ASD research

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The issues I find as I'm studying the immunological aspects to ASDs are 1) I'm driven to know, I want to know, I want to figure it all out , but 2) I love my Aspieness, I love who I am and the things I can do and will do.

I want to be physically healthier. I'm tired of the immune-related issues I deal with that drain my energy levels and endanger my health. But I love my brain and I wouldn't want to change it. But by trying to fix the immuno components, there is a part of me that would worry it would change more than my health. It would change my mind, my personality, ME.

It wouldn't take my ASD away completely because there is an neuroantomical component and you can't regrow brain cells. But what if it were to change me enough that I lost the things I can and love doing?

That scares me.

Apparently alot of you don't understand what food allergy means. It doesn't mean necesarily that you will suddenly get ill as soon as you eat the food. It does not always mean you will get itchy or a rash or anaphylaxious. There are different levels of allergy. One level is having autoimmune responses to certain foods. It generally causes fatigue and improper functioning of the endocrine system, but its not something you would immediately pinpoint as an allergy. This sort of allergy response is detectable by blood and sometime saliva tests. Then there are things like Celiac disease which many people have and do not realize.

Here's a link to National Institute of Mental Health's page about autism:

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformati ... smmenu.cfm

There's lots of links, including to current research. Most of it is, of course (thanks to those NT parents and CAN!) being done on children and prevention. Sigh.

Oh and since this thread unfortunately got derailed into a debate about the existence of food allergies, I'll go out on a limb and say that I am not allergic to a single thing. I don't believe in "food allergies" (I do believe in true food allergies such as celiac disease). I have been on multiple medications for years AND drink alcohol so I get my liver enzymes done on a regular basis and they are always normal. The reason "adult autistics" refuse to talk to you about this is because you probably are very close-minded on this subject.

It could possibly be co-morbid, just as my and my children's double-jointed fingers are often co-morbid with AS. Could having an allergy make you grumpy? Sure. It is "key" to the difference? Highly unlikely.

Actually, my GP told me that years ago. She told me to cut out the dairy, wheat and corn and most of my "sinus" issues would go away. She took me off all the antibiotics and other meds the Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist gave to me even though he told me they wouldn't help (comforting when they say that). I did and my problems went away.

As for my liver, well it may be better now, but considering the meds they've given me over the years for migraines, it's a wonder the thing is still working.

Personally, I think the brain is malfunctioning which causes a multitude of what appear to be diverse symptoms.

There is a undeniable link to dietary problems in adult Aspies. Look here:
480. Do you use to have diarrhea?

The correlation is 0.28, and the certainty is p < 0.00001. N = 3675.

Correlation says nothing about cause and effect. You can use correlations to make all sorts of wacky claims - that autism is caused by "Refrigerator Mothers." I do understand parents do want to try things to make their children improve, although I can't conceive of why they believe that autism is a "disease," rather than a difference present from birth.

I also don't understand the premise, common to many parents, that if you can make a child "perform" normally, then he is normal. If you are born with a difference, that difference will remain even though you become adept at "acting." No one wants to be socially ridiculed, but an act is simply that and you know that you are less than the ideal specifmen of a kid.

Our culture defines the ideal child. It's everywhere, on television, at school, in books. Happy, healthy kids who play well together and are popular. We get picked last and we are painfully aware we are unpopular. We are different. We have something "wrong" with us. We are not the ideal children. We know we have many deficits to improve in order to "act." We have a very negative self image, being so far from the ideal child. We don't come out of this process being "normal."

Imagine, if you are an NT, that you had to act like a super intellecutal child with AS. Do you think you could do it? Could you pass for an aspie kid?

Yes, you are absolutely correct. This (rather small) correlation certainly doesn't mean that autism is caused by diet. It only means that dietary factors are important and shouldn't be overlooked. By eliminating the dietary factors autistics will not become NTs, they will become more functional autistics!

I don't think the topic of dietary factors and fixing them should be controversial neither to curebees nor to autism community. Nobody wants to live their lives with untreated gluten sensitivity for instance, when it is quite possible to eliminate the symptoms with a gluten-free diet. There simply need to be more awareness about these comorbidities that cause unnecesary harm.

rdos, I definitely believe there are immune issues for many auties; this is what I'm studying right now. But as a side note, a 0.28 correlation is a very low correlation. Also, and maybe this is my shaky stats rearing its head, but why is an alpha level given for a correlative computation? Alphas are usually for descriptive or inferential stats, right?

rdos, I definitely believe there are immune issues for many auties; this is what I'm studying right now. But as a side note, a 0.28 correlation is a very low correlation; almost insignificant as far as correlations go. Also, and maybe this is my shaky stats rearing its head, but why is an alpha level given for a correlative computation? Alphas are usually for descriptive or inferential stats, right?

As for the treatment issues, I have my worries. There is evidence to suggest that anti-inflammatory agents, antifungal agents, etc., which treat some of the immune issues do show "improvement" (from an NT standing) of autistic behaviors. There is possible risk not that the ASD will disappear but that it could potentially change some characteristics. The only risk being, are these characteristics we, ourselves, are prided in or are they some of the things we could do without?

I personally would worry I could lose some of my abilities.