Thinking Autism

Are you tired of hearing that #autism is a gift/just a 'difference', when for you/your child it is a severe disability? If so, support our charity, the only one in the UK advocating for treatments for underlying medical causes of disabling autism symptoms. thinkingautism.org.uk

"For decades, us parents have been hitting our heads against the wall of the psychological paradigm, trying to get our children some medical help... We have to hope that Dame Uta’s intervention provokes the paradigm shift that we all badly need." #autism theautismtribune.substack.com/p/stretching-t…

"#Autism research is entering a new and pivotal phase, as growing recognition of its biological and clinical heterogeneity presents challenges to previous paradigms and the adequacy of a single diagnostic label."

Here's something to watch out for across the UK if you have a child with an #EHC plan and your council provides transport. #autism #SEND @followers autismeye.com/transport-rule…

People have asked about today’s Reuters article. Coverage of the IACC highlights the difficulty of conveying nuance in complex scientific and policy discussions. The reporter received thoughtful, detailed responses about autism research priorities and the committee’s role, yet the article largely reduces the discussion to controversy and insinuation. Families deserve better than click-driven narratives. In the interest of transparency, I’m sharing the written responses I provided. I welcome your observations comparing them with the tenor of the article. Apologies in advance for the length. 🧵 reuters.com/legal/litigati…

Most parents don’t know that regular ibuprofen use affects histamine clearance. Ibuprofen damages the gut lining where histamine is cleared. The more you use it, the less histamine your child can clear. Over 50% of chronic NSAID users have visible gut damage on capsule endoscopy. Most have no symptoms. Nobody connects it to the histamine. Zinc carnosine has published evidence for protecting and repairing that lining. Always with food. Never on an empty stomach. If your child is on regular ibuprofen and histamine is a problem, the two are connected. #MastCells #Histamine #PANDAS #PANS #FunctionalMedicine

I’m just a physician but when “mentally ill teenagers ask to be put to death” perhaps we should refuse and instead provide the care and support they need instead of killing them theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/…

Plasma metabolomic signatures in children with autism spectrum disorder and their modulation following a gluten-free modified ketogenic diet link.springer.com/article/10.118… Small N so carefully.

Northern Ireland families in ‘crisis’ as 8,000 children wait over two years for autism assessment irishnews.com/news/northern-… Added to the 5.9% childhood autism rate for 2024/2025 in NI. The next stats are due in weeks...

"Multiple nutritional deficiencies were identified in all children, and 2 had autistic spectrum disorder" pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41839225/ When vitamin C deficiency goes life-threatening. And yes, RRBs as part of autism causing dietary issues et al are not benign...

"autistic symptoms in SSD [schizophrenia spectrum disorders] may manifest in three distinct patterns based on the severity of pre-onset autistic symptoms" sciencedirect.com/science/articl… Added to the 1 in 10 adults with autism potentially at risk of 'diagnostic progression' to SCZ.

"Mental health problems and autism accounted for over two-thirds of these health-related barriers to employment among Neet individuals last year." independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/… For those that think the employment rate in relation to autism is anything better than what Buckland said.

BMJ Research: Prenatal antiseizure drug exposure and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Findings strengthen the evidence for increased neurodevelopmental risks among children with prenatal valproate exposure bmj.com/content/392/bm…

@JulianeWriter Agree that there should be help for everyone. But framing all autism as identity and not as a disorder results in the neglect of the needs of those for whom autism is a serious disability, who are unable to advocate for themselves, for the reasons outlined in this thread.

@TweetingAutism Denying help to others doesn’t mean more help for some. It’s not a zero-sum game. There should be help for everyone.!

@lazerbian @TheHillFool Research needs funding. If advocacy supporting autism as identity and militating against research into autism treatments is strong enough, and permeates through to charities, the media, the political establishment, it will influence public perception/research funding priorities.

@TweetingAutism @TheHillFool The behavior of autistic adults on the internet, even if they make autism their entire identity, does not stop anybody from studying a career and going into research to find autism biomarkers. They are separate things. Like asking someone to hold their breath so it doesn't rain.

@TheHillFool There are myriad examples of autism being framed as an identity, eg psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/my-lif… bps.org.uk/psychologist/w… journals.healio.com/doi/10.3928/00… autism.org.uk/advice-and-gui… onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10… happyautisticlady.com/neurodiversity

@TweetingAutism You are demonstrating again that you don't understand the theoretical framework that suggests a connection between autism/ADHD etc and IDENTITY FORMATION. Nobody is framing it as just an identity, they are pointing to how these things intersect

@TheHillFool The framing of autism as identity, rather than a disorder that may be amenable to treatment, shapes public perception, which will have an impact on research priorities and funding.

@TweetingAutism Okay, funding issues. I understand that. But why are late diagnosed folks, lower support needs and the neurodiversity movement being blamed for this? We don't control where the money comes from 🤷

@TheHillFool Surely an individual's identity develops throughout their childhood (and even into adulthood)? In any case, the perception of autism as identity is problematic if it precludes investigation into potential causative and possibly treatable underlying medical issues.

@TweetingAutism Neurobiology & psychodynamic theory shows that an infant's identity forms by the age of 5. For neurodivergent children, this period is usually extended. So, a child that was diagnosed early with autism is still going to have that impact identity formation, regardless of the cause

@TheHillFool The problem is the lack of transational research. There are several promising areas of research, but no funding for phase 2/3 treatment trials. This issue (as well as the wider sociopolitical context) is explored in this article: thinkingautism.org.uk/autism-disabil…

@TweetingAutism Okay, so you've just pointed to research that is being done to consider alternatives. Which makes me question why there are claims that research or resources are not being focused on other areas. Because what I'm seeing is just an attempt to delegitimize other perspectives