Note: disagreement ahead.
I'm afraid I had a very different reaction to this particular story, one rooted in noting the apparent connections to both Autism and schizophrenia. It is entirely possible that these connections were completely coincidental and unintentional by the author. I certainly mean no offense to the author if these are coincidental. However the details were close enough (and date from a time when these ideas were rampant... and a time when I was a subscriber to Omni and read this on it's original published date) to cause extremely unfortunate associations in my mind, which prevented me from enjoying the story.
In the world of Autism there has been more than the fair share of quackery employed to separate desperate parents from their money. As I have a family member who works deeply within the academic and educational side of that world, I spent the better part of two decades hearing about each fad and trend as it came up. While "exorcisms" (-autism is a demonic possession-) tended to grab the press attention, there was also the scientifically unsound and medically extremely dangerous "chelation therapy" (-autism is caused by heavy metal poisoning-), the absurd pop-psychology of "rebirthing" (-re-experiencing birth will fix the autistic-), the heartbreakingly manipulative "facilitated communication"(-autistic children have the souls of poets, they just need someone to hold their hands over the typewriter-), and an entire spectrum of drastic and ludicrous "nutritive treatments" (-autism is an extension of an exotic form of celiac disease and is all caused by insecticides/impurities/wheat gluten-). While the disease in the story seems unmistakably tied to autism through a kind of sci-fi extrapolation (self-harm becomes outright mutilation, social dysfunction exacerbated to a lack of recognition of other people, repetitious behavior, a touch of echolalia, etc.), the treatments in the story struck me as unacceptably close to several of these quack treatments. The "bland food" to tamp down on the DGD symptoms is almost exactly the crazy nutritionist's arguments. Moreover, the "gather them all together among their own kind and they become a kind of utopic artistic commune" both reflects the emotion behind "facilitated communication," and works directly contrary to most progressive thought about work with the autistic, all of which encourages and directs towards inclusion in social and educational frameworks of the world at large. Inclusion programs at every educational level have made great strides in helping even severely autistic students to participate in their world.
I am overjoyed that the world in general has mostly accepted that there is no connection between immunizations (specifically the mercury-containing preservative thimerosol) and the advent of autism in children. However a glut of fictional stories and some largely true stories concentrating on extremely exceptional individuals (the 'splinter skills' evident in Rain Man are real, but extremely rare) have begun romanticizing the disorder in extremely unhelpful and misleading ways. Of course the more abusive, archaic ways of dealing with the mentally ill were harmful and dehumanizing. However, the particulars being promoted here appear to be based on irresponsible outdated pop-culture quackery and overly romantic notions of mental illness that would be almost as disastrous outside of a fantasy world as the anti-vaccination crowd. ("Almost" in that mostly only the patients would be hurt.)
I had a similar reaction to the apparent parallel to treatment of people with schizophrenia, though the connection is less clearly defined. (This may just be that I don't have the close familiarity with that subject as I did with the other.) I have seen more than a few assertions (both in fiction and stated as fact) about schizophrenia that suggest the disorder is only exacerbated by medical interference, and those individuals, when left alone, become charming "eccentric aunt" types. As I have a close family member that has struggled with severe paranoid schizophrenia for many years, I can attest that going un-medicated is a condition neither enjoyable nor safe for either the subject or the people around them. It is no magic bullet for their condition. (One aspect of some paranoid schizophrenia is that when they are properly balanced on medication, they frequently don't feel like taking it, and when they're not on it, they become convinced their medication is a conspiracy to kill them.)
Again, I mean no offense to the author or other readers, but my reaction to it was so strong, and so contrary to the prevailing commentary, that I wanted to speak up.