AUTISM AFFECTS people’s social behaviour and communication, and may impair their ability to learn things. All this is well known. Less familiar to most, though, are the gastrointestinal problems associated with the condition. The intestines of children with autism often harbour bacteria different from those in the guts of the neurotypical. As a consequence, such people are more than three times as likely as others are to develop serious alimentary-canal disorders at some point in their lives.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Gut feelings”
From the December 8th 2018 edition
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