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Metabolism of autism reveals developmental origins

medicalxpress.com

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Re: Metabolism of autism reveals developmental origins

#2
> The researchers discovered that a small number of biochemical pathways are responsible for the majority of these changes, which could help inform new early detection and prevention strategies for autism.

It won’t. Autism is a socioculturally bound diagnosis, not a single disease that exists in biology. It’s a label for those perceived by others in a certain light, defined in such a way that two with the same label can have remarkably little overlap in terms of observed behaviour. You diagnose autism based on how people act, not who they are. Any biological markers for autism are politically suspect as it would imply those without those markers are invalid, while also raising the spectre of eugenics for those with the markers.

More likely and productivity it might eventually REPLACE autism as a diagnosis with something scientifically valid and treatable, as if somebody displays no autistic behaviours as a result of treatment of a metabolic disorder, why diagnose them with autism?

Re: Metabolism of autism reveals developmental origins

#7

> The researchers discovered that a small number of biochemical pathways are responsible for the majority of these changes, which could help inform new early detection and prevention strategies for autism. It won’t. Autism is a socioculturally bound diagnosis, not a single disease that exists in biology. It’s a label for those perceived by others in a certain light, defined in such a way that two with the same label…

> defined in such a way that two with the same label can have remarkably little overlap in terms of observed behaviour

I believed this until my daughter was diagnosed and then I was later diagnosed. My experience with (some) professionals was a surprise to me; a much wider variety of "observed behaviors" than I expected seem to stem from sensory issues for example. And I think it makes sense that humans might adopt a wide variety of ways to deal with for a much smaller variety of processing issues.

(Unrelated to the professional experience) Have you looked into monotropism? It's a fairly compact theory that ties a lot of behaviors together that might look like they have no overlap from the outside.

Also:

> It’s a label for those perceived by others in a certain light

Lots of people self-diagnose.

Re: Metabolism of autism reveals developmental origins

#8

> The researchers discovered that a small number of biochemical pathways are responsible for the majority of these changes, which could help inform new early detection and prevention strategies for autism. It won’t. Autism is a socioculturally bound diagnosis, not a single disease that exists in biology. It’s a label for those perceived by others in a certain light, defined in such a way that two with the same label…

FTA:

"only 10–20% of children diagnosed before 5 years of age able to live independently as adults"

^ the article and the medical treatment is aimed at those so severely impacted/compromised that they cannot live independently.

Re: Metabolism of autism reveals developmental origins

#10

> The researchers discovered that a small number of biochemical pathways are responsible for the majority of these changes, which could help inform new early detection and prevention strategies for autism. It won’t. Autism is a socioculturally bound diagnosis, not a single disease that exists in biology. It’s a label for those perceived by others in a certain light, defined in such a way that two with the same label…

> defined in such a way that two with the same label can have remarkably little overlap in terms of observed behaviour I believed this until my daughter was diagnosed and then I was later diagnosed. My experience with (some) professionals was a surprise to me; a much wider variety of "observed behaviors" than I expected seem to stem from sensory issues for example. And I think it makes sense that humans might adopt a…

If you ask the majority of people if somebody who they do not perceive as engaging in autisitic behaviours, and was not diagnosed as autistic, but considers themselves autistic, is autistic, they will say no. Scientifically (which how it’s defined in the OP), it’s not defined by psychiatrist appraisal and self-assessment plays no necessary role in the process and alone holds no diagnostic validity. We can also invert this: self-denial doesn’t make one non-autistic if they’re seen as engaging in autistic behaviours and are diagnosed as autistic by a professional.

I’ll concede that a minority believe that autism is self-definable though. I’d prefer things that way myself, but the among other things it would make it impossible to gatekeep services for the autistic if self-diagnosis were held in the same esteem as physician diagnosis, so it won’t catch on anytime soon.

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