The Autistic Brain: Uniquely Human

‘Rain man’, a movie made in 1988, directed by Barry Levinson stars Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. Tom Cruise plays the role of an abrasive, selfish, young vehicle dealer Charlie Babbitt. Charlie leads a pretty charmed life, until the death of his father brings him to an unexpected relevance. The relevance being mentioned here is of Raymond Babbitt (Dustin Hoffman), his elder brother, of whom he was previously unaware. Raymond is autistic and has savant syndrome (a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average.). He has superb recall, but he shows little emotional expression except when in distress. Raymond, here is an example of psychological disorders in children.

‘My name is Khan’, was yet another movie made in 2010 starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. Shahrukh Khan plays the role of Rizwan Khan, an Autistic muslim man who is married to a woman, Mandira, who has a child, Sameer, in her previous relationship. Our concern, however is Rizwan, who will be the other concern of this blog.
By now, you might already be aware of the subject of this blog: AUTISM.

What is Autism?

It is important to understand that Autism is a developmental disorder, specifically speaking, a spectrum disorder. A spectrum disorder cannot be defined by a specific definition. Its meaning and definition shall vary from one subject to another. However, wikipedia defines Autism as “a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.” Autistic people show variable intelligence and aptitude. Aptitude and intelligence must be differentiated here since, both these terms are frequently interchanged in common reference. So let’s describe them distinctly:

Intelligence is the ability of an individual to gain knowledge and understand cumbersome situations. Whereas Aptitude, is defined as the capacity to apply the same knowledge. For example, a person may be intelligent enough to gain knowledge about military or defense related matters; but may not possess an aptitude to practice the same effectively in his/her real life.
Specifically defining, you may be intelligent enough to solve a physics problem but show pathetic performance in Indian Idol. This means that you have a greater aptitude in logical reasoning whereas a lesser aptitude in singing.
Autistic individuals display a similar pattern. They might not be intelligent enough to do a specific task, but might show greater aptitude in a relatively different task.

Causes

Unfortunately, scientists have yet not been able to find enough evidence to put the causes of ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder). However, certain possibilities have been hypothesised to be the contributors in causing ASD:

• Air pollution: Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy, especially heavy metals and particulates, may increase the risk of autism. Certain foods, phenols used in plastic products, pesticides, alcohol, smoking, illicit drugs, vaccines, and prenatal stress have been claimed without evidence to exacerbate autism.
• Growth and nutrition of foetus: ASD is associated with intrauterine growth restriction in both, term and preterm infants. Maternal inflammatory and autoimmune diseases may damage fetal tissues, aggravating a genetic problem or damaging the nervous system.
• Genetic: Many genes have been associated with autism through sequencing the genomes of affected individuals and their parents. Studies of twins suggest that heritability is 0.7 for autism and as high as 0.9 for ASD, and siblings of those with autism are about 25 times more likely to be autistic than the general population. However, most of the mutations that increase autism risk have not been identified. Typically, autism cannot be traced to a Mendelian (single-gene) mutation or to a single chromosome abnormality, and none of the genetic syndromes associated with ASDs have been shown to selectively cause ASD.

Diagnosis:

People with autism are generally diagnosed at early ages, anywhere between 2 – 5 years. This, however, has not been the history. Earlier, people with Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) remained undiagnosed. They were socially excluded from the society solely on the differences they showed in their patterns of interaction and behaviour.
It will be unfair however, to blame the general public for such practices. In general, relatively little has been written on autism (or other psychological disorders in children and adults) in developing countries as compared with what has been published on autism in North America and Europe. However, of all the developing countries, India has by far the greatest wealth of research articles. We have over 70 articles, chapters and books which relate to the topic. India however, has consistently lacked the acknowledgment of such developmental disorders. Thus, making this diverse wealth of research almost nugatory.

India and Autism:

Currently, one in 500 people are diagnosed with autism in India, which translates to 0.2 percent of the population, or 21.6 lakh individuals according to the Rehabilitation Council of India. When it comes to Autism, India has a very evident data gap. Aligned with this concern is the issue of irregularities in data by different sources. For example, a 2018 study suggested that around one in ten Indian children below the age of ten are affected by autism. This figure however, was almost forty times that suggested by a study conducted the previous year which analysed 11,000 school children in Kolkata, pinpointing the prevalence of autism as being 0.23 percent. Given the sheer variability of these figures, an accurate estimate is all but impossible.

There has yet not been enough data to predict an exact figure for the concern. Adding to this, is the lack of awareness which leads to people being undiagnosed even though, they might be Autistic. The drawback to lack of diagnosis leads to a life where they are considered to be abnormal, asocial or psychiatric in worst cases. In general, psychological disorders in children and adult has never been acknowledged by the society and requires greater attention for sure.

Take Your Call:

How many times do you sit idle in a day and think of how fortunate you are? If this blog is being read by 100 people, I can pretty much bet the number of such people to be not more than 6-10. We never are thankful to what we have. Even though, it may be as primary as perfectly working sense organs or as genuine as being able to communicate with your friends and family. Our motive at Vidwaan is not to make an emotional difference, but to create social awareness.

Also Read: Borderline Personality Disorder

‘Action for Autism’ is one such organisation that works for encouragement of people with Autism. Action for Autism (AFA) was started in 1991 to provide support and services to persons with autism and their families, and to create an environment in India in which people with ASD are able to grow to their full potential. The AFA National Centre was established in 2004 to expand these services.

India is lacking behind by miles, when it comes to acknowledgement of psychological disorders in children, or for that matter, in any age group. But, it won’t stay same if we try to make a change. This blog has been about Autism, and therefore will give you all possible information essential for creating awareness.
We, here are providing a link that includes the names of some of the centres in India that are committed towards encouraging children with Autism. Click here to know more.