First of all, many high functioning people on the spectrum are very comfortable identifying with their challenges and they do not see themselves as 'sufferers' of autism. Autism doesn't need 'treatment' if the person isn't suffering or likely to suffer because of what they are challenged with. Some people suffer from the ignorance or lack of fit with non-autistic society, some people genuinely suffer from things which underlie or compound their 'autism'. So 'we' as a group, like any group, are not all the same.

Secondly, whilst some professionals truly see the humanity of those in their care and are truly enlightened and sensible, it is also true that medication has for a very long time been abused by those professionals who irresponsibly over prescribe medication (with known serious side effects) and poor follow-up or supervision in order to suppress behaviours of people in care. Whilst I choose to be supported by a small amount of appropriate medication, there are those who have been further disabled, even died of complications of irresponsible, poorly monitored and excessive doses of medication. So medication isn't all bad or all good either. It's how it's used and who it's used with and why.

Thirdly, where someone IS suffering from severe information processing challenges, severe sensory-perceptual issues, severe anxiety issues underlying involuntary behaviours, the underlying cause is thought most often due to the supply of nutrients to the brain and toxicity issues, the underlying causes of which can include impaired gut, liver and pancreas function, disturbed enzyme production, impaired immune function - all things which can often be improved through dietary intervention and nutritional supplementation programs BEFORE we set about seeking to suppress the behavioural symptoms of these dysfunctions through medication. To do otherwise is to fail in that clients right to a holistic approach to a holistic condition.

Once these avenues have been PROPERLY explored, and this may not by the local GP or paediatrician who may have little knowledge of current research and findings in the autism field, once these have been addressed, then, IF the person with autism is truly suffering from autism-related challenges then I believe it can be sensible in some cases to explore the benefits of minimal, sensible, monitored, followed up, doses of appropriate medication. But, it is my understanding, as someone who has been helped extremely by a small amount of such medication, that medication does NOT treat 'autism' because there is no one thing called autism.

Many of the conditions which co-occur with autism are taken to be part of the autism. For example, someone can have autism and aphasia, meaning they may be severely challenged in the ability to produce speech. Someone can have autism as agnosia, meaning they are severely challenged in the ability to recognise what they see. Someone can have autism and a mild degree of Cerebral Palsy. There are, as far as I know, no medications for these conditions.

A very large percentage of those with autism also have various types of epilepsy, some types more easily recognizable than others but generally compounding their 'autism' and epilepsy is one condition which is known to often be effectively treated by sensible doses of monitored medication appropriate to the condition. The same is true of the overlap of severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or the behavioural, movement or vocal tics of Tourette's or Oppositional Defiance Disorder or it's relative Exposure Anxiety with involuntary avoidance, diversion and retaliation responses, are, from what I understand, generally treatable with sensible doses of the appropriate medication which addresses imbalance of neurotransmitters effecting impulse control and when these conditions are overlooked as part of 'autism' it can mean the difference between someone being severely impaired or mildly effected in their functioning.

Bipolar, rapid cycling or otherwise also overlaps with autism in a large number of people and causes intermittent or constant extreme manic-depressive mood fluctuations with associated impact on behaviour management and communication and, like unipolar depression which also often co-occurs with autism, are both generally treatable with the appropriate medication to address these issues. Without medical treatment, those severely effect by these conditions can not only sometimes be a potential danger to themselves through their behaviours but can spend a life time being restrained or subject to aversive treatments, especially when something like Rapid Cycling Bipolar is overlooked because of the label of 'autism'.

A percentage of people with autism also have mental health issues and it is often thought that because autism is not a mental illness that the two can't co-occur but in fact it is know that any condition can co-occur with autism and a percentage of people with autism do have a family history with all kinds of other conditions present such as OCD, mood disorders and sometimes even mental illness. If someone with autism is also suffering from severe mental health problems, then it is inhumane to deny them treatment to help them cope with such a thing.

So there are many things that medication don't do. They don't treat 'autism' but as 'autism' is actually an umbrella term to cover developmental 'disability' many quite treatable conditions can combine and compound to cause what ultimately amounts to the developmental impact of 'autism' and when we take all these extras away, it can mean the difference between someone suffering from 'autism' and someone just living with a functional degree of it.

In my own case I have addressed the visual perceptual condition of Scotopic Sensitivity, gut and immune disorders and atypical epilepsy (all formally diagnosed in my 20s) effecting information processing ability and sensory perceptual problems and finally seratonin related impulse control issues effecting involuntary behaviours such as OCD, Tourette's, Exposure Anxiety and Rapid Cycling Bipolar which also previously had a big impact on behaviour, communication and fear of sensory & emotional over stimulation. Quite simply genetics is a roll of the dice and if you get some stuff from one side, and the rest from the other they can compound to severely effect development even when your siblings might get a different combination and end up with a different, or no label. With these things addressed, mine is a case where though I am still 'autistic', I am far less effected by what was termed my 'autism' than I was before these interventions.