Will Autism Ever Be Cured?

So much has been learned about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the last decade, with major advances being made to help us understand what potentially causes autism, how it affects those who have it and the best treatment options to help support those on the autism spectrum.

Yet, at the same time, extensive research is still being conducted to hopefully uncover more information about it.

The research that has been done to this point has all pointed to something that might be frustrating to individuals who have autism and their parents and relatives, as well as those in the professional community: No one thing defines autism or causes it.

Autism is a complex and varied neurodevelopmental disorder. And while it’s typically defined by restrictive interests and repetitive behaviors, it can manifest itself much differently in one person than it does in another.

There is some hope, of course, that additional research will lead to more information, which could lead to an eventual cure. That begs the question: Will autism ever be cured?

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What is Autism?

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that first appears early in childhood. Some of the signs and symptoms of autism can be spotted before a child turns 1 year old, though most children are diagnosed after the age of 3 — when their symptoms are more obvious.

Learn more about Autism

In addition to exhibiting repetitive behaviors and restricted interests, many children with autism face challenges with social interaction and communication skills.

What research has shown over the last 20 years is that autism is a very varied disorder. There are multiple “severities” of autism, with some on the “lower” end of the spectrum being affected only slightly compared to those on the “upper” end.

Today, there is no cure for autism, as it’s considered to be a life-long disorder. That being said, there have been advanced treatments developed to help support children with autism, including applied behavioral analysis, or ABA therapy — a science-based approach to learning and behavior that helps children develop the social, communication and daily life skills they often face challenges with.

Can Autism Ever Be Cured?

Currently, doctors, clinical psychologists and many others in the field do not believe that autism is curable. It’s possible, of course, that advances in science, research and medicine in future years develop to a point that a cure is found.

However, one of the biggest reasons for doubt on that topic is that autism isn’t considered to be biological. In other words, since it’s not like a disease, it’s not something that can be cured.

There is no blood test or medical exam that can be done to definitively say that a person has ASD. Instead, autism diagnoses are done solely based on whether surface symptoms are present.

Clinical psychologists and other professionals have conversations with parents, caregivers and others who interact with the child to learn more about their behaviors, and they also conduct observations to formulate their diagnosis.

The information that’s gathered is then used to help treat children on the autism spectrum with ABA therapy, but it’s not used to treat them with a medicine that will cure their autism.

Learn more about whether autism can be cured

There May Not Be a Single Autism

A little more than 10 years ago, the term autism spectrum disorder was coined as a way to describe multiple developmental disorders that shared some common signs, symptoms and characteristics. They are a wide range of disorders, and children on the spectrum can be affected dramatically different than others.

Before then, it was believed that people with “classic autism” differed greatly from those with Asperger’s syndrome, for instance. Today, we know that’s not the case.

Recent research has begun to suggest that our understanding of autism could change even more in the future. In fact, some has suggested that there isn’t a single autism, but rather multiple “autisms.”

This could mean that the different underlying causes of autism, as well as the surface symptoms they cause, could vary greatly based on the type of autism and the individual that it affects.

In this way, ASD could be compared to cancer — at least from a diagnostic, treatment and potential “cure” standpoint.

In other words, while lung cancer and pancreatic cancer are both cancers, they vary greatly in terms of their causes, outlooks, treatments, etc. And part of the reason why no “cure” has been discovered for cancer yet is that there is no one thing that causes it.

In addition to this being a fact of autism, too, it’s also important to remember that, unlike cancer, ASD isn’t biological; it’s behavioral.

Blue Gems ABA Helps Children with ASD Thrive

Even though there is no cure for autism, children with ASD can live happy and fulfilling lives.

At Blue Gems ABA, we are dedicated to seeing all of our patients do just that. Our team of BCBAs help them do that by creating personalized ABA therapy plans that cater specifically to their unique challenges and strengths.

To learn more, please contact us today.