Autism Diagnosis/Aspergers

[Rita Mastrangelo]

I appreciate all the time you put in answering my questions. Sometimes its the most simple questions that I don’t have an answer for. As always I appreciate your opinion1.

1. What is autism really? other than it being a body imbalance that affects the brain and caused by biochemical and/or nutrition imbalances I just don’t know how else to identify it or explain it?

2. Is there such thing as an autism gene? I get confused with all of this? Would you say one develops autism or they are born with it?

3. What if an adult says they were just diagnosed with autism? Could that really be the case?

4. How does Aspergers differ from autism? If aspergers is described as difficulties in social interaction would that not just make them introverted?

Could autism not just be a label like any other illness/condition that needs to be peeled back to understand what is going and treat the underlining cause?

thank you always.

[DrWoeller]

Rita,

It is my absolute pleasure to help answer your questions.

1 – GREAT question! The reality is there appears to be different types of autism, but in general it involved speech/communication problems, aberrant behaviors, and cognitive challenges. Ultimately, at is core Autism is a dysregulated nervous system involving various aspects of developmental and cognitive challenges.

2 – No. There has been nothing found that is linked to one gene defect for autism. There are various genetic abnormalities that can be associated with autism, but these same genetic abnormalities can be seen with other people too who are not autistic, e.g., MTHFR.

3 – Yes. It is possible for someone to get diagnosed with an autism-spectrum disorder as an adult.

4 – Similar, but not exactly the same. Most Asperger’s individuals have language and communication skills. I see Asperger’s as its own spectrum that has some overlap with Autism. There are people who are introverted, but do not have Asperger’s characteristics. Many people with Asperger’s have heightened anxiety and/or poor social interaction capabilities.

5 – I am always look at the biological and biochemical aspects of Autism and related disorders. I appreciate the diagnosis, but the diagnosis is label provided by a set of characteristics. It tells me nothing about what is happening biologically. That is what biomedical intervention is all about…trying to peel the layers back to see what could be triggering the problem(s).

I hope this helps.

Dr. Woeller

[Author]

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