What causes Asperger's and Autism Symptoms?

The process of communication is very complex and requires the automatic co-ordination of a number of different functions. For people to be “natural” the following skills need to be fully developed and “automatised” - this process is determined by the development of the appropriate parts of the cerebellum – the skill learning centre of the brain:

1. Verbal communication - to speak naturally and effortlessly requires that the cerebellum has hard wired the process of turning our thoughts into speech easily.

2. Listening skills - to understand what we are hearing requires that what we hear is automatically turned into comprehended thoughts.

When someone is having to work so hard just to process what they are hearing they are unlikely to also be processing the change in intonation and so are far more likely to take words or phrases in a literal sense.

3. Reading Body Language - reading body language accurately requires that we learn and automatise the meaning of non verbal cues, for example smiling or frowning. If listening skills aren’t automatic then more effort is required to focus on verbal communication leaving few resources to take in non-verbal information.

4. Emotional controls - to be comfortable socially requires that we learn how to control our emotions and use them in a way appropriate to the circumstance.

The more these different types of skill have been 'learnt' in a correct and natural way the more comfortable the person will feel with communication. Those with skills that are not fully developed will find that they are ‘overloading’ their working memory and not be taking into account all of the various information required for completely natural social interaction.

Prof Bellum explains how making skills automatic in the brain can positively impact learning and social interaction.

How can Dore help Aspergers and some Autistic symptoms?