i think that regardless, if this does appear to be a prevalent pattern with statistical significance, it would allow for people who may previously have gone undiagnosed/misdiagnosed to receive an accurate diagnosis. the idea of seeing this as a 'problem' requiring 'potential treatment' is spooky and insidious, but i still want to be excited about the good this could do.

[–] molls 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

One line that stuck out to me regarding the outcomes of the fecal transplants was ‘improved gastrointestinal symptoms’. If people with ASD have higher rates of GI-related issues, then the findings of this paper could be really helpful in understanding and improving treatments for GI problems in patients with ASD. Of course I understand the skepticism that this work could be used to try and cure something that doesn’t need to be cured, but my hope is that the more likely outcome is a more holistic understanding of ASD that leads to better medical care across all areas of health.

[–] Nicktar 3 points 1 year ago

It's a very thin line and I fear it will be crossed. While I'm all in favor of a possible way to provide a diagnosis via a lab test and for a possible way to trerat GI problems, if there will be a treatment to ASD, there will be a lot less accomodations for people who don't want to be cured of what they feel they are.