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Is this a US stat because all the parents I know who have autistic kids are neither overweight or diabetic. None of them are remotely obese, and I know a large cohort who have children with an autism diagnosis.

Worst medical missinformation ever. This guy shouldn't be talking about stuff he doesn't really know anything about.

This guy is proof that even when experts don't quite know what the issue is they still claim to know

8:32 Oh? Do tell? Y'know? 30 years ago people were ignoring Autistic people. Laypeople didn't know what it was and neither did a lot (not all) of their doctors. In 2005, I asked a doctor about Autism and they handed me a print-out from WebMD. 😕 The "horrible" thing that happened was more people are gettin' to know themselves and finding out (mostly via their children) that they're Autistic. If you're not Autistic or AuDHD I don't wanna hear from you how horrible I, or anyone else is bc of the way our brains have developed.

I’m not buying the obesity autism link. I know too many couples obese with no autistic kids and thin couples with

I’m in a growing group of late diagnosed (46) autistic people. There were a lot more autistic children in the 1970-90s than was thought. A lot, if not all, of this ‘quadrupling’ is about improving diagnosis - and, there’s lots more where that came from. I’m increasingly meeting people in there 60s and 70s who are only now discovering they are autistic.

My son is on the spectrum and I have never been diabetic or fat in my life. My sister has children on the spectrum and she has never been diabetic or fat.My mother has never been fat or diabetic. None of the fathers were fat or diabetic. This theory does not hold any weight in my experience.

Autism diagnosis has increased over time because the definition has changed over time 40 years ago it only referred to 5 year olds who were non verbal , still in nappies and would likely always be ( childhood schizophrenia) Now it includes adults who work , are married and have families who self report ASD traits.

I’m 52 and just diagnosed with ADHD. My school reports were used as part of my diagnosis (to show incidence from childhood) and my teachers comments are basically textbook descriptions of how ADHD presents in girls. My brother was also recently diagnosed with ADHD. I’m certain my (deceased) mother had it, several of my 1st cousins have it, as do their children. We think at least two of my mother’s sisters have it, and one of my mother’s sisters thinks she is autistic, but at 85 there’s not much point in her getting diagnosed. My mother was not fat when she had me. My grandmother was never fat, I have some of her clothes and they are sized US 4/ UK 8. My great-great-grandfather was renowned for being very eccentric but a v successful entrepreneur and I wonder if he had ADHD. There’s definitely a genetic component to neuro-diversity.

Or where children taught to mask?

I am 48 and was only diagnosed with autism two years ago. There are so many of us with late diagnosis. I think all of what this guy is saying is crap. The reason the diagnosis have shot up is because there has been too many under diagnosed… my older son wasn’t diagnosed until he was 22. They didn’t know to diagnose him in 1998 when he was born. We weren’t diagnosing it before then.

Can you invite expert in the field for example Tony Attwood. That might be more valuable to expand your and your audience knowledge regarding neurodiversity and autism. I understand it might be harder to create catchy title but worth a try!!

Correlation is not causality. Do you know what masking is Dr CP?

If you talk to teachers who teach for decades you may also hear demands children meet at school in kindergarten are higher and higher. When I was a kid in 70s, we were starting the school when we were 7 and we started to learn to read and write. When we were 5 we still had maps after lunch. Some kids were learning some basics in preschool but that wasn’t obligatory. And yet somehow all of us learned how to write and read just fine. When my children went to school almost 20 years ago, they were 5 when they started (which means some of them were barely over 4 while some were almost 6 - that’s a huge difference among peers at this age) and they were mostly drawing patterns with shapes and colors and starting to learn letters. When my youngest went to school a few years ago, withing first 3 days of kindergarten he was supposed to write words like „squirrel” for homework, it was assumed they all already learned to read and write in VPK or other head start programs. And his teacher happened to teach for decades and she was like „the curriculum changes to the point it is crazy, 15 years ago we actually had a nap time for kindergarten in the middle of the day and they were playing a lot, not so much now”. I am not saying school is the only reason, but as a scientist dr Palmer surely knows he can’t compare two groups with too many variables and draw legit conclusions.

I keep replaying, in my head, a quote I heard a while back, "The best gift any Parent can give their child is their own Health and Well-being." And this conversation elevates that to a whole new level.

Please document sources. Thank you.

Isn't the reason why autism quadroupling over the years because people are more knowledgeable about the symptoms and therefore parents more likely to seek help from professionals to get a diagnosis?

Will you have another expert on to discuss autism and other neurodivergent conditions? A more well rounded discussion with accredited data would be welcome! I was very interesting to watch this episode but listening to this medical professional is slightly horrifying, not for the information he is trying to scare into the general population, but I find his portrayal of autism and associated data (I'd like full citations) as scaremongering. I'm afraid this episode I fear just cements autism in many people's as something to be 'cured' or let's find the blame for 'all this autism'. I'm not saying there aren't challenges as a child or adult with autism or for parents. We know this first hand and live it every day. My child is a STUNNING human being, joyful, kind, creative, intelligent and sociable and they also experience many challenges. I would not change who they are for the world. That's my opinion of them and I hope they grow up loving who they are and we will do everything in our power to support them in life. Presenting autism as an illness or a disease (or dare I say, disorder) that 'needs fixing' is othering and dehumanising. So much information from this 'expert' lacks a wide range of peer reviewed data. Autism is not a mental health condition. It is a developmental condition. "At least TRY things other than pills", yeah, like parents of autistic children have never tried ANYTHING other than pills. Riiiight. Like they haven't tried EVERY DAMN THING to help their child before reaching out for medical help. In the UK, medication to help sleep is not available to children FOR MANY YEARS, until they reach the end stage of the Umbrella Pathway, where diagnosis (or not) is officially given by a Paedriatrician. Prior to that are several years of observational assessments through schools, before the local autism team have to apply to the Umbrella Pathway. At that point the wait is 18 month to 2 years to see Paediatrics. Only at that point is medication even discussed! you can't buy melatonin over the counter in the UK. Late diagnosed adults who are autistic, dyslexic, dyspraxic or have ADHD will tell you that they were most certainly missed. All neurodivergent individuals are NOT the same. Not all meltdown! Some retreat into themselves (ever heard of an autistic shutdown?). I won't dismiss out of hand the dietary suggestions, it seems an interesting avenue to explore with helping with behaviour, for many individuals, but I want to see some peer reviewed data and more than one journal article.

Okay. I'm starting to see this dude interviews A LOT OF QUACKS. BE mindful of who/ where you're getting information.

What’s this guy selling? He’s been on many major podcasts all of a sudden and that’s usually a press tour. He’s giving decent advice with the diet and sleep and physical activity, but nothing we have not heard before. Now, I reckon he’s never had a neurodivergent kid with actual sleep issues- for most “try everything else” usually doesn’t work. And by the time you try everything else (suppose the kid doesn’t have other diagnostics)- you’ve got yourself a burnout kid with high chances for anxiety and depression. Sleep is essential, and in some situations it does not matter if melatonin is involved. The correlation between a better perceived life quality and healthy living might be legit, but God, please do not suggest diet or exercise can “cure” autism or improve executive functioning to the point of non-diagnostic 🥴 It can, at best, minimize the effects of the correlated mental disorders that arise in close relation to autism/adhd and sometimes as a direct consequence of the ignorant society we’ve built. And parental obesity does not “cause” autism or adhd- I’d be shocked if there’s even a statistically significant correlation - because they’re both genetic and an evolutionary adaptation of some sort (at least theoretically for adhd). Now, if the parent has adhd and impulse issues, yes, they might be overweight. But it’s the genetic material that makes their kid have adhd, not the Snickers. Malnutrition during pregnancy is a different piece of cake (see what I did there?). All in all he oversimplified the matters and offers this amazingly simple “Aha” theory as any good salesman. It’s a good trick, but not for those who have any minimal knowledge and/or experience with neurodivergence.

I would like it to be this simple bet None of my family are over weight let alone obese. Yet most of us have autism and ADHD. My exhusbands mum is tiny and he has aspergers. There is no diabetes in either family.

I started the keto diet after reading Christopher's book and a couple of different testimonials and interviews, and the results have been impressive. My depression, which I had tried to resolve with medications without any success, disappeared completely, I hardly recognize myself. My problem with bleeding gums that I had for almost 30 years disappeared almost immediately. My day lasts at least 3 hours more (yes, 3 hours) because I stopped being absurdly tired. I was diagnosed with Asperger's and many of the symptoms have disappeared, I now look into people's eyes, enjoy company, etc. I used to have constant headaches in the afternoons and they disappeared. I am in the best shape of my life. This changes lives, ignore the comments others make and try it for yourselves.

Because more people are learning about it. It’s being demystified and being more normalised. So a lot of people are realising they may or may not be ADHD/ASD

My sister has an autistic child. She and her husband are not fat in any way. I'm autistic, and neither of my parents are obese

I think we’re diagnosing things more these days. My mates 6 year old was diagnosed, and during that process, he himself was diagnosed at 38… when my mate was young he was just considered quiet and good at maths

Our child was diagnosed Asperger when he was 5 years old with the brain always active => difficulty to fall asleep. We decided to give him Melatonine every evening => focus on the sleep. Today he is 14 years old with incredible progresses: a lot of people don’t believe us when we say he has autism. We are convinced that sleep is crucial.

Where is your sense of values and kindness? Really disappointed as an autistic person to see see you spread this misinformation and make our lives even more difficult. Why don't you talk to an autistic person if you want to know about it?

With the speed that guy talks he could do excellent work at helping people fall asleep while waiting for for him to finish the sentence.

My grandson has adhd and autism. Neither of his parents is obese nor diabetic. I think this is a fallacy, and it is no surprise to me (from UK) that this comes from USA. No offence intended, but the connection is obvious to me.

Autism wasn’t defined in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) til 1980. The definition was expanded greatly in 1987 and 1994. The definition was collapsed slightly in 2013 in DSM-5, however, it allows for multiple diagnosis e.g., ADHD and autism. Whereas DSM-4 and prior allowed only diagnosis of autism or ADHD. As new, broader definitions were released they were not retroactively applied. Further, awareness, availability of specialized services, and policy changes (e.g., American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation for autism screenings for all children starting in 2006) have all positively contributed to autism diagnosis. The contribution of social factors such as older parents undoubtedly has an impact. For example, DNA fragmentation in the ‘swimmers’ of older men. In re the last statement of anecdotally asking teachers about their experience with children, think about how parenting (e.g., discipline) has significantly changed in 40 years, including the significant increase in single parents and family breakdown. For example, was talking to a friend the other day whose kid is in class with another child that acts like a cat and meows and purrs through class. And all the kids have to support this behavior. It wasn’t long ago that neither the parents, schools nor other children would have tolerated such behavior.

Important to consider individual circumstances.

And what about heavy metals and toxic overload? Amalgam dental fillings have given generations of people chronic mercury toxicity. A mother passes it on to her fetus if she has them or has been exposed while pregnant. (Not to mention higher suicide rates among dentists.) Very prevalant in the western world. When exposed that way, it's impossible to detect it from a test. Learned a lot from Dr. Andy Cutler about how heavy metals hide in the brain.

I appreciate the shorter version video! I love the content you put out, but I often find it difficult to find the time to watch (or listen) through an entire episode.

Rubbish! The only reason more kids are being diagnosed is because there’s more awareness.

The way I see it there’s a lot of people in our parents generation that are not diagnosed, my brothers diagnosed Autistic, now I see the signs of men in my family being undiagnosed autistic… it’s not on the rise at all we just have more knowledge of it now and people are seeking a diagnosis.

The main problem I have with this is that he is labeling autism and ADHD as a mental health problem, and not a genetic or developmental problem. These conditions can be seen on brain scans and can be diagnosed using genetic testing. I agree and it has been proven that diet can help mitigate some of the symptoms, it by no means cures it. Could mitochondrial health be a piece of the puzzle? Sure, but it's more likely that the diagnostics for these conditions are better, the conditions are better understood, and girls are now being included in more diagnosis. As for the severity of the condition, it might be due to environmental factors as he suggests, as the gene is passed down and is expressed more due to both parents carrying the genes and /or a more toxic load from both parents.

I’m AuDHD and supplements for deficiencies have helped greatly. Detoxing the heavy metals from 20+ years of smoking that cause mitochondrial dysfunction has made the biggest difference

Thank you for a short video!!! I can’t deal with your 2 hour videos!

It's alarming that most people in this forum are not using common sense and statistics he is not saying every obese person has an autistic child he is saying an obese person is more likely to have an autistic child that does not mean that all autistic children are the children of obese parents it just means you have increased the risk this is clearly an epidemic and illness associated with multiple factors of which obesity and diabetes would appear to be a significant one whatever the others are still warrants investigation that to dismiss obesity and diabetes as a risk factor would be Reckless if you are considering having a child

Diagnosis is complex but awareness helps.

30 years ago kids were not screaming and melting down - toddler tantrums were dealt with then, not handed off to the schools to deal with - we didn’t have tech, our kids had routines set to ensure they were fed home cooked meals, homework done, activities played(yes fresh air and interaction with other neighbourhood kids) as well as bath and bedtime routines adhered to - we seemed to turn out okay - diligent, reliable hardworking and not witchy because we were fed, exercised and had proper sleep

Totally disagree. I look back at my husband family side and him..all undiagnosed ..I didn’t know what it was..l just accepted him . When we had our son and had delayed speech I got help and learnt so much…I didn’t even know what autism was but it explained all my husband and his male side traits . Their mothers were all slender . The reason it’s probably increased in last 20 years is the easy access to information on internet where people go and check it out first then badger the DRs to take notice ..and even then for some it was a struggle to get help . My son went to special needs school and I knew the mothers..no one mentioned diabetes and they were all slender. But will say most of the dads had autism on the spectrum.

It was never around in schools in the 1970's.

Sometimes doctors like to put the onus on the individual for being overweight or obese. What they don't tell us is that since the 1970s, fast food and drink companies have found ways to add more fat, sugar, and salt to our food, and they do so surreptitiously. Of course, the broccoli I ate are safe. But a lot of normal food and drink can have extra fat and sugar. For example, cola is laced with high fructose corn syrup. 🌽 This is much sweeter than sugar. A lot of fast food contains corn syrup and hidden fat. Why did the food companies put it there? Well, they found that these ingredients are addictive. The result is that people buy more products making the companies richer. Meanwhile, consumers have medical problems coming up. These problems are not necessarily the patients' fault. My other problem with this video is that a doctor may come up with some theory that seems to fit the facts. We see two phenomena, and they seem to be linked. But in science, you need to find evidence of a link. You need proof. Your theories must be peer-reviewed and independently verified. I don't know that that is happening here.

I am 54 years old, and was only diagnosed late last year. From my own experience, it was NOT picked up in schooling, and now there is an explosion of awareness about it. This doctor seems to conflate the explosion of awareness of it, with an explosion of occurrence of it. If so many undiagnosed people are out there, the occurrence of it was more gradual and less explosive. So this would seem to indicate that this dietary and environmental event that is the causal factor in Mitochondrial disease was started in the First World War era, if this is genetically running in families. So, yes, dietary and environmental factors should be adjusted, and research needs to be done, but there is a lot more convincing cases put forward by other experts that are at odds, one example; Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen.

Surely the rates of diagnosis in autism is due to more clarify around diagnosis and more awareness. Lots of adults are being diagnosed now who were always autistic but people didn’t realise this was what their differences were when they were liked. Lots more women are now being diagnosed now we are aware they present differently. It’s a neurological condition, and runs in families lots of kids who get diagnosed have undiagnosed parents who are then seeking diagnosis. There is no evidence as far as I am aware and I work with autistic adults that diet or obesity causes this.

Over diagnosis could be a factor too! I know a parent who took her children to see neurologist for the most minor misbehavior at home (i.e. kids being kids) e.g. don't want to get out of bed in the morning. The doctor was more than happy to give them an ADHD diagnosis even though both children passed the test. Of course, the ADHD medicine doesn't work, so the parent is pushing for higher dosage. Nowadays, doctors practice medicine for parents.

I’ve known 2 sets of parents that had a clinical autism diagnoses of their child when they were either a baby or very young child and were able to turn it around with diet. No wheat, gluten, dairy or casein. One child diagnosed as a baby/toddler completely turned around. The other is mostly a well. Yeast overgrowth was an issue for 1. Both formula fed, both had obese fathers. Just stating the facts. All I can say for sure is that they are both living mostly normal lives and somehow it seems that food intolerance plays an important role in health, which brings us back to mitochondrial health. Food should be looked at as medicine.

I’ll tell you this: 1. There is such a thing as skinny fat. You can be thin and eating a horrible diet and your mitochondria is also horrible and affecting your health negatively and you’re passing that on. 2. I have ADHD (recently diagnosed because prior to menopause I was able to mask it), my mother struggled with her weight throughout her life. My son has ADHD, and I’ve also struggled with my weight since puberty. 3. My cousin was seriously hyperactive when he was younger and my aunt went to a doctor who narrowed down the causes to what he was eating. She said by cutting out most of the processed foods in his diet they were able to avoid putting him on medication. Yes, we are American and maybe there’s other factors that cause obesity here rather than in places like the UK, but I’ll tell you, you’re not exempt and look at the rate by which obesity is becoming a problem there. We have to get SMARTER about processed foods and quit them post haste. Currently, I’ve been exercising and eating a balanced diet of whole foods, cut out the junk almost completely and I finally feel like my mind is starting to unfog. I’m 80lbs down from my heaviest recorded weight and I’m still losing. Apart from the aches and pains of exercise, I’ve never felt better in years. Steven, Huel… re-thinking that sponsorship? I know, I know, it’s HEALTHY processed food… but is it? 🤔 Not trying to stir up ish with your business but I think maybe looking for more of a whole food type thing that’s quick and simple would be better, no? And no I don’t belong to a company that does that. I’m just a retired by menopause, fighting for a better life woman ✌🏼

My grandson lives with high functioning Autism. Neither my daughter, his mum, nor his dad is overweight or diabetic. My daughters father remarried and has a son with autism. His family are fitness fanatics. Autism can be helped by removing both gluten and dairy (casein, the protein) from the diet. I can factually state that this helped my grandson, who is now 16yrs old. He has better clarity and focus. There's a great book called Diet Intervention and Autism, I think 🤔. By Marilyn Le Bretton. It's at least 14 yr since I read it. Absolutely fascinating

Please please listen if you think your child has autism get early intervention now don’t wait. It’s really important to have this early intervention before the age of six because by that point the brain is 90% developed don’t let doctors and family and friends tell you you’re crazy. You’re not trust your instincts. If you can’t get early intervention where you are move to a different state, New York State is the best I’m just telling you this because I have a niece who was diagnosed with autism who got early intervention. Her mom never gave up and my niece is now graduating with 21 AP credits, a class rank of 3 and got into many top colleges- MIT is her dream

He tries to argue that school teachers would always have recognized autism, which is absolutely not true. No-one in either my childhood, or my son's childhood (in his early 40s) was ever diagnosed with autism, and yet there were definitely some there, myself included, who were autistic. And the dramatic symptoms he describes aren't always present in autistic children. It can be particularly difficult to recognize in girls who don't present with the traditionally male-focused signs of autism, and so it was missed. This is only just being recognized now, which can account for at least a significant proportion of the increase in diagnosed autism. And he's making his stats up as he goes along - there's no reliable evidence to link autism to diet or obesity at present, other than correlation - ie, if you're autistic, you're more likely to suffer from eating disorders and gastro intestinal issues. Pretty astonished he's a Harvard Psychiatrist given the guff he's spouting.

Dude- maybe the rate of diagnosis has quadrupled- there are many kids that are labelled as autistic that in the past would have just been quirky… the diagnostic criteria have changed. I think you need to address this

Had my son post covid, recently diagnosed with autism- i was considered obese while pregnant and had gestational diabetes. While i no longer am considered diabetic i do have insulin resistance. For me this is accurate.

I did realize certains foods caused behavioral changes in my child. Dye 40... Mac and cheese and she has never been chubby due to the energy level she has. She's very thin but food is a trigger.

I agree. You can manage some symptoms and make them better with certain diets. I discovered that when I was on the AIP diet for my psoriasis but all my ADHD symptoms improved tremendously. Unfortunately, I was not able to sustain that diet as it was brutal and all my symptoms came back with a bang once I started eating everything again. However, I do believe a lot of people were undiagnosed 30 and 40 years ago, simply because kids were terrified of their peers. Parents used to hit children. Something that is now longer allowed. Keep in mind that kids with ADHD or autism were considered as no good back then. They may not have the same tantrums as today, simply because they were afraid of their peers as opposed to children these days who are not afraid of teachers or parents. I do agree that adding screens and processed food to the equation made things worse, but claiming that we didn't have it back then is completely bogus.

Stephen is a class interviewer. He lets the interviewee speak.

Does anyone know if autophagy stops when you begin eating again or how does this work? There's potential for some serious repair work to be carried out by the sounds of it. Could it repair sensory and nerve problems?

Awesome thank you doctor.

What no one explains (except for Dr Paul Clayton) is that it’s to do with the omega 6 to omega 3 ratio in our cell membranes that causes inflammation which in turn causes all these conditions and chronic illness and yes, that can be passed from the mother to child. We now all eat way more omega 6 than we used to (vegetable fats that are in everything) and nowhere near enough omega 3 ( wild caught oily fish) and it causes our cell membranes to go out of ratio. In the Victorian era for example, we ate so differently and these conditions did not exist. Then processed foods became available and everything changed. Check out the medical studies about “the importance of a balanced Omega 6 to omega 3 ratio” and take a look at Dr Paul Clayton’s website or book “let your food be your pharmaco nutrition”. Stephen you should invite Paul on your show!

Autism is either... A gentic difference as old as humanity & we as a species are better at recognising it, supporting it, excepting it these days. Or It's down to processed food manufacturing over the last 60 odd years. Ftr, for me spectrum is vast & we all sit on it & have traits. Now wether that is nature(natural genetics) or mistaken nurture(types of food manufacturing over X amount of decade's) I don't know.

How about consulting some actually autistic experts? Some of us have both the qualifications and the lived experience. Oh, and slender parents. In my opinion, the causation (if such there be) goes in the other direction. Most autists have co-occurring conditions which are more likely to lead to obesity such as ME, fibromyalgia, depression and - above all - poverty. And autism is highly heritable. So it's not obesity therefore autism but autism therefore greater likelihood of obesity, not because of autism itself but because of the circumstances. The golden equation: autism + environment = outcome.

Gut biome research is proving interesting with regards to autism and ADHD. My daughter was falsely diagnosed ADHD but after taking wheat out and focusing on whole foods less grains, she was a lot better. Turns out she has a gluten sensitivity and 1 celiac gene. My husband has 2 celiac genes and same lifestyle change cured his GI issues. My daughter is a very studious organized young lady. She does have focus issues sometimes and some genetic variants that need support but she is not ADHD.

Makes so much sense now.

I don’t think obese parents are the leading cause of autism. This statement will only cause more depression. I do think gut health plays a roll but not the cause. I think generics are a large aspect of it. Wouldn’t we all love to have a definitive answer. I am neurodivergent, my parents are and so are my children. My parents are physically healthy. I found this interview hard to listen to as a divergent, his tone and pace got to me I had to stop watching but then seen this clip and it caught my attention. We all know less screen time, more exercise, wholesome foods are important nothing groundbreaking here. A lot of great questions asked but this man upsets me more than inspiring me.

It feels like what you’re saying is correct are there scientific studies to back it up?

Not having this at all. I'm a 57 yearold autistic spectrum guy - both my parents were lean & both are still healthy in their 80s. I wasn't diagnosed as a child because autistic spectrum wasn't a thing. Autistic kids were the profoundly impaired kids who were special needs. Now, every geeky kid & introverted sci-fi fan gets diagnosed. I did an Astrophysics degree in the mid 80s, and probably two thirds of the people on that course would get an ASD diagnosis today.

He talks about obesity rather than diet. I’m 72 and as a child did not get fruit juices, fizzy drinks, fruit, sweets or processed foods. I now see the amount of these items consumed in a day by children and I cringe. Yes I included fruit because fructose is worse than sugar.

There are so many mental illness types today until I don't even attempt to learn what they are. There's damn near a "Trend" to be diagnosed with something and going to see a Therapist. If you really have some sort of Mental illness than by all means, go seek help. But a lot of people are just faking it for Clout. This is interfering with the help that some people desperately need.

This Dr communicates well and is very convincing. I don't have an opinion on what causes autism and he is the first voice in a long time that made a case for a cause that was easy to understand and didn't seem to have an agenda.

Thank you.

interesting links, but there could be many confounding variables. the linking could just be a wide net. really not clear what is happening.

i see a correlation between marijuana and autistic kids, not obesity

Question: does gestational diabetes also count towards increasing the chances of an autistic child? I know it's hormonally driven, but if that does contribute - it might explain a lot.

Should be more focused on the increased cases of brain worms as we can clearly see with Chris Palmer.

Steven, This Chris bloke doesn’t seem to have a very good understanding about autism and adhd 🤦‍♂️ it’s way more complicated than he makes out. Again like many others, not history of obesity or diabetes in my family but about 50 percent of us diagnosed with one or the other. Very intelligent and health conscious individuals. Yes I agree that our environment can play a part, absolutely the toxins in our modern day diet contribute. However, to say that you can just solve all this with dietary adaptations and “wind down time” is utter bollocks. Babysit my kids for a week and then tell me you still have the same mindset, these neurodivergent conditions are complex and require certain stimuli in order for the individual to participate in modern society. And yes, many years ago when we had less external forces battling for our attention, cleaner environments and foods, some of these theories may have helped, being in nature, experiencing stillness, saltwater exposure etc and I believe they play an important part!. But our world has changed and our kids that posses these conditions need to use the tools they have in order for their brains to cope. Society, government, world powers have all failed us, but we are where we are! The most important thing is to show love and compassion and understanding, try to adopt a clean lifestyle and realise that happiness is so much more important than solving the world problems that in reality have become far too big and beyond the general population to solve. These conditions can actually be used to our advantage as long as they are channeled in the right direction. End note - the majority of people considered genius have or had some form of neurodivergence. These are conditions that have been with us since the start and so, where would we be if we didn’t have them? Probably still 200 years behind.

As a parent of an autistic adult, it disturbs me to see a mental health professional, especially a medical doctor, lump autism in with mental illness. This promotes and dangerous stereotype for my son as he tries to navigate in this world. Also, we were two slender parents, both with some autistic tendencies (none of his early childhood behaviors seemed strange to us, though they did to other people). There is still some genetic component to it

I think it's the lack of nurturing from the mother. moms work dads work the baby doesn't get love

We want to see the stats?!!this seems far fetched.

He didn't mention a newborn's exposure to heavy metals like aluminium and mercury.

beautiful ableist and mysogyni

The worst part, is how in a group of 10 medical professionals, you can't get a confirmation of this... because at least two of them will say ADHD is now "on the spectrum" and no longer a separate diagnosis.

Correlation does not equal causation. I am aware of people in their 70s who are very likely autistic, but were of a time when the definition was narrows and limited to males with very specific behaviours. Autism being thought of as a "problem in our cells" also makes me feel uncomfortable

It hasn't quadrupled, diagnosis has.🙄 I am 17 and was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 7 and ASD when I was 8. At that time the general consensus was still that it was much more prevalent in boys. (newsflash, girls just present differently). No one knew much about it and quite frankly it was a taboo subject. If my mum said to anyone about my autism she would have to explain that I didn't have learning disabilities. She used to worry I would never have a relationship etc. because that is what she had been told about autistic people: lack empathy, devoid of humour. This isn't true, empathy and humour are there, I just show it differently. Related to autism, I have suffered terribly with anxiety my whole life. Everyone around me is on a similar diet, yet they aren't all autistic😱. Honestly I think it is a mixture of genetics and environmental factors. By environmental factors, I don't mean 'scary chemicals in food' I mean things such as being born prematurely, older parents, illness as a baby e.g. I had a horrible infection when I was born. Me and my younger brother are autistic. My four older brothers and older sister aren't. This man would probably say look! see it is quadrupling! However anyone with sense can see that, even discounting the effects of my father's genetics, the older my mum got the more complications she had in pregnancy and birth. My mum was 38 when she had me and 42! when she had my younger brother. My dad, the youngest child out of his siblings I also suspect autistic. Also we can keep VERY premature babies alive now, where they would have certainly died in the past. There is also an upswing in waiting until you're positively geriatric before having children (why do you think autism is more prevalent amongst the middle class?). All this being said, you could be young parents, have a baby that isn't premature and they might still be autistic. It is not caused by one factor alone. There is however a huge genetic component. To conclude, I am not autistic because of carbohydrates. I'm autistic because my dad is and also because my brain developed a bit dodgily. More autism awareness is nothing but a good thing. If you think you do not want your child to be 'labelled' as many say, okay fair enough but they WILL realise they are different from others, and when they get bullied for being 'strange' this may well translate to 'I'm wrong and bad'. Obviously there are exceptions, but through experience I realised this: Not everyone who gets bullied is autistic but everyone who is autistic gets bullied. This was before my diagnosis, I didn't know what autism was, let alone my peers, but they picked up something was 'off' about me and so I was effectively ostracised from around age 5 or 6. That kind of thing gets to you eventually. Suicide rates are almost exponentially higher in autistic people than their peers, especially if they don't also have learning disabilities (they occur together relatively often but it isn't a symptom of autism) and even more especially in women. This is not only because the suicide rate is already higher for men than women so there is less of a gap between peers, but also because currently they tend to be diagnosed later, if at all. That leads to constantly and consistently failing to be 'normal', or fit in. Also, personally, autism seems to give me a propensity for mental illness. I am in a mental hospital as I type this. The psychiatrist basically put it down to autism. This was even more disheartening, as I can never get rid of that. TL;DR - you can wave your PHD at me all you like, I'll never believe my mum and dad eating bread is why I'm autistic.

You are sooo right

Society these days is more about putting people in a box, which in turn separates , rather than dealing with the root causing and healing individuals . Just saying ,🤷

What about the boundaries and discipline issue? There was a serious study published last year that showed a behavioural intervention for children (babies really) showing early signs of autistic were NOT autistic some years later following this early behavioural intervention. That doesn't disprove a nutritional / mitochondrial / infection component. But it does point to the important of knowing how to handle a child with a particular temperament. Get it right, they may never need that ASD label.

Could it be caused by: sugar? tap water? vaccines? fluoride? air pollution?

There are quite a lot of autistic children whose parents are not obese and/or diabetic.

After watching the video I think the bigger the guests would not be a good idea because it will promote an increase in autism.

What does he mean "we're going to see 'worse' statistics"? Neurodivergency is da bomb. Lets shake this place up, yeah? 🌍💗✨

I have worked for fifteen years with Autistic people, when I look at the parents there is no one obese and no one that I know has diabetes so two minutes into your podcast sorry your expert is fat shaming… couldn’t listen..sorry Steven I love your show usually.

I find it upsetting, (I’m unsure what word to use, but I’ll go with “upsetting” because I feel upset after watching this) to hear him say that teachers have supposedly always been aware and have taken notice of neurodevelopmental, neurodivergent, and mental disorders. I mean, sure, some teachers may have had the knowledge, understanding and experience of such disorders 20-30 years ago, but I would highly doubt that those teachers would’ve equated to a substantial percentage of all teachers at the time. My school years were from 1985-1997, so I completed year 12, almost 27 years ago, and not one teacher throughout the entire 13 years of schooling ever even suggested to my parents or anyone else for that matter that I may have had some kind of neurological/mental disorder. These were reasonably small Primary and High schools in a regional country town, with ample fully qualified teachers, Principals, deputy principals and school counsellor/chaplain. Only one Primary & High School in a very close tight knit community, where everybody knows each other. Never once were any of my mental/neurodivergent disorders acknowledged or addressed by anyone. My mother was a Primary Teacher for 40+ years and she has certainly noticed many changes amongst the children over that time, but also openly admits that she never used to have much knowledge about those disorders, nor an understanding of them or any idea how to recognise or deal with them. She also never recognised anything out of the ordinary with me. I only began to be diagnosed from the age of 20 onwards, after finally attempting to seek help on my own, by going to various doctors and psychiatrists/psychologists. And I am just one tiny example of so so many other people out there who struggled throughout their entire school years and beyond, not knowing what the hell was wrong with them. I’m not saying that some of these disorders such as Autism, ADHD, etc are not on the rise. They very well may be and I honestly haven’t looked into any stats on that. But to say that teachers etc have always been aware and understood these disorders is a very ignorant and quite frankly untrue statement. Don’t make the thousands/millions? of missed (not only misdiagnosed but missed completely!) people out there feel invisible once again, just like they did for their entire childhood and beyond. What a kick in the guts.

Oh boy! This guys got it all figured out doesn’t he? 🙄 This guys sourceless arguments don’t sway me at all. Pretty sure he’s the one with his head buried in sand.

At school in Birmingham in the 70’s and ‘80’s. A few kids were labelled ‘dunces or nutters’. This category of kid populated the so called ‘Remedial class’ In adulthood, I have discovered that a good portion of these kids were autistic, accounting for “The dunces’’.There was probably also a small portion of autistic and ADHD kids, accounting for . “The nutters”. The roll of the school was to contain these kids, at least the ones that were not permanently truant, until they left school with no qualifications. We do seem to have a scientific label for everything these days. But from memory there was no general awareness of dyslexia, autism or ADHD during my time in school. The statistics do show a massive difference but my guess would be far better recording these days. And also the inclusion into the data of those with very minor traits.

This does tie up with my own personal theory. As somebody who has recovered from ME/CFS (a mitochondrial function issue) and has two kids on different degrees of the spectrum AND while not overweight have to put A LOT of effort in not to be historically. It's interesting that some of the most prominent aids are things like methylated b12 that aid the mitochondrial function, methylene blue too etc. Both seem to hugely help chronic fatigue and ASD symptoms. A super clean diet also really helps. Though hands up it's next to impossible to get a kid with ASD not to eat beige! I personally suspect people are generically susceptible to something in the environment (food supply). Best I have ever felt in my life was living off pure grass fed steak. Super elimination diet.

Older parents may also be a cause. Whether people like it or not, the optimal time to have kids is in your twenties. Young parents can still have an autistic child but it’s way more likely to happen if one or both parents are older. The likelihood of your child not being healthy increases massively with every decade a female ages up to menopause and even more so for every decade a man ages.

From the comments below, it seems like autism may be multifactorial and people are different. What a shocker!

The 30 years ago argument is quite anecdotal.. he should bring out some numbers to say 30 years ago these people would be classed as autistic... today ... that level of autism has increased/decreased/remained the same... BUT we've started identifying milder levels of autism that account for the increase. That would give it a more definite answer.