestinal problems that were killing them by transplanting fecal material from a mate. It was done in a hospital setting. We are learning how our intestinal bacteria can both help and hurt our health. We'll see...

That there may be a connection between autism and the gastrointestinal system is not bullsh*t. The concept was contaminated by cranks early on but is now being wrestled away from the cranks by legit researchers as more about the human microbiome is learned.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3564498/



I think nature vs nurture is a false dichotomy. Something can be both genes and environment (internal microbial environment in this case). There is not reason to think that autism (and other things) can only be caused by one or the other.

I understand ASPartOfMe's concern upthread that this is a bid to wrestle autism away from the "born that way" message of neurodiversity. After all, many of the successes of the gay rights movement hinged on a "born that way" message and the neurodiversity rights movement could follow the same trajectory. But just because it works politically for there to be a sharp divide between the 'primarily genetic'/autism rights camp and the 'primarily environmental'/curebie camp doesn't mean the sharp divide is a biological reality. Biology is messy and sharp divides aren't that common. Much of what we perceive as sharp divides are actually human-created categories that make taxonomy easier both formally for scientists and informally in everyday language. But what actually goes on is rarely so tidy.

I've heard of that; but I still doubt it's going to have any impact on autism, unless it's demonstrated to work by legitimate medical professionals.

Bill, I don't remember if the guy in Europe got relief from that, however, there is a guy there selling the parasites claiming it worked, for whatever that's worth. The microbiome studies strongly suggest there are medical benefits for feces changing the microbiome for the better. I read where a doctor collected feces from a husband that then cured his wife of an intestinal disorder. There is suddenly a lot of study of coexisting bacterial colonies in humans and in other areas using dna tools, for instance.

I think those people conjure up those ideas as they're falling asleep at night.

If I thought it would fix me, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I would gladly eat s**t to be rid of Beast Autism.

I'd also do it without batting an eye if I had Clostridium difficile. I would much rather eat s**t a few times than s**t my guts out for months.

Microbiome issues can be terrible. A friend of mine and his whole family were on strong antibiotics for 6 weeks for pneumonia; he and his mother developed C. diff. and were in dire straits for months.

I've seen kids that grow up with practically sterile kitchens, never eating raw anything or any leftovers, taking antibiotics for every snot and sniffle. Their GI issues are horrendous. I'm very glad I grew up eating raw flour and raw eggs and four-day-old leftovers, and swimming in the municipal sewer. I really do believe it's part of the reason that, other than nerve-related nausea, I have a cast-iron stomach.

We don't know, the feedback mechanisms between gut bacteria and the body are still poorly understood, we know that they exist, but how extensive they are, or how pervasive their effects, is still largely in the dark (or I'm terribly behind on current research in this area).
But I haven't heard of any amazing breakthroughs, put it that way.

At the same time, people hawking miracle cures for Autism based on this absence of knowledge, should be treated with due scepticism.

Wow! A new way for people to give us s**t!

yes.