.svg){kind=icon}
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg){kind=icon}
Myths and misconceptions
The lack of understanding about autism can make it difficult for autistic people to have their condition recognised and to access the support they need.
Misconceptions can lead to some autistic people feeling isolated and alone. In extreme cases, it can also lead to abuse and bullying.
Autism comes with a whole host of myths and misconceptions. It has been very much misunderstood in the past, from the concept of ‘refrigerator mothers’ to the idea that everyone with autism is like ‘Rain Man’. And many myths and misconceptions continue today.
Here are the top five myths as we see them, together with an explanation of the real truth!
Many large-scale, gold-standard scientific studies have been done, and there is simply no scientific evidence to support this. If it were that simple, we’d know by now. Autism is complex and seems to be caused by many different combinations of genes and environmental influences. Many parents have been seduced by the promise of a quick and easy answer and the promise of a sudden halt to autism or even a quick cure. Sadly, life is not straightforward, but rest assured that enormous efforts are being made to tease out the genes and the other factors to understand autism better and provide therapy and support in a positive way.
In most cases, it is simply not true. Some children and adults are not very social and choose to avoid other people to a great extent. But, the majority of children and adults on the spectrum want and like to socialise.
Many children struggle to socialise and don’t really understand the social rules. Being social is like a dance with very complicated steps that often require quick thinking. It can seem too hard. But when we slow the dance down and explain the steps, our children can learn.
Being social may make people on the spectrum feel very anxious, especially if they have had bad experiences in the past. But the desire to connect is often there, and it’s up to family, teachers and therapists to help our loved ones to socialise successfully.
They absolutely can! We all just need to learn to teach them well. The vast majority of children will improve with therapy, but it has to be effective and tailored to each child.
For some individuals, learning can be challenging, resulting in slower progress. Still, things can change, and lives can improve slowly and steadily, so long as family and teachers are persistent and use effective teaching methods.
Sorry, but it just isn’t. Bad parenting will not help any child, but it will not cause autism.
Many parents feel they are not great at being parents because their children do not respond to them as a typically developing child does. This is especially clear if we have several children and only one is on the spectrum. However, we can become excellent parents to all of our children. And, the better we understand our children, the more they can thrive.
Unlike Rain Man, not all people can recite the phone book or tell anyone they meet on what day of the week they were born. Certainly, some people can do some amazing memory feats, but this isn’t common.
Many children on the spectrum share some strengths, such as being visual learners or having a good visual memory. These strengths can help children navigate the world.
Science versus pseudoscience
When your child is first diagnosed with autism the news can be very hard to come to terms with. The road ahead can seem overwhelming and your child’s future uncertain. At this point, some parents may go seeking a ‘quick fix’ or cure for their child’s autism (read more about curing autism), which makes them vulnerable to pseudoscientific treatments.
So, what is pseudoscience? Wikipedia defines it as ‘anything that pretends to be science but is not’. Simply put, it is ‘fake science.’
Good science is when you take a theory or idea and design an experiment to test if that theory is correct (or not) in a rigorous way. One way we can do this is in a controlled clinical trial. A controlled trial compares the intervention we are testing (for example, a new type of therapy) with another treatment (or no treatment) in two closely matched groups—say, two groups of preschoolers with autism.
In a well-designed trial, the only thing that differs between the two groups is the therapy, so if positive changes are seen only in the therapy group we can be reasonably sure we are seeing an effect from that treatment. Ideally the trial should then be repeated at least once (preferably by a different group of researchers) to make sure the same results are found. Treatments that undergo this sort of rigorous testing are called ‘evidence-based.’
People who peddle pseudoscience use many scientific words, and their theories can sound quite convincing at first. But they aren’t interested in testing whether their ‘treatment’ works or not. They may even tell you that controlled trials aren’t necessary.
The following are some other red flags for pseudoscience. Beware of any person promoting:
- Any treatment they claim can cure autism: There is currently no cure for autism. In fact, many people believe we shouldn’t be looking for one and the concept is highly offensive to many.
- Treatments based on overly simple theories: Autism is a complex condition that affects brain wiring and is strongly linked to our genes. It’s extremely unlikely one single cause will ever be found. There’s no solid evidence that autism can be treated with elimination diets alone or that people with autism have a unique and abnormal biochemistry that requires treatment with expensive supplements.
- Treatments they claim are effective for completely different, unrelated conditions: What do cancer and autism have in common? Almost nothing. Yet there are treatments that are promoted as treatments for both conditions.
- Treatments that rely completely on personal stories or testimonials to say they work: Only carefully designed studies can truly show whether a treatment works or not.
- Any treatment that claims to have no side effects: Nothing is without side effects, and some treatments can actually be dangerous at worst and time wasting at best.
- Conspiracy theories: Beware anyone promoting a treatment that “doctors don’t want to tell you about.”
Doctors, like everyone else, want the best outcomes for people with autism. In fact, many doctors are parents of children themselves. There’s no logical reason why they would hide effective treatments from you.
We strongly recommend you talk to a trusted health professional before committing to any treatment that ticks off one or more of these red flags. Remember the wise saying:
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
While few of these treatments will be harmful to your child, they can certainly harm your bank account. More importantly, chasing pseudoscience can distract you from pursuing evidence-based therapies that we know can help your child.