What I think causes my "opposite of Autism" disorder and what this may mean for causation of Autism!

[lovelylana]

First off, for an idea on an E.E.G. study on Autism, read on!

Second of all, I hope it’s is OK I'm making a new thread out of this. I posted about this already in the Sticky: “What do you think causes Autism” but it didn’t seem to get much notice so I’m posting my theory here as well??? (Pleasebeokwiththisittookmeawhiletodevelopthis!)

OK so, my theory/belief is that Autism is caused by a person having less-or rather, too little- subconscious.

The story goes as such:

It all started with some unexplained E.E.G. (the brain wave tests) results I had gotten. (For the record, E.E.G.s record the size/pattern of a person’s brain waves.) On both of the occasions in which I was tested, the technicians told me to "stay awake" and not to "nod off" etc. etc. The thing was though- I was wide awake.

I was pretty put off by this feedback but I didn't bother to correct them either time. It was only after the procedure when I was talking to doctors about the results that I mentioned what had happened. Neither time was the doctor able to explain why this had happened but neither seemed too interested or concerned either.

I was though, because for a long time I have had an unidentified mental condition and this seemed to me as a possible insight into the cause.

So later, during a psychology course I was taking at my local community college, the subject of E.E.G.s came up and I learned that, generally speaking, small, frequent, concentrated brain waves represented wakefulness and larger, longer waves occurred when a person was asleep.

So that must mean that my waking brain waves were somewhat larger and longer than is typical.

Later on, and upon much thought, this lead me to suppose that my waking mind is more like a subconscious mind- in others words my conscious has a greater amount of subconscious in it than is usual.

Considering my symptoms, this seemed to make sense.

OK. Now, flashing back to my earlier diagnostic search, I had considered I might have had Autism/Asperger’s syndrome.

This was because I have many symptoms that can present like Aspergers Syndrome/mild Autism but, upon further inspection, seem to be caused by an opposite force.

They are as follows:

1) Problems with language 2) Trouble understanding Social Norms 3) Obsessions 4) Repetition

And if you are interested in how my symptoms are similar and yet different from Autism, I elaborate on them at the end of this post.

But earlier on, when I had been initially learning about Autism, I had the realization- that despite all the similarities- my condition’s cause seemed to be rooted in the opposite of Autism.

And so the theory developed that maybe what was causing Autism was the opposite of what was causing my condition- in other words- too little subconscious in the waking mind.

And from there the theory continued to develope- that maybe there was almost a sort of gap between their conscious and unconscious mind. This might result in thinking in pictures as thoughts may leave-off at a subconscious level. Or that when a thought does get across this mental barrier, it may lead to repetition . . . as it can be hard to make this mental transfer. And that, in cases of those who are more mildly affected by Autism, it makes them more alert to language content/meaning as well as less aware of social subtitles resulting in the logical, "get to the heart of the matter," Spock-like demeanor.

(^Some content comes directly from my previous post.)

So, yes. Obviosly I don’t know for sure but it’s an idea that I’m really serious about. I thought that maybe if a researcher looked at various E.E.G.s of autistic persons, waking and sleeping, bearing this in mind, they might be able to discover something.

That’s all. Thank you very much for reading. J

Unless you wanted to read about the ways I feel my symptoms compare and contrast with Autism in which case . . .

1) I can have trouble processing language. However, while with individuals with autism the difficulty usually falls under language expression- for me the trouble is more based in reception/comprehension. (In social situations) I can have no problem articulating my own thoughts but when processing information (like directions for instance) from others, it can take a while before I understand as I often derive a person's meaning in language less by the content of their words /that they have said outright but more by the style/ inflection of their voice, or their facial expressions, which emotionally convey to me their expressed intent.


2) While people with Autism tend to struggle with norms of social interaction, sometimes leaving the person they are with lacking context necessary to understand them- this is true for me as well but mostly only happens in writing, or whenever I am not surrounded by people, whose presence provides context about what for me to say and in what way to say it. Without other's presence helping ground me in reality/normalcy- I am not really "normal."


Running low on time!; To be continued! . . .

 

[Ylva]

Interesting theory.

What I hear you saying is that our conscious minds cover more "mind" than what is usual. It reminds me of a thing I read about meditation, that it puts people is alpha states producing alpha waves and that it gives them easier access to their subconscious.

I can have trouble processing language. However, while with individuals with autism the difficulty usually falls under language expression- for me the trouble is more based in reception/comprehension

This is not the opposite of autism. I don't know where you heard it, but it is definitely not the opposite.

2) While people with Autism tend to struggle with norms of social interaction, sometimes leaving the person they are with lacking context necessary to understand them- this is true for me as well but mostly only happens in writing, or whenever I am not surrounded by people, whose presence provides context about what for me to say and in what way to say it. Without other's presence helping ground me in reality/normalcy- I am not really "normal."

They say that no one is; but even I, the weirdest person I know, behave pretty much like a regular person in social contexts.

There is a thread somewhere that says the opposite of autism is Williams.

 

[lovelylana]

There is a thread somewhere that says the opposite of autism is Williams.

Yes! and I had thought I had that disorder upon first learning about it in high school, but Williams Syndrome is caused by a chromosomal disorder while Autism is not, making it not the true opposite of Autism.
Also, where you describe my symptoms as not being the opposite of Autism, my point was that they are similar to autistic symptoms but were in fact not caused by the same thing.
And I too act relatively normal in social situations but some awkwardness is present, is all I was really saying with that.

 

[Gracey]

It's interesting

I'm new to the idea of autism, I'm still finding my definitive boundaries of understanding what autism IS.
By looking at what it isn't helps my understanding of what it is.

(The above may have made no sense )

 

[MrSpock]

Gracey, that made sense to me.

I don't know about others, but would comment on the language processing part as I think it applies to me only, a high-functioning autistic who may or may not be representative of others on the spectrum.

I believe that I am better able than most to process language, both receiving and sending. I also believe that I am kind of stuck having to rely on language more than most, that NT's use facial expression and body language to convey a great deal of information that I simply miss, I suspect that I may often be misunderstood because NT's 'read' information from my face and body that simply is not there and may somehow add colour to my words in an unintended manner.

I also believe that NT's can put so much meaning into things besides the literal translation of their words that the words are sometimes nearly irrelevant, this is why they can babble on about nothing so much. They can also use words to say the opposite of what they are trying to convey, and when combined with facial expression and body language they somehow understand each other. This is very confusing for me if I'm aware of it, and I'm sure it creates problems when I'm not aware of it. It changes the meaning of words in a way that renders my processing ability useless.

I'm very good at understanding textbooks and people who say what they mean. I'm good at saying what I mean in a clear manner and can deal with subtleties and be precise. The way I see it, that's where raw linguistic processing power equates to high performance. Recognition of when a person means what they say or not, recognizing how body language or facial expression colours the meaning of words, here I am lost, and I don't think of these skills as linguistic.

I'm not sure how much I understand of how others feel, obviously there are limits to how much of this can be conveyed using any form of communication, and I'm sure that I miss some of it when it's conveyed outside of words in part or in it's entirety. Perhaps if they were to use words only I would have as much understanding of their feelings as do other NT's listening. I do seem less able to describe my own feelings as well as NT's, but I doubt that this is a result of me being unable to use words appropriately. I suspect that nobody can truly describe their feelings with anything I would care to label as precision, and I seem to use words with much greater precision than the vast majority of people I talk to. It's possible that NT's are seen as being better at expressing their feelings than I am because they are willing to say that two plus two equals five, whatever, close enough, whereas I would rather give or receive no information than give or receive falsehoods.

I rather like that last sentence, and had never thought about it in quite that way before. Thank you Lana for a thought-provoking thread.

 

[wight]

You are overlapping (and possibly conflating) two things, brain functions and mind functions. They do overlap, but be careful about which is which when you are developing your theory.

Language processing, sensory processing generally (e.g. interpreting body language), are functions of the physical brain, it's processes, and pathways.

The conscious and unconscious and how they function and interact are mind functions.

 

[Gracey]

The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) is very much part of the physical brain and considered 'the subconscious'
It's two parts; the sympathetic and parasympathetic activate and suppress each other. Are the Limbic System and Hypothalamus thought of as a mind process?

 

[Ylva]

Yes! and I had thought I had that disorder upon first learning about it in high school,

The hating being touched part is not a necessary symptom/trait of autism. It is probably due to sensory issues or abuse or both. It you don't have a reason to associate being touched with discomfort then why wouldn't you feel neutral or good about touching?

Or being social. Or chatter. Or anything.

 

[Heron]

I'm tired. It is late where I live.
In an appropriate thread I had an almost complete important post with relevant links.
And then it goes beyond access a second time; I tend to go insane in such situations …
I no longer remember where or why but the fact items were:

1. Mast cell activation syndrome
2. Medication, as with me, may not solv the problems but help a lot.

Thank you. Now, I'm calm again

What I wrote in the lost post was also that there is a significant correlation between ASD and mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS)
I wanted to make this information available for the concerned.

 

[Ellie.s]

This somehow makes sense to me. Explains some things about a sleep study I did last year.

 

[Yes I am]

Resting state EEG abnormalities in autism spectrum disorders

Resting state EEG abnormalities in autism spectrum disorders