Could Autism Be Caused by Gut Microbes? | Dr. Emeran Mayer | Big Think
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- Could Autism Be Caused by Gut Microbes? | Dr. Emeran Mayer
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Part of the rise in autism is due to better diagnosis, but Dr. Emeran Mayer thinks it's something in our environment, and within us, that has played a role in causing this increase.The genetic risk for autism has always existed, but in the last 40 years the prevalence has risen dramatically - and not in any one location, but across all developed nations. Many researchers are looking to identify the trigger and, as a gastroenterologist and neurologist, Dr. Emeran Mayer is following the trail of evidence that points to the microbial composition of the digestive system and its relationship to the brain. The gut microbes of those with autism differs from people who aren’t on the autism spectrum, but so far many of the studies have not been sufficient to draw solid results. Dr. Mayer runs through one of the more compelling studies and explains how a yet unapproved strain of probiotic may be the answer to the decreasing the incidence of autism in the future. Dr. Emeran Mayer's most recent book is The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health.
Dr Emeran Mayer's most recent book is The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health
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EMERAN MAYER :
Dr Emeran Mayer is a world-renowned gastroenterologist and neuroscientist with 35 years of experience in the study of clinical and neurobiological aspects of how the digestive system and the nervous system interact in health and disease. His current research focus is on the role of the gut microbiota brain interactions in emotion regulation, chronic visceral pain, and in obesity. His research has been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Dr Mayer is a professor in the Departments of Medicine, Physiology and Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, executive director of the G Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, and co-director of the CURE: Digestive Diseases Research Center at UCLA.
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TRANSCRIPT :
Emeran Mayer: Autism is both a devastating problem and it’s still a puzzle largely what causes or what has been causing the dramatic increase in the prevalence of this disease in the last 40 years or so. So it’s almost like an exponential increase. Part of that is really due to better diagnosis and the diagnostic criteria. But a lot of people think that something in our environment has played a role in causing this increase. And it’s worldwide. It’s not just in North America. It’s in Asia, it’s in Europe. So something environmental. The genes, the genetic risk factors for autism have obviously always been there but something else must have triggered it. So some people think it’s something in the diet and that is possible. It could also be something what we do to our gut microbes. So the use of antibiotics, the obsession with keeping things more and more sterile from the day we’re born, you know, throughout our lifetime.
So people have thought about this as potentially a change in microbial composition, diversity inside of us are a cause of this. There’s many observations that link the brain and the gut in autism. Clinically the majority of autistic children have digestive problems - constipation, abdominal pain, discomfort. Part of that is most likely due to the diet, the unique diet that autistic children self-select for. Many things are excluded from the diet that we normally would like fiber, fermented foods. And so it’s very possible that that plays a role. And there are people that have thought about this why do kids select such a diet. It seems to have to do a lot with the texture of foods.
So very unique disturbance in the sensitivity for the texture, not so much for the content. So things that are soft are much preferred over crunchy and chewy things. And then, you know, people have started to look at the microbial composition. So they looked at the gut microbes in fecal samples from patients with autism and have found abnormalities.The problem is most of those studies are small. They’re often not well controlled. We now understand that autism is a spectrum, autism spectrum disorder. And it probably contains several different subsets of patients. So if you just take a small number of patients, measure their gut microbes it’s, you’re likely to pick up variable patterns because it’s not a homogeneous group of patients.
Read the full transcript at bigthink.com/v...
"devastating problem"
Hi, I'm autistic. I'm not a devastating problem nor am I part of one. I'm intelligent and empathetic and have many things that make me happy. I also have problems. aka, i'm a human being. Autistic people are a fundamental part of human society; what might appear as 'obsessiveness' in other areas of life translates to drive and perseverance in others. We are some of the best inventors and artists, just about anything you can think of. We aren't as burdened by the need to be covert, we are the people who tell it like it is. Plain and simple. For the record, you're not perfect either. You need us.
Lemon Ste Thank you. I was so upset when I heard him say that. Right off the bat, too.
Clearly, he was not referring to the high functioning end of the spectrum. Ours is not the only form of autism there is. There are autistics who are nearly catatonic, for them and their families it surely is devastating.
Lemon Ste Hi. Just because you and perhaps others you know within part of the spectrum are doing great, it doesn't mean that all others are or that even the majority are. like the man said, it is a spectrum. When I was doing mobile phlebotomy there was a care center I had to go to that cared for many less fortune people with autism that were completely incapable of living without 24 hour care, people completely unaware of their surroundings and even language.
It would already have been better if he had said it CAN be a devastating problem. For those on the lower end of the spectrum, I'd venture to say it's not all that pleasant.
I am on the mild part of the spectrum, with OCD as well, but I don't see that as a hindrance in comparison to, for example, laziness and other things. I am quite a lot over average intelligence, but I do have confirmed low empathy for others. I don't care about that, though, since I don't see the point in having it in most cases. It can stop one from thinking rationally and logically about things.
Lemme guess you self-diagnosed because of tumblr?
Exact opposite
Microbiota is a whole universe inside our body - it is fascinating how many transformative discoveries are on the way! I totally believe that microbiology is the most promising and yet the most understudied science!
I find this gut/brain connection fascinating. I remember the old saying, "you are what you eat", and it reminds me that we have become reliant on packaged/engineered foods, the effect of which I think we are starting to see evidence of. Nourishing the body is a complex matter, largely unaddressed by the western diet.
My health has changed dramatically for the better now that I am vegan, and stopped eating inflammatory oils and "natural flavors" . Now I just need to continue to cut back on caffeine, sugar, and processed food
It has nothing to do with autism though
@@Emi_72 you don't know that. While it's true that the typical American diet is very addictive and detrimental to EVERYONE'S health, it also messes up the gut biome; which has been found in the past ten years to be directly related to autism. I think most people, be it autists, their parents or NT's, are in denial about this because they don't realize the level of addiction they have to processed foods, sugar, fat, inflammatory oils, caffeine, meat, refined carbs, and convenience items
I really don't understand this whole increase in autism. Autism refers to an entire spectrum of disorders that we really are in our infancy of understanding. It may have always been that many people with high functioning autism have existed in society undiagnosed. It might just be an increase in recorded statistics on people who already existed in society.
If you want a history of it, you should read the book "NeuroTribes" by Steve Silberman (its long, but good!) all about the history of autism with plenty of personal stories by autistics and their families. Very comprehensive, well-written, and fascinating. (also, warning: if you're anything like me, you'll get pretty pissed at the asshole Leo Kanner that pretended to come up with autism independently of Hans Asperger, hiding that he was working with on each of Asperger's former colleagues, and wanted autism to be HIS specific syndrome, bringing the diagnosis to America in the 1940s and making it so that only the most severely disabled autistics could actually be diagnosed with it so that it appeared to be a rare disorder...unlike Asperger who recognized it as a broad spectrum, referring to the kids on the end of the spectrum that would later be called "Asperger's syndrome" as his "little professors" because of their "precocious" manner of speech and expertise on narrow subjects while also clearly acknowledging that others were significantly disabled by their autism and low functioning...fuckin Leo Kanner, keeping people from getting a diagnosis and thus any amount of aid while also making it seem like there's been a sudden increase in autism when in reality it's an increase in diagnoses made due to it being recognized as a spectrum...)
@@katcel16 I'm gonna have to check this out now!
This is not true at all. Autistic children are pretty obvious to spot. Someone slamming their head on the wall in 1970 didn’t go unnoticed. There are more autistic people because of chemical farming and the use of glyphosate
Alot of ppl probably had high functioning autism like Hitler, Eminem, Einstein and tesla, but with the knowledge we now have about it, we know that some kids that would've been ignored 20 yrs ago, may have autism or something else, thats why there's an sudden increase in the number of ppl diagnosed with autism but I think the number of people with autism (undiagnosed or not) has not increased noteably.
I definitely think it’s because of undygnosis. I know I did not even suspect I might’ve been autistic until I was older. I always thought there was something wrong, but I just tried to pretend it didn’t exist. Because of that I deal with a lot of other mental health issues, and it became very hard to get a diagnosis. I’m actually in the process of getting a diagnosis and a lot of it actually does stem from my gastrointestinal issues. I suffered from severe constipation issues as a child And in my early 20s it kind of flip-flop to diarrhea and bad stomach cramps. I don’t know exactly what’s going on there either. But I do know that I have a very weak digestive system. I deal with heartburn basically all the time I get a lot of bacterial infections like colitis. After I had my daughter, I got incredibly sick with C-diff, and it became reoccurring. I had it for almost 8 months. I have a lot of psychological symptoms as well as some other issues. I haven’t got an answer yet, but autism lines up with it all. From the strange disconnect from people and obsessive hobbies. The gastrointestinal problems, and other health issues. There definitely have to be a connection. But I think the reason why I don’t even really have a diagnosis yet is because it mimics a lot of other disorders. Right now I have a lot of different diagnosis is some of them I believe probably our effects of the autism being untreated. Especially, the OCD and the gastrointestinal issues. I really don’t think I have OCD. I’ve told them that. I don’t get obsessed with doing things in order unless it’s on a schedule. But there’s so many five minute difference is that most doctors just throw on an easy diagnosis. I just got bipolar taken off of my diagnosis because I am not bipolar and every time I take the medication I have either an allergic reaction. Like hives or hallucinations, or it just knocks me out to the point where I can’t function. I’ve basically tried every medication for mental disorders and the only one that’s clearly even seem to work has been my medication for ADHD that I don’t even think that I have. It only works like a fine science to. I can’t take it every single day and I can’t take it if I wake up too late because I have sleeping issues. I definitely think I just have autism and everyone else is just going overboard because they don’t want to admit that I could just be autistic and I can’t change. But that’s really why I think people don’t get diagnosed is because society is terrified of it for some reason. To me, I’m not I wish everybody would just leave me alone and let me do my thing so I can be happy. I feel like if that was the case I would be finally happy which I don’t feel like I’ve ever actually been except for the birth of my daughter.
It's not that far fetched, your biome dictates your personality and overall health more so than DNA.
Dictator In Perpetuity there's many books out there. The Human Superorganism, by Rodney Dietert PhD is a good overall review.
Dictator In Perpetuity lol what about the fact the majority of the enteric nervous system is our brain and gut. Our gut is like our second brain.
Dictator In Perpetuity You're right bacteria is not the cause, but the lack OF could be a part of the reason. When developing bodies are given vaccines, antibiotic or a bad diet. It's destroying parts our microecosystem which in turn is hurting us and the way we develop. In many different ways that we haven't been able to make links to previously.
My point is the biome is widely ignored in most diagnoses, I apologize if I gave the impression it may lead to the diagnosis of Autism. Clearly that is a strong genetic component.
More than 80% of serotonin is produced in the gut by microbes. Lacking it causes serious change in personality.
*sigh* Look, it's not that I don't appreciate this kind of research. Maybe it has merit.
But every time I hear a story of "autism has been linked to", I want to pull my goddamn hair out. I'm autistic and my condition has been used to condone everything from denying children vaccination to claiming that people ought not to take anti-depressants.
And people profit off of this shit. And I'd appreciate it if you kept autism out of the fucking conjecture for a single, fucking week.
***** I know he did. I'm not neccesarily knocking this guy. I'm just skeptical of his intentions and I'm skeptical of the good that this research will do.
So you are ungrateful for people researching into it? Autism is a thing that we have virtually no true knowledge about in terms of what it really is and what causes it. So yes, any possible hint that we can find on this topic is going to be talked about and further researched. Is it so wrong to inform the public about findings? It just seems like you have grown bitter over time as this topic hasn't been talked about on this channel for quite a while. If you see it elsewhere too, then that is your fault for seeing it so much.
Research helps every disease, It just takes time to find the answer and the solution
To be fair on the anti-depressant front. I've seen people prescribed them when they had a fucking bad break up. I think you should get at least two other opinions before getting on them cause they are prescribed like candy.
Other people appreciate coming closer to getting answers. The gut link is very real. I have always had major digestive issues and sensory issues around food, to such an extent that is rare in neurotypicals and I believe it is related to my aspergers/HF Autism. GAPS diet is worth undertaking - doesnt remove or cure autism but increases functioning and alleviates the more 'negative' features of the diagnosis (if done strictly, with lots of probiotics)
I have IBS and asperger's syndrome (We still use this category in my country) and when I get upset stomach both my vision and hearing feel kind of blur. By diet however is pretty diverse and "neurotypical"
Me too my friend, me too
IBS is often a sign of high stress
Could Ugly Old Man Syndrome be caused by microbes? Should I be eating more yoghurt?
Way too late for that I'm afraid.
The proven cure for UOMS is not the yogurt but application of the paper bag it was carried in. In extreme cases, a plastic bag may be used.
@ Bruce, now you're talking. That's advice one can take to the grave.
Gosh you mean people in the comments, respect the research people do, for a change! this is ridiculous how much hate you gave this man. And most of you haven't spent a minute researching the issue and already trying to make assumptions that he's wrong.
Perhaps if he didn't begin with the idea that autistic people are "diseased" & a "devastating problem" he would have fared better... 🤔
I didn't watch the video... but my low functioning autistic son, 12 years old, whose actually improving a bit with his expressive language these days, has had severe gut issues that started in infancy. We did a stool test almost 2 years ago, that showed he had a lack of diversity in his gut flora. We've been giving him pro-biotocs. He also has the MTFHR genetic defect from one parent... 1/3 of the population has this defect and should supplement with the active form of folate. Folic acid, the in-active, synthetic form is useless to people with the defect. Basically, they lack the enzyme to convert folic acid to anything use able. He does have food issues. Gluten made him very sick very early on in his life. He really changed after he had pneumonia and was given a very strong antibiotic called Augmentin. He was almost 3 years old when that happened. He was such a different boy after that.
wow this is amazing ...my son is severly autistic.non verbal and is super hyper and am looking for a way that could help me alittle better...
@@funnydoggie4576 we are doing a free one-month non-verbal Autism detox study. If you are interested in learning more about it, we would love to send you some information.
Are you trying to say that his Autism was caused by antibiotics? Because it wasn't.
@@mechanomics2649 How can you honestly know that it wasn't?
@@mechanomics2649 Well, this was from firsthand experience. What we consume can have a huge impact on pregnancy. There's obviously genetic and environmental factors too but food and medicines can affect the personality and mind severely.
Vaccines.
howdovaccinescauseautism dot com
Wake up sheeple.
krag3r Trollololololo
Oh shit, checkmate
Lol
well good news and bad .. my son will be 19 this year and we have all suffered so much with his gut since he was born to this day... Thanks fda ...we wouldnt want any kind of natural product out there that could actually help while you guys work out how to bastardise it and make it a prescription only etc or medical practitioners only kind of aquisition would we.
Before we discuss the gut microbes impact on brain chemistry, perhaps we should consult a phrenologist? Perhaps even a reflexologist might be able to reach out to him and provide some input. Yes gut microbes impact all factors of human life and the chemistry of the body. It also rains on rainy days. Gut microbes can exacerbate/minimize any condition including Autism, but it is not the source. Autism is where the money is at right now. That is the message I heard from this pitch.
Could cause a lot of controversy
obviously there is no link
My daughter was given an antibiotic 3-5 days before the birth of my grandson. I know he didn’t receive the bacterium he needed during the vaginal birth process. Are there any studies on this?
Nothing to do with autism. We are born autistic
You evidently haven’t done enough research… studies WILL find that the microbiota is the cause! Blessings to you!
i have autism and got bad pain in stumack
Childhood trauma,,,stress.
How so?
No, we are born with it stupid
Please do not disgrace this topic with your greedy, pathetic thumbnail experiments.
Has anything come of this?
How can this be allowed. Autism is a different way of looking at the world. Nothing more nothing else
I'm sorry but this person is so full of it that I can't keep quiet.
First off only a subset of autistic people have issues with food. Which rules out the main hypothesis right away.
Secondly, most of us have gut/stomach issues due to elevated stress levels. This is well known and we have the same kinds of problems here that other patient groups that have prolonged stress levels.
And finally, hes selling a book and its advertised in the notation... seriously Big Think. This is low. Take down the video.
It's not mainly about the food, but the gut microbes which in turn can make you have issues with some types of food or not.
Gut/Stomach issues due to elevated stress are physiological not microbiome related.
This video never felt like an add so I feel like advertising his book in the notation isn't really an issue, in fact the opposite would be an issue, knowledge should be advertised.
passthetoiletpaper
Yes but what I mentioned is fairly well established.
I see 2-3 new theories on Autism every year and most of them tries to link it to a single cause that couldn't possible explain the variation within the autism spectrum.
The only theory so far that holds any grounds(still unproven) is the brain integration theory. That is during fetus development and early childhood the brain does not integrate all its parts fully and therefore has to use its plasticity to work around having fewer interconnections between brain regions which in turn creates the variety we see and many of the quirks people on the spectrum develop.
Oversensitive hearing, sense of touch, cant handle chaotic environments, difficulty with language and/or interpretation. The lists goes on and its important to note that almost no one on the spectrum has the same symptoms over all.
No one here knows what they are talking about
FocusMrbjarke ow yes wot would I now I've gust been diling with it my intier life.
I didn't know autism could be sexy
But that thumbnail proved me wrong
LAXLEBEAR I am hearing a faint rustling sound
Autism does not impact looks and not even intelligence in high-functioning cases. Also, look up Daryl Hannah.
Anecdotal evidence does not qualify as reliable data.
"devastating problem" ouch, I heard nothing after that
You need pre and pro biotics ~ kefir is one
Absolutely, when my boy was born they pumped him full of antibiotics only to find they'd polluted the lab samples and hs didn't need any intervention. We gave him a very small spoon full of kefir every day for 6 weeks to get his gut working. Also used it to treat thrush when he was a few months old as the oral medicine has body sugar in it !
Sauerkraut and asparagus.
Yes it has a lot to do with texture of the food my son loves crunchy foods
There is an increase because earlier there were whole demographics of people who were denied a diagnosis because of who they were. For example, women, non-white people, all adults, and people who had learned to mask their autism symptoms to get by day to day without discrimination. None of these demographic groups used to be eligible for diagnosis, and now they are. The fault was their earlier exclusion, not their current inclusion.
Liars their liars liars liars lies big fat fibs.. or what could be causing it let's see it's a puzzle lies
Nice theory but they acquire gut issues after been diagnosed with autism because of there eating habits… Hence deficient in vitamins and minerals etc thereby creating a toxic guts
I almost fell asleep!
MrPuffinAndHuffin Then you must be pretty stupid.
MrPuffinAndHuffin just because it's not over produced, no rad jumpcuts make it boooooreeeeeng woohoo sit still for a minute
Good info thanks
Vaccines
That paper has been retracted by the author himself.
Vaccines!
I agree!!!!
2 times ads are shown... that is the worst thing today.
My son regressed into autism at 3.5 years old and the lab test from Great Plains Lab showed that he has a high bacteria called HPHPA that causes autism, depression, speech impairment, schizophrenia and abnormal behaviors.
I will soon start a treatment hopefully he will be back
Please let me know what treatment they are doing. My daughter also regressed about the same age and now is level 3 autistic which baffled her Dr's because she had no signs of autism prior to regression. Hoping it works to heal your son!
@@budgetwithlisakay Did you do OAT test? If not do it with Great Plains Lab to check if your son has HPHPA bacteria.
They will give you guidance.
If your son has it you will have to use vancomycin antibiotic by using pulse method ( 1 day on and 2 days off for 10 days). Check Dr Bill Shaw on RUclips.
Also after high treatment of probiotic ( the lab will advise which kind).
So far my son has started we are just on day 1 and tomorrow will be day 2.
Another advice buy a gi detox to avoid side effects for die off. Bateria don't like dying so to avoid side effects the ones that die have to get out of his system.
Please hurry with the above lab. I live in Canada and OAT from here couldn't find the bacteria because they don't include everything the great plains lab does.
Good luck
@@DarkAngel-cj6sx Thank you for the info!
@@budgetwithlisakay I feel your pain, my son used to talk and very smart and now he can't talk and has all kind of weird behaviors. Sad to see my son descending into something I don't know
I think we should wait for more data.
Thanks
what is the probiotic please is it available now?
b.fragilis
Oh god I don't even need to watch this and I can see Andrew Wakefield gleefully wringing his hands
Same. Like yes, our microbiome does impact our health, and even our neurotransmitter levels...but all I can think of with this title is the bullshit "leaky gut syndrome"
Yeah, can't wait to see this one get latched onto -_-
Bacteria that is neurotoxic
Andrew Wakefield!!
How is this video watched so little? And how can you dislike this guy, he seems very nuanced. The like-dislike ratio does not make a lot of sense tbh.
Perhaps if he didn't begin with the notion that autistic people are "diseased" & a "devastating problem" He would have fared better... 🤔
Is autism a disease?
The moment he touted probiotics and said "leaky gut" I stopped watching.... along with him not acknowledging that autism is a huge category and is a genetic/ neurological disorder and you got yourself a woo-woo doctor.
Stupid. Thats the only word the describes you...
This dude's eyes are not at the same level.
Why!?
[ tagged for beamout ]
it exist from birth, end of
Overdiagnosis. There always has been anti-social introvert weirdos in human society.
I basically stopped listening when he mentioned "self-selected diets:... Could the fact that I have the tastes of an 8 year old be an indication that I'm autistic? (Not that there aren't a million other things that suggest it, but...)
I don't like the 'devestating problem' idea. It's really very upsetting to hear, especially as a person on the spectrum.
Totally agree, unfortunately though in the most extreme cases that is the sad reality of autism.
We don’t mean to upset you sweetheart. I have two brothers with autism and one has severe autism and he is very aggressive towards himself and others. What he means is that side of autism, the side no one talks about. Property destruction, violence, etc... then their is moderate autism which is barely noticeable. It has nothing to do with he individual more so the condition that can in some situations be devastating.
I have autism and it has destroyed my life and any prospect I have ever had of even obtaining a normal social life. Its a literal genetic defect, of course it's a problem for the most part.
As long as you are not concerned with vaccines with mercury.
So if I have autism can it go away
jazmyn M with detox and the correct diet, it can lessen it yes
impossible its a lifelong condition
@@ryanwhite7906 we don't know yet.. nothing is impossible
Has this been approved by FDA?
Thank God it's over.
I'm Autistic and proud. I would never want to be non-Autistic. I have gut issues, however, and I wish those issues would go away.
MMR triggers the gene
eventually a cure for tyler1 LUL
Def true cuz my autistic brother and his classmates have scary bloated bellies and I dont see any other kid who do. Whats the solution tho
And no he is not a picky eater so like
@@SZACULT do a parasite cleanse with wormwood and turkeytail mushroom
Autism isn't a disease. It's a type of abnormal brain function. You make it sound like an objectively bad thing that can be caught. It's certainly not a devastating problem and based on this video, I'm seriously questioning the validity of your authority on this subject matter; doctorate or not.
I am so tired of people like you who think having autism is normal. It is not.
My son has regressed into autism at 3.5 years after developing so well so smart and nw a shadow of himself can't talk, weird behaviors.
Lab test show that he has HPHPA bacteria n his gut. Hopefully it is no too late for him to come back
Devastating. Yes it is. And abnormalities are not ok if a Dr can help people with autism why NOT!
@@DarkAngel-cj6sx I feel sorry for your son. Not because of his autism, but for having you as a parent.
First of all, your child hasn't 'regressed' into autism. They've been diagnosed with autism; something that they were born with, but wasn't picked up on until recently.
I never said autism was normal. It's called being neurodiverse for a reason. But not all abnormalities are bad. It's literally the basis of how evolution works.
Being introverted isn't a bad thing. You may not like it, bit that's your problem. If your son doesn't want to be social, that's fine.
Many children progress intellectually at different rates. It's normal for a child that was advanced to slow down in their development and have their peers catch up to them.
Plus, there are plenty of other reasons for children to have issues besides autism. Especially for teenagers. One of the main ones is shitty idiotic parents treating their children differently because of a diagnosis they've been given by a doctor.
SOME types of autism come with debilitating effects, but that's exceptionally rare. Most people with autism are fully functioning and independent. In fact, evidence shows that on average, people with autism are more intelligent than those without it.
I myself am autistic, and I have a degree in physics. Albert Einstein also had autism, as did Issac Newton, and plenty of other hyper intelligent people throughout history.
@@mayragomez4254 That's not true. Many abnormalities are advantageous. If it weren't for abnormalities; evolution wouldn't be a thing, and as such, humans wouldn't exist.
On the less extreme end; being hyper intelligent is an abnormality, yet I'm sure you'd agree that it isn't bad to be intelligent.
The majority of abnormalities that can be caused by autism are either positive or neutral. It's very rare for autism to cause debilitating effects in people
It's like saying bicycles are bad because it's possible to fall off them and injure yourself.
As for doctors helping with autism; that can't. There is no 'cure'. There is no treatment to get rid of it.
Not to mention, autistic people don't want to be rid of their autism, it's a part of their personality, their being. Getting rid of someone's autism would be like fundamentally changing the core of who that person is, effectively making them not them anymore.
As someone with autism i think it is a devastating problem. Nowadays i can somewhat cope with my autism but i sacrifice a lot. I cannot work a full-time job because of my autism which means i am making 500 euro below the minimum wage of a full time salary. Trying to make contact with people is extremely difficult and confusing for me and tires me out quickly. The world seems like a big confusing mess of loose ends and makes no sense to me most of the time. Long story short autism is not normal and if they find a cure i would take it without any hesitation. This post might seem dramatic and even depressing but this is how i experience the world and life in general. To end this post positively i will say something positive... I have no doubt that the struggle because of autism made me into a stronger person who does not take anything for granted and i have a great fighters mentality, i would probably not be that person without these struggles.