“It’s critical that we find the cause of autism”

I think this whole "it’s critical that we find the cause of autism" conversation is majorly flawed and wreaking havoc on meaningful dialogue in the autism awareness space... and I'm going to explain why...

First of all, we know, scientifically, that there is no single cause of autism.

But that's not even remotely reflected in the current discourse as is evident by people like RFK Jr. saying things like, we need to find "the" cause of autism.

So let's level this out and reset the baseline assumption with evidence that points to the fact that there isn't a single cause of autism.

I'll start with the heritability research.

Twin studies have estimated the heritability of autism to be over 90%. This doesn't mean that 90% of autism is genetic, but it does show that autism can be linked to genetic factors.

Which is why we can say with reasonable, scientific certainty that autism can be (and often is) genetic.

BUT...

Nothing about the genetic findings has excluded the possibility that autism can ALSO occur from environmental factors.

And though some people struggle to accept that environmental factors can impact the brain in ways similar to autism, the science does, in fact, support this.

So, let's dig into the research about environmental factors for a minute.

First, I want to clear up a very important indisputable fact...

Rigorous, repeated research has proven, definitively that vaccines are NOT the cause of autism.

Put another way, according to the research, vaccinated children are no more likely to be autistic than unvaccinated children.

That said... there HAS been scientific evidence of vaccine injuries occurring in a tiny percentage of children.

And in some (extremely rare, literally 1 in a million) cases, those injuries have, in fact, presented with a specific set of challenges and needs that appear very similar to autism. So much so, that the child receives an autism diagnosis.

BUT... this is NOT THE SAME as saying that vaccines CAUSE autism.

And this is where I think the discourse begins to go awry.

Because people on both "sides" feel dismissed by the other.

(By "both sides" I mean people who say autism is only genetic... and people who say vaccines cause autism because they have seen their vaccine injured child go from developing "typically," to appearing autistic and receiving a diagnosis.)

And this dismissal becomes so intense and so personal, that both groups become desperate to defend their lived experience and the "conversation" devolves into a fight to be heard.

Instead of a conversation where both are able to see the full picture... which shows both truths existing at the same time.

And here's where I think the disconnect becomes a massive rift.

The reality of the VERY REAL challenges both groups face, becomes a tiny little footnote in the autism awareness discourse because everyone is so. focused. on "finding the cause."

When there is no single root cause because the two are NOT THE SAME THING. Even though we are giving it the same name.

If you've made it this far, please stay with me for another minute because what I'm about to say is by far the most important point of all...

The root cause is IRRELEVANT here.

What matters is the real, near identical challenges, both groups face.

So, the name is just a distraction.

Because what we, as a society, are calling "autism..." is really a CONSTELLATION of mental and physical underlying needs... that show up as challenges when those needs are not met (because they exist in a societal construct)...

And then, those challenges result in behaviors that are deemed "problematic"... but are really just the autistic person's best (and often DESPERATE) attempt to get their needs met.

And, again, whatever the root cause is has absolutely no bearing on any of this.

Because, when needs aren't met, what's happening in the brain REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE, is creating the same CONSTELLATION OF NEEDS.

So regardless of what CAUSED the needs... they are still, very much, NEEDS.

And THIS is what we need to be focusing on as a society.

How to help autistic people get their needs met.

Because for any living autistic human... what we need is SUPPORT.

And what we DESERVE is to be valued for who we are... JUST BECAUSE WE EXIST.

Not to be dehumanized... seen as drains on society... and as having a "disease" that "destroys families."

We don't need a war over "the cause"... we need a MOVEMENT for SUPPORT.