How I understand neurodiversity...

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The above is one of many differences between autistic brains and NT brains that I've seen mentioned in scientific literature.

Be that as it may, if the above is indeed a significant cause of autism, it implies that a total "cure" is not even theoretically possible, short of some extremely revolutionary scientific breakthrough in brain science in general (not just autism in particular).

Moving all those stray nerve cells belatedly into the grey matter area would be extremely difficult if not impossible to do at all, let alone do it without disturbing/damaging already-existing connections between the nerve cells already there in the grey matter.

Moreover, if such radical and extensive brain re-wiring were ever to become possible, it would raise all manner of ethical questions for society as a whole.

Frankly I don't see how it would be possible at all at any point in the foreseeable future. In short: Regardless of whether you personally want a total "cure" or not, it is clearly a pipe dream, at least within the lifetime of anyone living today, even if billions more dollars were to be poured down that rabbit hold.

Mona, what would you think about a possibility of cures/treatments capable of shifting a person from lvl3 autism to lvl1 autism?

Technically, it wouldn't be "the cure for autism" but I guess a significant number of those wanting cure for their "low functioning" children would welcome it.

I agree. I feel that at least 50% of autism research funding should focus on the most severely disabled people, with the aim of reducing various specific disabilities for as many of them as possible. This should include both biological/medical research and educational psychological research.

It also seems to me that reducing severity of disability would be a more realistic goal than making us all NT.

I'm one of those nearer the mild than severe end of the spectrum based on autism symptoms. I struggle to see any gifts that Asperger's gives me.
Throw schizoaffective disorder(?in remission), dyspraxia and learning difficulty(probable though not dxed) into the mix, and I've certainly not been blessed with a gift.

Although I agree that more help is needed for those at the severe end, I also want more timely help for people like me.
That being people whose history of mental illness meant it took years for it to be acknowledged they might be on the spectrum. In my case- late 1973 first saw a pdoc , and 2019 Asperger's dx.

That's meant substandard treatment. I do strongly agree with reducing the severity of disability rather than using a 'hammer to crack a nut' approach .

I believe in attending to the NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS.....and leaving the CORE AUTISM alone.

It certainly is substandard treatment. The combination of AS as a missed diagnosis, with mental illness as a misdiagnosis is a tragedy which has blighted the lives, hearts and minds of millions of AS people. And there has been no acknowledgment nor apology from the professional bodies of those clinicians who profited from the mistreatment of AS people. In my view, that is a scandal of huge proportions, and the suspicion remains that if it happened in this quantity to the NT population, it would be named and shamed as unconscionable malpractice.

Perhaps in decades to come, when I am floating around in the ethereal, AS people will take a class action for compensation. I hope so. Nothing stops that happening now, other than the failure of so many to recognise what happened to them, and the lack of will to do something about it. I understand that. People have only so much energy and just dealing with everyday discrimination of the common garden kind can be exhausting.

It makes me extremely sad.

^ I don't deny I have a mental illness, but Asperger's ,in my case, goes with that . It's the failure to treat the whole person . Years of psych professionals myopically seeing everything as being related to the mental illness.

Yes, hammers tend to see nails. Tunnel vision and reductionism are more entrenched in psychiatry than an any other discipline. It is also the least evidence based, for a variety of historical reasons, which still impact on the present.

AS people seeking help are IMO safer overall with psychologists, as long as they avoid the ones specialising in behaviourism. I don't deny at all that there are some duds in that discipline too, though the duds are fewer in number and trainee clinical psychologists are pre-screened for qualities suited to their chosen discipline, psychiatrists aren't.

A second safety factor for AS clients of clinical psychologists is that the practitioners are subject to clinical supervision and review on a very regular basis. There is also a complaint process patients can make to the professional committees which set standards and rules for licensed psychologists.

I've never had much luck with psychologists . I've had two both of whom who were into moralising ,ie the "If you want to be a good person" approach, as though I was a moral deviant, rather than someone needing help and support to cope better.

I wonder if they were registered clinical psychologists, who were certified members and the professional body. Unfortunately, people with an undergraduate degree in Psychology can practice as unaffiliated outliers, who aren't answerable to anyone but their clients, despite having no training in the clinical branch of psychology. As psychology is made up of many different sub disciplines, it's a matter of safety to check who has exactly what training and affiliation, it makes clients a little bit safer from poor experiences. With Google these days, it is easier to weed out the outliers

A practice of screening psychiatric patients for neurodevelopmental conditions (similar to how I was screened for epilepsy after my first depression diagnosis) would be most beneficial.

I have a similar story: autistic burnout + severe depression + very severe social anxiety -> diagnosis of schizophrenia and medication that made me a suffering vegetable.

Luckily, it lasted only a few months, but I needed (mentally ill, in a vegetable-like state) to use all my strengths to navigate out of this hellhole. And I was lucky to previously have had better experiences with a psychiatrist so I dug out his name to ask for help. He helped.

I am so glad that you found the escape hatch Magz

Thank you.
I share this story because I'm afraid there are plenty of other people like me out there, who didn't have as much luck as I did - sort of to raise awareness.

It's good you got out of that awful situation magz. I tried to get more support knowing there was more going on , even if I couldn't precisely say it was due to being on the spectrum .


My psych notes said these things "Very dependent narcissist" and "His illness is Machiavellian in its complexity" I was told by the second psychologist I was seeing him because the main psych team were fed up with me .

My psych history has been one of missed opportunities for mental health professionals to do the right thing .

That started as far back as a week into my first admission . After a week I was told I was going to help make dolls' houses . I had no constructional ability and was very down . I freaked out at the news , and was pulled from the path of a hospital bus . Instead of anyone being intelligent enough to query why I'd had such an acute reaction I saw a rather stern pdoc who told me I was an "awkward and troublesome teenager" .

I am very very glad that you survived.

I am also angered by the ignorance of the people who almost killed you.

Ignorant doctors kill their patients.
Psychiatrists are no exception.

I hope you find some competent doctors now!