My Green Family. ramblings of one family's journey to green living

There is a lot of discussion in the autism community about a cure for autism and treatments for autism. And the autism community is definitely divided over this issue. Many people see autism as just a difference and not a disability or disease and refer to those who would treat their child as “curebies”. On the other side of the fence there are people who feel autism is a disease that needs to be treated and one day cured. People on both sides are obviously very passionate about their position.

I’ve given this debate a lot of thought. When we first found out Tristan had autism I wanted to do everything in my power to ensure he would lead a “normal” life, whatever normal means. Now that I have had time to think more beyond each day with Tristan and see into his future, I see that I really don’t want to “cure” him. Make no mistake I want to give him the tools to be able to communicate effectively, form relationships, be a functional person in society and not be marginalized. But I also never want him to feel like I thought he wasn’t good enough or hasn’t recovered enough for me, I never want him to feel like we tried to change who he is fundamentally.

I believe autism is a difference, most individuals with autism see and sense the world differently from those without autism. However, I also believe in some cases autism is a disease, or better yet the autistic symptoms that are exhibited are the result of a diseased state in the body, that there is a gut-brain connection. Most kids with autism have gastrointestinal and other comorbid conditions and this can definitely have an effect on cognitive and other functions. If you don’t agree with the gut-brain connection just think back to the last time you got drunk.

I feel this whole argument of autism being a disorder or a difference really all boils down to the cause of autism. For people who believe autism is just a difference, they probably believe that autism and its traits are purely genetic or mostly genetic. And maybe in some cases it is. But for Tristan and many others this is not the case. Tristan has definite physical problems that have caused him to have autistic traits, and as we’ve changed his diet and added supplements, we’ve seen these traits lessen and disappear. Not to mention that there is no history in either Odum’s family or mine of developmental disabilities. Maybe Tristan does have some sort of genetic predisposition that caused caused him to be more vulnerable to toxins and poisons in the environment and maybe this is what led to him having autism. As a scientist one of my favorite sayings is “genetics loads the gun, its the environment that pulls the trigger”. Tristan was not born with autism.

So yes we are treating Tristan, we would be negligent as parents not to. Tristan had gastrointestinal problems, he has yeast overgrowth and vitamin deficiencies. Is it a coincidence that as we treat these problems his behavioral and developmental problems improve, I don’t think so. I think the people who tout autism as solely a difference may have only seen mild cases of autism, or not watched their child regress and become a shell of their former self. I almost wonder if these same people would call a physical disability a difference and berate parents for obtaining physical therapy for their child.

So what do you think, is autism a disability, disease or a difference?