[CitizenKane]

I'd like to add a little bit of water to this particular fire. I'm autistic and I've read numerous studies along this vein. In short, yes there's a strong link between gut flora and brain development however autism (and presumably ADHD) is a heterogeneous condition with a variety of interrelated causes.

Personally, I can say that this likely is a proximate cause for me as I got a bad staph infection at just a few months old and naturally I was treated by antibiotics. However, I also have quite a few genes that are associated with autism as well. So while there's an increasingly clear picture, I'd hesitate to say what exactly is and isn't a cause of being autistic.

[Aurornis]

> Personally, I can say that this likely is a proximate cause for me as I got a bad staph infection at just a few months old and naturally I was treated by antibiotics.

Being treated with antibiotics in infancy is extremely common.

It’s especially problematic right now in some countries where antibiotics are available over the counter, as it’s common practice in some groups to treat every childhood illness with antibiotics. The amount of antibiotic abuse happening in some countries right now is absolutely astounding.

Even in countries like the United States some parents will present to doctors and demand antibiotics for nearly every illness. The medical system here is, in general, better at withholding them from demanding parents when children show no cause for antibiotic use. It’s actually one of the bigger problems that pediatricians face with feedback and bad reviews, though that’s another story.

That said, I wouldn’t ascribe anything in particular to antibiotic use as a child. It’s rare to go through all of childhood without any exposure to antibiotics.