Autism

A Unique Sensory, Emotional, and Social Development

Causes of Autism:

The only thing I am certain about autism is that it is the result of a unique development of the area that connects the peripheral nervous system to the central nervous system. This area includes the amygdala, the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the brain stem, among others. This unique development of this area can be caused by many factors. For simplicity’s sake, I will call this area the sensory-emotional area of the brain. The most common possible causes for damage to this area are: a) lack of oxygenation at a critical point of development; b) strangulation at birth; c) genetic mutation or inheritance; d) insufficient amounts of a critical nutritional elements during the primitive brain formation; e) a combination of some of these. My belief is that of all the damage that can occur in the nervous system, damage to any part of the sensory-emotional area of the brain is what results in autism. However, due to the way in which the brain develops as a whole and to the intense interaction between sensory-emotional area and the rest of the brain, most often people with problems in this area have also multiple brain problems. For instance, asphyxia will most probably cause mental retardation and Cerebral Palsy. as well as damage to the sensory-emotional area and the rest of the brain.