<p>Many autistic children struggle with sleeplessness, exhaustion, anxiety, and sensory overload, and parents are often told it’s “just autism.” </p><p>But what if some of these struggles are actually signs of pain or immune stress that kids can’t explain?</p><p>In this episode, we explore what autism parents can learn from fibromyalgia research—and why those discoveries matter for children who can’t tell us when something hurts.</p><p>Our guest is Dr. Bruce S. Gillis, a Harvard-trained physician and medical researcher with more than 40 years of experience studying immune dysfunction, chronic pain, and fibromyalgia. </p><p>His work challenges the idea that these symptoms are purely behavioral and offers a biological framework that may help autism families better understand what their children are experiencing.</p><p>What you’ll learn </p><p>• Why pain in autistic children is often missed or misunderstood </p><p>• How fatigue, anxiety, and sensory overload can be signs of physical distress </p><p>• What fibromyalgia research reveals about whole-body conditions that affect the brain </p><p>• How immune system dysfunction can change sleep, energy, and regulation </p><p>• What parents can observe at home when a child can’t say “this hurts” </p><p>• Why understanding biology can reduce blame, guilt, and confusion</p><p>Chapters</p><p>00:00 – When behavior may actually be pain</p><p>04:30 – Sleeplessness, fatigue, and overload in autism</p><p>11:10 – What fibromyalgia research uncovered</p><p>19:40 – The immune system’s role in brain symptoms</p><p>28:20 – How parents can spot pain without words</p><p>36:10 – What this means for autism families</p><p>Resources </p><p>• Mendability: https://www.mendability.com </p><p>• Dr. Gillis’s work and the FM/a Test: https://www.fmtest.com</p>