• Question: do you have any ideas for cures for autism? happy autism awareness day!

    Asked by Ami_awesome to Chris, Hayley, Jimi, Maddison, Omur on 14 Mar 2016. This question was also asked by Resh@science, Sammy, libs:), ps_no1.
    • Photo: Hayley Moulding

      Hayley Moulding answered on 14 Mar 2016:

      Oh this is a massive question!! Autism is a really really complex disorder. A neurodevelopmental disorder meaning there are differences in the way the brain develops. So curing it would be very difficult. Autism comes from changes in our DNA, so at the moment we can’t change our DNA to cure autism but what we can do is help those with autism to have an easier life. We can help to make things like communicating and socialising easier for people with autism. One day we might be able to make changes to our DNA but at the moment, I think it is a question of whether we want to cure autism or not, and help we help these individuals with autism the best we can.

    • Photo: Omur Tastan

      Omur Tastan answered on 14 Mar 2016:

      This is a killer question, really. Autism is a very interesting and complicated disease. So mostly we will call it the Autism spectrum disorder because there is a wide range in terms of how severe the illness can get. Some people can have relatively normal lives whereas it destroys other’s lives and their loved ones.

      Cure for autism is unfortunately not there yet. However some people are using some special medicine from herbs to relieve some of the symptoms and it is helping the autism patients. However, an actual cure might require a thorough understanding of the disease. We are still trying to understand autism and we must raise awareness! Otherwise research for autism cannot be funded and we need lots and lots of people working on this. Thanks for the question!! There are many labs doing Autism research in Oxford, you should check them out! The researchers are Esther Becker and Caleb Webber!
      A friend of mine worked on Autism for a while, as well!

    • Photo: Jimi Wills

      Jimi Wills answered on 15 Mar 2016:

      I was not aware is was autism awareness day! Maybe we need an autism awareness day awareness day.

      A cure would be really hard. Prevention might be possible… but ethically questionable. It would involve making embryos and choosing the ones that don’t have diseases…. designer babies! Not something I particularly approve of.

      I know a few people with autism who get along just fine with the right support and understanding. It’s part of who they are and I’m not sure they would want to be cured.

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