Kamila and Henry Markram of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne have developed a theory that autism is caused by a “supercharged” brain, today’s Telegraph reports. The Markrams posit that autistic individuals—far from earlier notions that they were without emotions and the capacity to feel—-”‘perceive, feel and remember too much’” and very intensely:
Faced with this “intense world”, autistic infants withdraw, with serious consequences for their social and linguistic development, she added.
Repetitive behaviours such as rocking and head-banging, meanwhile, can be seen as an attempt to bring order and predictability to a “blaring world”.
Most of the theories surrounding autism …read more

Charlie has always had a big head—-this was apparent from the first time I saw his ultrasound image. It’s only been from looking over his baby and toddler photos that we’ve noted that, until he was around 5 or so, the top part of his head was really big. We always had to buy him bike helmets and hats that were big enough for Jim and me, it seemed.
Researchers at the University of Washington’s Autism Center are studying if accelerated head growth might be a biomarker for autism. Today’s Technology Review (MIT) reports on a new project under neuroscientist Eric …read more

Researchers from the University of Washington’s Autism Center have found that autistic children have normal-sized heads at birth, and then have accelerated head growth when they are between six and nine months of age, “a period that precedes the onset of many behaviors that enable physicians to diagnose the developmental disorder,” today’s Science Daily reports. The researchers examined the medical records of 28 boys who had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 3 and 4 at the UW Autism Center and eight boys with developmental delay. Approximately 20 percent of the autistic children were found to …read more