We’ve briefly talked about everything that we can do to help autism, but haven’t talked about the autistic brain itself. I want to have this blog be up for those who would like to dive into the science of autism, to better understand those individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This picture below should be a good recap on the functions of each major region of the brain.
Those with autism have a harder time recognizing emotions on the faces or voices of others. While a neurotypical brain can synchronize areas of the brain to communicate and understand these emotions, the autistic brain cannot instantaneously shift or synchronize regions of the brain to comprehend the emotions of others. Due to this, they “… may have difficulties with personal pronouns” (4 functional and physiology differences, 2021).
In addition this, it can be difficult to constantly hold an autistic individual’s attention. When trying to pay attention, several of their brain regions are turned on, causing their brain to become overly stimulated. Therefore, when the autistic individual is trying to switch from one task to then paying attention to a conversation or school work, their brain can overcompensate and cause them to be a bit behind in their new task. For autistic brains, “It takes at least 8–9 seconds for that activity to calm down so that I can process what you just asked of me” (4 functional and physiology differences, 2021). The physiology behind this comes from an excess of excitatory neurons. There needs to be a proper ratio of inhibitory neurons to excitatory neurons, and when this balance is off, this can cause the brain to overcompensate, and for lack of better analogy, become over heated similar to that of an overworked laptop.
Autistic brains often also have a lot of inner thoughts. Whether that may be regarding the task at hand, their anxiety, what they want to do next, or literally anything in the world. This is why when switching tasks, it becomes difficult for an autistic individual to focus, and increases their overall stress and anxiety. As we have talked about before, the autistic brain has an overly excess amount of neurons when compared to that of a neurotypical brain. This is a primary reason as to why an autistic individual’s brain is often times very overwhelmed.
This overwhelming nature also leads to why they seem to get tired or dull somewhat quickly. Their brain starts too overcompensate, putting a lot of stress on their bodies. This means they sort reach a “… a point where so much information bombards [them], or [they] am so overwhelmed by attempting a difficult task, that [their] brain can actually go into shut down mode” (4 functional and physiology differences, 2021).
References
4 functional and physiological differences in the brain of a child with autism. Applied Behavioral Analysis | How to Become an Applied Behavior Analyst. (2021, August 17). Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://www.appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org/4-functional-and-physiological-differences-in-the-brain-of-a-child-with-autism/.
Autism spectrum disorder: Autistic brains vs … — psycom.net. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://www.psycom.net/autism-brain-differences.
Autistic Mind. (n.d.). http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories/2013november/autisticmind2_110913122804.jpg.
News Center. (2018, July 16). Key social reward circuit in the brain impaired in kids with autism. News Center. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2018/07/key-social-reward-circuit-in-the-brain-impaired-in-kids-with-autism.html.
— Jayvanti Vanmanthai
