Association of Maternal Use of Folic Acid and Multivitamin Supplements Before and During Pregnancy With the Risk of ASD in Offspring (2018)

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2667432

 

Is it just me who's a bit sceptical about this? There are a few things niggling me. One is that its an observational study, and there might be lots of factors that determine whether or not a mother will use folic acid. The second is that ASD is a low frequency occurrence, so very small variations in incidence can impact on association rates quite substantially.

My third niggle is with the deficit model of ASD. Sure, having moderate to severe ASD is not something anyone would wish for. But just because some types of variation are awful for the sufferers does not necessarily mean that something "went wrong" during gestation or afterwards. What if the ASD spectrum is something we all vary on, and its a matter of parents, genetics and luck where we all end up getting placed on it? There might not be any "bad" event or set of circumstances that makes one "susceptible".

I think a lot of people with mild ASD also find the deficit model offensive. They see themselves as different, but as having unique strengths. I think so too. Where would physics be if we eradicated all cases of mild ASD? We'd lose a lot of talent in that area, because I don't think the association between mild ASD and physics talent is coincidental. Some types of minds are just well suited to certain things.