The Most Powerful ASD article You’ll Read in 2014

Linda Andron-Ostrow, CEO

Gregory Hickok of the University of California at Irvine raises some very poignant questions for all of us to consider as we continue to seek what autism is and what it might not be…

As brain research moves forward at a dizzying pace, we must always be ready to change the way we interact with those on the spectrum.  Remember when we were set on “Theory of Mind” and some people even thought they had found a way to teach it? But then someone simplified the test and, low and behold, many who displayed autistic characteristics passed it. Then mirror neurons came along… and again it seemed like there was an explanation for what were thought of as the deficits in autism. However, even those who most strongly hold by this theory do not posit it as explaining the higher order issues with social interaction.

Those of us who live with and interact with those on the spectrum have often felt that it was not a lack of response or diminished social sensitivity; rather an over-reaction to stimuli and emotions. It seems that anxiety is a word we are so often using to describe their responses. In addition, we have heard often from authors with autism very cogent explanations for why they avoid eye contact. It would be hard to describe this without an understanding of Theory of Mind. If the noise is too loud and excites too many nerve fibers or the light is too bright, you might actually withdraw and therefore miss many of the social stimuli and information.

As behaviorists, we can certainly relate to Hickok’s comment that behavior does not automatically refill – it’s cause and can be misleading.

So as we interact with those on the spectrum, particularly in the coming hectic days of Halloween and the holidays to follow, we should consider that perhaps they don’t experience a socially numbed world, but rather as Hickok’s says “a socially intense world”.

And when you have a spare moment, this is perhaps one of the most powerful articles you will ever read. Read on to find out about what the rats can teach us (now one likes the idea of being compared to a rat, however the insights we gain from our four-legged friends is eye-opening). Read about what is really going on when people with autism have trouble looking at faces, and most importantly what is a measure of social ideal. Like Hickok says, “just because someone doesn’t make eye contact, slinks away from social interaction or appears overly obsessed with things, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she doesn’t read emotions is a social relax empathy. Also just because another person is engaging gregarious and charismatic doesn’t mean he or she has achieved the Patomic social ideal. Ted Bundy is a famous example”.

Read Hickock’s article by clicking here

We welcome your thoughts on it.