What most forget about autism.

Have you ever met an autistic WITHOUT stomach issues?

Because autism affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave, we tend to isolate it as a “differences in brain wiring,” since  our brains are the control cente of behavior and personality,

“If you’ve met one autistic, you’ve met one autistic,” is often used to illustrate the uniqueness of  each autistic individual.

However, autism is more than a diffrence in brain wiring, It is a whole body disorder.  For example, Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms such as abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhea is very common in autism.  Our brains are unique; the way our digestive system functions is not.

Industrial chemicals (Gorini et al., 2014) commonly found in our environment, contribute to symptom severity, which accounts for the persistence persistence of GI symptoms across the lifespan.  Furthermore, common medications used to treat depression in autism exacerbate G.I. distress.  Some of the most common side effects of SSRI’s include: Side effects include:

• Dry Mouth

• Constipation

• Diarrhea

• Malaise or fatigue

• Weight gain

SSRI’s alter gut microbiome and contribute to gut permeability (Eyzaguirre-Velásquez et al. 2021), which contributes to the body’s stress response. Psilocybin mushrooms offer us a unique opportunity to address gut problems that are a feature of autism in addition from chronic SSRI use in autistic adults.

I have been antidepressant free since 2018, so I know it can be done.

-Georgina Bailey