Question: What, in your opinion, in the best treatment for Autism and why?

Lorna Camus answered on 8 Nov 2018:

Hi Caitlin, good question!
There is no best treatment for autism, and the reason why is because autism itself does not need to be treated. Many autistic people are very proud to be autistic, and are usually quite upset when researchers/professionals look for treatments for autism.
On the other hand, autistic people usually experience other issues (what we call comorbid or co-occurring issues) such as ADHD, mental health difficulties, sensory sensitivities, learning disabilities, and many more. They also experience a huge amount of misunderstanding/stigma/discrimination/abuse from other people. These I believe are what cause autistic people the most suffering, rather than autism itself, and are therefore the issues we should try to treat.
However, a lot of autistic people report that when professionals are aware that they are autistic, they dismiss other problems they might have (such as mental health difficulties), which means they don’t get the support they need.
Moreover, a lot of the treatments we currently have for some of these issues have been developed for non-autistic people, and therefore may not be adapted to autistic people’s needs.
I hope that helps!