I must apologise deeply then for my badly worded post. I...

I must apologise deeply then for my badly worded post. I absolutely never intended for a moment to imply that the autism spectrum is imaginary. I know from personal experience how challenging life can be on the spectrum. I am sorry that I have offended anybody.

But blinding is essential nevertheless for a successful trial because of the influence that knowledge, expectations and hopes have on the participants. That influence has been demonstrated time and again to the point where the medical profession will not accept evidence from unblinded trials. The preliminary results that were released were strong enough that participants who are still incomplete are able to form a pretty accurate view on whether they are on the active or inactive arm.