These are the questions where I don’t always land where medicine does. Each one starts with a prompt from me. Then it’s your turn: push back, add research, or tell me what you’ve lived.
Replies are read before they’re posted. Be kind. Disagree well.
The term was proposed in 2021 to describe autistic people who need support around the clock. Some families say it finally names their reality. Many autistic adults say it splits the community, and hides how much support needs change with the environment.
Does a label describe a person? Or the fit between a person and their world?
Gut trouble, allergies, mast cell flares*, chronic pain. Many autistic people live with a body that seems to be on alert.
What if some of what we call overwhelm is a nervous system carrying an immune system under strain? And what changes when that strain is lifted?
ABA is still the most widely covered autism therapy in the US. Supporters point to decades of research. Many autistic adults describe it as learning to mask.
If behavior is communication, what happens when we train the behavior away and never hear the message?
OT, speech, play-based and relationship-based therapies, and a long list of alternatives.
How do we tell what helps a nervous system feel safe from what just keeps a family busy?
Medication can help, sometimes a lot. Sometimes it is lifesaving.
But can a pill fix a world that asks too much of a sensitive nervous system? Where have you seen it help? And where has it been asked to do the impossible?
Suggest a question you want me to take on.