I'd like sources for these proven peer studies. I'm autistic, & my mum (or dad) never smoked weed. I've also never smoked weed in my life & don't smoke cigarettes (neither has my husband), & I'm teetotal, but my youngest is autistic too. It's a neurological condition. The neurodivergent (autistic) brain and neurotypical brain are like the difference between a Macbook and PC, they operate differently but the end results are the same.
I agree with you that she is concealing (albeit not very well
) a pregnancy, though. Another thing, aswell as the drug abuse, is foetal alcohol syndrome/disorder, as she also drinks hard liquor. That can cause significant brain damage and learning disabilities and I've sometimes wondered whether Lou has FAS/FAD, because her mum used to be an alcoholic. It would explain somewhat as to why she seems stunted and immature. Lou has talked about her mum's alcohol dependency in the past.