If you didn't hear the “excitement," a study was published in The Journal of Personalized Medicine coming from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Through pretty ridiculous research methods involving one family, and two 20 month old twin girls, they report that, “this case offers further encouraging evidence of ASD reversal through a personalized, multidisciplinary approach focusing predominantly on addressing modifiable environmental and lifestyle risk factors.”
Narrator (Kory): “Hold my coffee cup and therapist cardigan.”
The parents of the twins were assisted with a variety of interventions (simultaneously) including:
•diet: “strictly gluten-free, casein-free diet that was low in sugar and had no exposure to artificial colors, dyes, or ultra-processed foods. An emphasis was placed on consuming organic, unprocessed, freshly prepared, and home-cooked food from local sources when possible.”
•ABA therapy (widely recognized by Autistic adults and many professionals as harmful and abusive to Autistic people),
•supplements: “omega-3 fatty acids, a multivitamin, vitamin D, carnitine, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, and bio-individualized homeopathic remedies, were taken by both girls.”
•Trans-disciplinary referrals including occupational therapy
•Information about the importance of addressing the potential load of environmental toxicants on the children from the Autism parent coach …air quality, mold, moisture etc.
•Building Biology Environmental Consultant
•developmental optometrist
•treatment from cranial osteopath (for one twin)
The study reports “dramatic improvements were noted within several months in most domains of the twins’ symptoms.”
Narrator (Kory): Masking is real, and visible symptoms do not equate to total impact… A reduction of visible symptoms doesn't mean they “de-Autismed,"* cured Autism, or “fixed” anything. Autism is a Neurotype. And ABA teaches kids to “hide” their Autistic behaviors. But ok. Continue.
"L and P’s eye contact, language, and attention had all improved noticeably by Fall 2022. This was accompanied by participation in a toddler play group three days per week and ultimately attending pre-school three days per week in Fall 2023. The pediatrician noted that P had undergone “a kind of miracle”.
Narrator: (Kory): Hi, me again.
1. Yes, Autistic kids do improve in their ability to communicate over time.
2. If you use ABA therapy to teach your child that making eye contact (that hurts them) is right (for you) and looking away (so they can process the way that works best for them) is wrong, they will learn to do what you say. They are not “healed." They are people pleasing. The part of their brain that lights up when they make eye contact is not the same as in Neurotypical people. Eye contact is distracting to comprehension, uncomfortable, and even painful. So….why are we forcing that? (The answer is so that the child stands out less. Got it.)
3. And yes…accommodations and interventions CAN seem like a miracle. So you sent your kid to OT to help them regulate their overactive nervous system, and they appear less reactive, and they have fewer behaviors? Yes. Their nervous system is still different, but now it is different and has coping skills.
4. Autistic people can go to playgroups. I'd even suggest that a four year old may be in a far better position to be in a play group than a two year old, regardless of their Neurotype or fake “healing.” Was that accounted for? Or are we just comparing a two year old to a four year old? My Neurotypical kid was a real mess of toy throwing and not listening at 2 year old “My Gym" but was delightful at 4. Was he healed too?
The study does mention limitations. "First, while effective at reversing ASD diagnoses, the comprehensive approach that was employed in this case may not yet be widely generalizable. For instance, the cost of the healthy lifestyle modifications and out-of-pocket costs of care of the numerous practitioners and laboratory assessments in this case would be financially prohibitive to many families. Access to healthy foods and the types of practitioners contributing to this therapeutic approach may also be limited for many families. A second limitation of any comprehensive treatment approach is the lack of clear evidence of the isolated effects of each of the modalities that were employed. However, it has become increasingly clear that ASD treatment is not one-size-fits-all and that personalized, multi-modality treatment approaches to help address the total load of stressors are likely required to achieve optimal outcomes.”
Narrator (Kory): a third limitation is that other kids that you didn't study use these healthy lifestyle interventions as well and they aren't “cured.” Not one intervention listed here is new. Nor is the combining of interventions.
But they saved the best for last in the patient perspective: "Through this approach, we have witnessed the radical recovery of one daughter—who presents today as a joyful, engaging, spirited, extremely bright 4-year-old. We remain steadfast in our support for our other daughter whose progress has also consistently amazed us and has reminded us that recovery is possible at each person’s individual pace”
Narrator (Kory): They only “de-Autismed” one of the twins. So even with a sample size of 2, they went ahead and published a study devoid of evidence proving the effectiveness of any single intervention. And the interventions “worked” on ½ kids studied. The other twin is “recovering" from Autism.
I need to recover from this study.
Autism is experienced internally. We cannot pretend for one second that a change in behavior means that Autism has been eliminated. Also, children with some traits of Autism should not have the diagnosis “ruled-out” until they hit the social ceiling of masking in middle or high school. It is incredibly common for a drastic increase in challenges to occur during this time.
In conclusion: no one cured anything. There is nothing to be cured here. Autism is a Neurotype. Autistic brains, and “behaviors” are harshly judged and misunderstood. Imagine being the “still recovering" twin and learning that your parents are waiting on you to transform into a kid that is “joyful, engaging, spirited, and bright.” Perhaps we should consider that all of those traits are found in Autistic people all around us when we accommodate them and understand them, rather than try to “cure them.”
*de-Autismed isn't a word. I know this. I'm sorry. Curing Autism also isn't “a thing." I lost myself.
