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https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12267795
Danielle Rizzo's son is screaming. He is planted in the middle of the lobby of his elementary school, clinging to rainbow-coloured blocks as she gently explains that she is here - off schedule, in the middle of the day - to take him to a doctor's appointment. But the first-grader is not listening.
"Happy Meal," he repeats over and over again. "Happy Meal!"
His little brother, who is also going to the appointment, is nearby, not moving. Rizzo is relieved that the two of them are not melting down at the same time, which happens all too often, and firmly guides them out the door.
Rizzo's children, ages 7 and 6, were at the center of one of the most ethically complex legal cases in the modern-day fertility industry. Three years ago, while researching treatment options for her sons, Rizzo says she made an extraordinary discovery: The boys are part of an autism cluster involving at least a dozen children scattered across the United States, Canada and Europe, all conceived with sperm from the same donor. Many of the children have secondary diagnoses of ADHD, dyslexia, mood disorders, epilepsy and other developmental and learning disabilities.
The phenomenon is believed to be unprecedented and has attracted the attention of some of the world's foremost experts in the genetics of autism, who have been gathering blood and spit samples from the families.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by deimtee on Tuesday September 17 2019, @04:44AM
I think they might locate one of the causes, but I don't think there can be an 'instant cure'. Even if it has a genetic basis I think it is a developmental problem in the brain and any cure would be altering someone into being a new individual.
If you do it slowly and can watch the change most people would be ok with that, people change over time anyway, but even so the non-autistic result would be a different identity.
If course it is not binary. The difference in identity would be proportional to the original problem. Cure mild ADHD and everybody will say it's the same person. Cure really severe autism and you have pretty much created a new person.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.