How is autism actually treated? You hear people saying the diagnosis changed their kids life or it’s important to be diagnosed early, but how?
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When I returned home from living abroad a few years ago, I stayed rent free with a good friend and his family. I acted as chauffeur to their kids, taking them to school, sport practice, etc. The middle daughter was always super tired, would get sick from being so tired, and there was no apparent reason. A year or so later, she was diagnosed with autism
Turns out the reason she was so tired was because she was constantly adapting her behaviour to fit in with her peers. She “wasn’t quite like them”, but could work out their actions and cues, and made herself look like them. This was incredibly hard work, hence the constant fatigue and associated illness. Once she realised she didn’t need to pretend, her mental workload dropped dramatically, and her health improved.
So, she wasn’t being treated, as such, but she was working a whole lot less.
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