It's not a syndrome. It's a SPECTRUM and there are many factors which affect the severity. On an ASD forum, there seems to me to be much more likeness of peoples experiences of the condition than is found in syndromes like CFS though of course there are also comorbid conditions like ADHD and it seems to me, that many who have been given medications starting at an early age for anxiety and depression for example, often due to misdiagnosis, come off the worse later on in deterioration in brain function because an ASD brain is more sensitive to becoming more damaged due to the neurological problems which are at the basis of the condition.
I believe that the lack of medications during my lifetime has saved my brain. When l was a child and into adolescence, l sufferered many headaches, and my mother would become very annoyed with me that l would refuse pain killers saying 'if l have to depend on pain killers now at my age, what will l be like when l get old?' which was a remarkable insight l think due to the amount of pain l now have constantly though due to Lyme.
I think that MTHFR and the other genes involved are switched on before birth in some due to mercury crossing the placental barrier, but for many l believe that vaccinations containing mercury or aluminium do it. That many parents cannot be wrong who say their child changed overnight after a shot and one of my own had a severe reaction to the first vaccination at 4 months so l never allowed any more.
I don't accept the studies that have supposed to disprove the vaccinination theory. In my case l think my MTHFR was switched on with mercury in 'teething powders' taken off the market in the early 50's.
Many do not get a diagnosis till later life or had a misdiagnosis but l am sure that the increase of cases is due to the increase of toxins in the environment switching on the genes. Scicily has the highest rate of the MTHFR in the population, but also lower rates of ASD due it is believed to the more natural environment there.
One of the things which makes ASD worse is for the child to not receive the help and support it needs to buffer the ostracism it receives from people with normal neurology. The addition of all of this emotional baggage, adds to the stress levels and to the nutritional status of the developing brain. Children who are fortunate to have supportive backgrounds and particularly with mothers who use nutritional intervention and gluten and dairy free diets, do very well and even see a repair to the gene expressions.
I am quite happy to have ASD though working to repair the emotional damage done by others and my own ignorance is taking some time, due to the different way the brain develops. Unhindered by the perceived need to comply with social clues in making friends and pleasing others, due to the neurological damage, the person develops intense interest which provide a lifetime source of joy and l feel, experience life much more intensely if the stimulation can be kept under control with nutritional support and environmental all control.
The world would not be as it is without people with ASD like Bill Gates and Einstein. The early brain in ASD develops many more connections than the normal one, and if only these kids were treated carefully, and allowed to flourish, without the alienation they suffer from those who do not tolerate differences in neurological development, ie normal people, we would see a brand new world.