>>935807927 (OP)As someone who studies autism, this thread made me very sad. I hope we can better educate people about Autism so that people like the anons in this thread don't have to think and feel the way they do.
That Diary of A Wimpy Kid graph is sad, too, because it completely misses the point of the entire story, and in effect actually delivers the opposite message. The point of the whole series was that life is unpredictable and stupid, it's absurd, and sometimes the rules are made up and don't make any sense whatsoever. People will hate you for literally any reason, even if there was absolutely nothing wrong with you, and the most important thing is how you approach those feelings, and react to those people and these situations.
You guys should really READ that book series.
I'd ignore the gut microbiome route. The data in all studies I've read is super inconclusive, none of it factors ARFID or other things that tend to coexist with Autism, so overall the link is tenuous. Mouse studies are also super tenuous, because we cannot distinctly prove that a mouse has Autism. Instead, we give the mouse "Autism-Like" symptoms through selective breeding or genetic engineering, and then study different questions based on those behaviors, I.e repetitive behaviors, food avoidance, etc. In neurotoxicology, they take "healthy" lab mice, and expose them to lots of chemicals, either in the womb, or in a controlled cage, to see if they develop "Autism-Like" symptoms.
Over the last few decades, understanding and acceptance of Autism has grown, and it's become clear that far more people throughout history were autistic, without ever being diagnosed due to a lack of understanding. It's hard to quantify if the things happening in your life are due to Autism, or due to other behaviors. Being social is a skill for EVERYONE, everybody needs to learn how to do it correctly. People with Autism will struggle with it a little more, but as long as you're being honest, things go well.
