Putting the Autism Puzzle Pieces Together.

I've just read yet another news story from a research group that have concluded, based on their findings and their findings alone, they don't know how Autism works, they don't know why it's more prevalent in boys than it is in girls, and they don't know why we have more of it today compared to a few years ago.

I am constantly amazed at how many research programs there are that don't actually cross reference data from other research programs. If you put them all together you actually get a good picture as to why Autism works the way it does, why there are more boys diagnosed than girls and why there is a higher proportion of it nowadays.

Let's start with studies of the actual brain structure of people on the Autism Spectrum. Firstly, the grey matter is distributed unevenly. Some areas of the brain end up lacking in grey matter whilst other areas have excessive amounts of it. This explains why a person on the Autism spectrum can take longer to learn skills. The areas that are lacking have less neurological connections to play with in order to sort out which connections work the best. The areas that are excessive, on the other hand, have more neurological connections to play with which means it takes longer to sort through them all before the best connections can be made. For those who have excessive amounts of grey matter in the auditory centres of the brain, what would be a mild level of noise for anyone else can be a mind-numbing explosion of noise as the extra neurotransmitters go into overload trying to figure out what to do with the information that's being thrown at them.

A completely different study showed that for those on the Autism Spectrum, the brain's ability to turn off redundant neurological connections is impaired, meaning that even after a new skill is learnt, the excessive neurological connections are still firing away and the brain will still be in a state of learning for something that others would be able to master easily. Once a skill is learnt, the brain is still experimenting with the remainder of the connections, so the individual still has a hard time putting their new skill into practice.

Other studies have shown that the corpus callosum does not develop properly in those on the Autism spectrum, which impedes the flow of information between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This can cause confusion if information presented needs to be processed by both hemispheres in collaboration with each other, such as something that involves emotions but also requires the logical side of the brain to lend a hand. There are also studies not usually related to Autism which have shown that the corpus callosum is usually larger for girls than for boys, which means a reduction in its size during development will not necessarily make that much of a noticeable difference for the girls, which can go towards explaining why there are more boys diagnosed on the spectrum than girls. It also explains why a lot of girls display different symptoms of Autism compared to boys as they can still have that little bit of extra communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain to help them compensate for the other discrepancies.

So why is Autism more prevalent today? In addition to Autism being more readily accepted as a diagnoses and being more easily identifiable, we're also breeding. People with high functioning Autism might slip under the radar and not even realise they're on the spectrum. They grow up and have babies and pass on their genetic make-up to their offspring. A lot of us grew up in the 70's, for instance, just being socially awkward with Autism not even being thought of as a diagnoses for us. Now we have kids who have been diagnosed as being on the spectrum we can see that we also grew up on the spectrum and just didn't know it. Instead of getting help with it all we were shunned and labelled as the weird quiet kids at school, or the shy ones. As we got older we improved as our neurological connections finally started to sort it all out at our own pace.

Autism is not a static condition. There's always room for improvement given the right environments and nurturing as the individual learns and grows at the speed with which their brains can eventually sort it all out for themselves. It never goes away, but it does get better over time for some. Just remember that each individual on the spectrum is just that, an individual. What might work for some will not necessarily work for others. It all depends on how the grey matter is distributed, how much information can be exchanged between the left and right hemispheres of each individual's brain, and how long it takes for redundant neurological transmitters to finally deactivate themselves, if they are actually capable of eventually being deactivated.

A great deal of the pieces of the Autism puzzle have already been found. It just seems that no one is actually gathering all those pieces together to form a single bigger picture with them all. As shown in this blog, if you take a handful of the pieces and then place them on the board together, the picture starts to reveal itself. If researchers actually start collaborating with each other, instead of simply patting themselves on the back for finding a single piece of the puzzle and then scratching their heads as to what to do with it, we may one day find that last piece and eventually put it in its place with the rest of the pieces. Once we have a full understanding of Autism, we may then understand better how to help those on the spectrum to overcome the obstacles that they have to face.

Autism: Causes and Cures

I'm increasingly finding myself typing the same information, over and over, in various Autism and Special Needs related groups on how I view Autism, what I believe is the cause of Autism, and what I think about the topic of Autism cures. To save a bit of time, I shall put all my thoughts into this blog and update it as I feel the need to elaborate on it all. Please read on to view my perspective on it all.

So, what causes Autism?

In order to answer this particular question you first need to understand the physical structure of the Autistic brain, and there are known differences, when making comparisons to a non-Autistic brain.

Firstly, the brain of a person on the Autism Spectrum has some areas that are lacking in grey-matter and some areas that are excessive with grey-matter. It's as if the synapses have been distributed unevenly. The parts of the brain that are lacking will have less combinations of synapses to experiment with when it comes to learning and hopefully mastering a new skill, while the parts of the brain that are excessive will have extra synapses to experiment with before a new skill can be mastered. This can explain why it takes longer for people on the Autism Spectrum to develop milestones or to just learn how to do some things in general. The areas that are lacking, simply don't have as many options to choose from when it comes time to figure out which combinations of synapses make the best connections for the neurotransmitters to flow through. The areas that are excessive have an extra amount of synapses to play around with before deciding which are the best pathways for the neurotransmitters, so they take longer to learn because they have more options when it comes time to figure out which are the best connections to use.

Secondly, the brain of a person on the Autism Spectrum lacks the ability to deactivate redundant synapses. These are the ones that are no longer in use because they weren't the best options to choose from after a new skill was formed or a milestone was reached. This means that even after a skill has been learnt, the brain is still experimenting to find out which synapses make the best connections for the neurotransmitter to flow through, because it still has multiple options for the neurotransmitters to pass through. It's why some people on the Spectrum can know how to do something but still be unsure of how to go about it properly no matter how many times they've done it before. They've learnt the skill, but the brain is still trying to figure out if any other synapse combinations will work, long after it's been established that the other combinations are actually not the best choices.

Thirdly, the brain of a person on the Autism Spectrum has a smaller corpus callosum than would otherwise be considered normal. The corpus callosum is the section of the brain containing white matter that connects the left and right hemispheres. The exchange of information between the left and right hemispheres can be of some benefit, with the left brain being used mainly for language, logic, and mathematics, and the right brain being used mainly for face recognition, music processing, spatial abilities, and visual imagery. If some information needs to be processed that requires both logic and spatial awareness, for example, then the logical left brain will need to interact with the spatial aware right brain. If you're on the Autism Spectrum, then this interaction may be inhibited due to a lack of connections in the reduced corpus callosum. This also explains why Autism diagnosis is more prevalent in boys than in girls. Girls have larger corpus callosums compared to boys even if they don't have Autism, so a reduced size may not cause such a noticable difference for some girls, as they would have had a larger connection between the brain hemispheres to begin with.

Autism is therefore a result of all these brain differences in combination with each other. The reason that each person on the Autism Spectrum is unique and that Autism is a spectrum, is because the amount of redistribution of the grey matter, the amount of redundant brain cells that remain active, and the amount of reduction in the size of the Corpus Callosum varies from one person to the next.

In order to answer the question of what causes Autism, we have to determine what caused the brain differences to occur. The human brain begins development at around the third gestational week. The design layout for the brain has already been determined at this point by the DNA which was created from the moment of conception using a combination of biological information from both biological parents. If any one of the biological parents has an Autistic like brain, even if just slightly so that no one is even aware that they have Autistic tendencies, then there's a chance that the baby will also develop a brain with Autistic tendencies. If both parents have an Autistic like brain, again even if just slightly, then there is an even greater chance that the baby will develop a brain with Autistic tendencies. Genetics breed true. When we reproduce, we donate a part of our own biological make-up to our children. So using this reasoning, it's pretty safe to say that Autism is caused by genetics, or if neither parent has an Autistic like brain, possibly by genetic mutations at the point of conception. Reproduction is therefore the main culprit. Autism is caused by how the DNA strands are formed at the point of an individual's conception.

So why do some people show signs of Autism from birth, yet others don't seem to show any signs until later, lets say for example, not until the ages of 2 or 3 years? Why do some people seem to develop normally, or even at an advanced pace, yet seem to change overnight? Did a vaccination or other introduced substance cause this sudden change? Repeated studies, including double blind and triple blind studies say no. It's more likely that the child has suddenly come to a phase in brain development where the brain differences are now showing their weaknesses. This just happens to coincide with the recommended ages for certain vaccinations, so the vaccinations get the blame even though there is no scientific evidence to back this theory up. Scientific evidence actually debunks the myth and proves that the vaccinations are not responsible for the changes at all. As mentioned earlier, each person on the Spectrum is unique so each will present differently. While some children seem to talk and sit up or walk and be aware of their surroundings early, others develop normally for the first couple of years of life outside the womb, while other don't show any signs of development at all. It's quite normal for some children on the Spectrum to show advanced intellectual development from an extremely early age, probably due to those extra brain synapses which gives the child a head start over other children. When the child finally reaches a certain age of brain development that is hindered by the physical differences in brain structure, it will begin to cause chaos and confusion and could possibly impede that which has already been learnt, which would lead to what some people call regression. In other cases, the parents may just not be aware of how Autism presents itself, and don't actually realise there is something different with their child until milestones aren't reached that would normally present themselves at around the ages of 2 or 3.

Can Autism be caused by food intolerances and gut issues? No, the brain structure has already been determined from conception. If there are food intolerances and gut issues, then they can cause discomfort and distress for a person on the Autism Spectrum more than they might do for someone who is not on the spectrum, and this can be distracting enough that it actually impedes learning and development. A change of diet will actually benefit those who are affected this way as it will allow the individual to get on with life without having that particular problem to stress over. It can make such a difference that learning will begin where it was previously not happening. This will not benefit anyone who does not have a food intolerance or gut issue though, so don't try and force yucky foods into a child's diet in the belief it will cure his or her Autism if there is no evidence of a food intolerance or gut issue to begin with. You'll just be making the child feel miserable which itself can impede their learning abilities. It's usually hard enough to get them to eat what they like without introducing things they won't like if there's absolutely no need for it. I've tasted gluten free products myself. Some are palatable, others are simply bad for the taste buds. Don't force it if they don't need it. If someone on the spectrum has a limited diet, there is a method that my partner formulated for my youngest son which worked so well, he now eats the same meals as the rest of the family. Click on this link to see what we did and see if it works for them too. Just remember, what works for one does not necessarily work for everyone. I'm constantly telling people that each person on the Spectrum is unique, so don't think you've failed or done something wrong if your child doesn't show the same results for things that worked with others.

Can Autism be cured?

In a nutshell, no. You would have to somehow rearrange the physical brain structure of the individual so that the grey-matter was more evenly distributed amongst the different parts of the brain. You would also have to find a way to force the brain to deactivate redundant synapses once it was determined that they were of no use, and you would have to increase the size of the corpus callosum to increase the amount of information that could be exchanged between the brain's left and right hemispheres.

Autism is not a static condition though. It can become less challenging for some individuals as they learn and grow at their own pace. With time, patience and nurturing, some (not all) on the Spectrum will eventually learn how to overcome some of their hurdles in life to the point where they may be able to gain employment as adults, or learn how to drive, or even raise a family of their own. Others will never learn how to tie their own shoelaces or dress themselves without assistance. I'll say it again, each individual on the Spectrum is unique and will grow and develop at their own pace, which may be barely at all for some or to a point where some might think they've been cured in others. Even if an individual progresses to the point where it's hard to notice that they're on the Autism Spectrum, they still have the same physical brain differences. They've just had better luck in the learning and developing department.

So unless you actually perform a successful brain transplant and then somehow transfer the individual's memories into the new brain from the old one, Autism cannot be cured. It can improve over time, but it won't disappear completely. Instead of looking for a cure, people should simply accept people on the spectrum for the unique individuals they are and concentrate on making life easy for them. Give them an environment where they can flourish and learn at their own pace, with smaller class sizes that have less distractions, one on one teaching, teacher's aides, and individual learning plans for those that need it. Don't try and force them to be someone they're not. They're just as human as the next person. They just have different ways of processing information and different capabilities when it comes to human interaction. They're all unique, just as everyone who is not on the Spectrum is unique. Autism is a very misunderstood condition for those who don't know how Autism works. Education is what's needed. Not just for those on the Spectrum, but even more so for those who are not on the Spectrum.