It also opens up the possibilty of exploitation. Families are desperate, vulnerable, hoping against hope. The promise of a quick cure belies the complexity of the mind-brain entity and of the subtle neuropathology of autism. That it gives them hope. However, this only serves to perpetuate denial and keep parents from coming to terms with the reality that there is no quick cure for autism.
Some parents react by distrusting medical science.
However, although any interaction is better than none at all, a family system can become unhinged by the daily stress. Other children in the family don't get the attention they need. At the present state of knowledge family resources should be focused on intensive behavior treatment for young children rather than wasted on unproven treatments . At the same time we have to be optimistic with families that some day the complexity of autism will be penetrated by advances in neuroscience.