We’re always hearing about how autism is a puzzle. “They” don’t know what causes it or what treatments are most effective. If you listen to what “they” say, you would believe that there is nothing that can be done to help your child. But a number of pieces of the puzzle have been worked out by parents and researchers that have received little to no publicity. Partly because there are many people who would be making far less money if those pieces were publicized, and there are powerful forces in play trying to make sure that doesn’t happen. I don’t let those people stop me from looking for answers, though. There is far too much at stake. So today I’m writing about another piece of the puzzle that has fallen into place for me in recent weeks.
There is one technique that I’ve noticed is used by practitioners of both Son-Rise and Floortime: imitation. The therapist (often a parent) imitates whatever it is that the autistic child happens to be doing – even if it is what is known as a “stim.” In Son-Rise they call this “joining.” Many parents balk at this, saying they feel awkward or they just can’t understand how it could be helpful for them to do what the child is doing when they want to get the child to stop doing it in the first place. And, yet, the technique seems to work — and work brilliantly. According to Raun Kaufman of the Autism Treatment Center, “Joining establishes, often for the very first time, a real connection between a child and his or her parent or facilitator. We see time and time again with the thousands of families with whom we work that when children with autism or PDD are joined, they begin to look at us more, pay more attention to us, and even initiate interaction with us. And as these children move toward deeper and deeper engagement, they perform their repetitive behaviors less.”
In my own experience, I tried something similar with my son when he was approximately two years old and was having tremendous difficulty learning to speak. He was in his car seat in the back of the car and began making noises. I copied his noises as precisely as I could. He was delighted and began making them in order for me to copy. After a while he began to vary the noises to see if I would continue to copy him. I did. We kept that exchange up for quite a while, and eventually he was able to copy me when I changed the noises! I can’t tell you how excited I was, because he had never imitated me in anything speech-related before. I think this experience was instrumental in some of the speech breakthroughs that followed.
Me? I’m all for anything that works. And I’ll use a technique if it works, even if I don’t understand the underlying mechanism that makes it work. But the scientist in me always has to ask the question why? If it works, why does it work? So I’m always on the lookout for answers.
I met occupational therapist Michelle Coletti at a meet-and-greet/book signing with Ken Siri and Tony Lyons at Emerge and See Education Center in New York City. That night she mentioned a concept I had never heard before: “mirror neurons.” She sent me to her website Waters Edge Healing where she’d posted three papers that she’d written on the subject. Three Italian researchers started researching the neurological function of the brain using electrodes attached to monkeys’ brains. They discovered that the same “motor neurons” that fired when the monkey was actually doing a task were also fired when the monkey watched someone else (human or monkey) doing the same task.
Photo credit: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/theneuron.html
They further discovered that those neurons were crucial for the act of imitation. If the neurons fire while you are watching someone do something, you can use them to produce the same movements. If they do not fire, you cannot. What happens if there is something wrong with those neurons and they don’t fire in response to a stimulus? You have trouble with imitation. If you are looking at someone doing something and your mirror neurons are not firing, you will not be able to imitate that activity. This is true even if the “something” is a facial expression. If you smile at someone with dysfunctional mirror neurons, that someone is unlikely to smile back. And, as Tanya Chartrand and John Bargh discovered, if you don’t imitate someone’s expression — even if it’s just internally by the firing of your mirror neurons — you are unlikely to empathize with them. The firing of the mirror neurons takes place before your awareness of your own emotional state. If the neurons don’t fire, your limbic system (the emotional center of your brain) is not activated, and empathy is lacking.
People with autism are well-known for having difficulty with imitation and empathy. Does that mean that their mirror neuron function is impaired? Studies have been done that show exactly that — and the more severe the autism, the more severe the mirror neuron impairment.
Marcella Piper-Terry posted an article, Paul Offit is Right! Autism is About the Synapse… and Dendritic Immunity, on her website, Vaxtruth.org a while back. In it, she discussed a recent Nobel-Prize-winning biologist, Ralph Steinman, who had discovered the role of dendritic cells in immune system function. Dendrites are the branchy-looking structures surrounding the body of nerve cells, a.k.a. neurons. A 1998 article written by Steinman and Banchereau states that “Dendritic cells in the periphery capture and process antigens, express lymphoctye co-stimulatory molecules, migrate to lymphoid organs and secrete cytokines to initiate immune responses. They not only activate lymphocytes, they also tolerize T cells to antigens that are innate to the body (self-antigens), thereby minimizing autoimmune reactions.”
We know (well, at least most of the readers of this blog will know) that autoimmune disorders run rampant in the autism community. Many, if not most, children with autism have at least one parent with asthma, allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, etc., or some combination of them. And autoimmune disorders, in general, are on the rise in this country. Is the breakdown of dendritic cells to blame, at least in part, for this rise in autoimmune disorders?
Photo credit: usfa.fema.gov
If the function of mirror neurons, dendritic cells, is impaired in people with autism, how did it get that way? Neurons are connected by axons that carry signals from neuron to neuron. The axons are covered by a myelin sheath. When the sheath breaks down and the axons are no longer doing their job of connecting neuron to neuron, there is a breakdown in the processing of sensory information and you get visual processing disorder, auditory processing disorder, and/or sensory processing disorder. (The electrical engineer in me pictures this as a frayed electrical cord. When the wire coating is nicked and worn, the electrical conduction is spotty, you might get a flow of electricity, but you might not.) Many people use vitamin B12 and fish oil supplements, and one of the reasons why is that both are important for healthy myelin and, therefore, crucial for carrying signals from nerve cell to nerve cell.
Another way mirror neurons can be impaired is by contact with mercury. Marcella’s article contains a link to a dramatic demonstration of what happens to a nerve cell in the presence of mercury. Burbacher, in his study “Comparison of Blood and Brain Mercury Levels in Infant Monkeys Exposed to Methyl Mercury or Vaccines Containing Thimerosal,” shows that ethyl mercury is slower to leave the brain than the blood, and more likely to convert to inorganic mercury (which has a much longer half-life) than methyl mercury is. Methyl mercury is a well-known powerful toxin. What do you suppose happens to neurons in the brain when ethyl mercury gets in there and stays? Three guesses, and the first two don’t count. (One of the theories for why so many more boys seem to be affected by autism and other neurological disorders than girls is that “testosterone potentiates mercury toxicity, whereas estrogen is protective.” (Mark and David Geier))
If you are unable to view the video of damage to nerve cells, please click here.
So how do you repair the brain when this sort of damage has occurred? You can give supplements that help to restore fraying myelin, but you can’t fix dead neurons. What you may be able to do is to use the plasticity of the brain to “remap” the brain. If one pathway is damaged and unusable, you create connections that build another pathway. Anat Baniel’s book Kids Beyond Limits explains her methods for remapping damaged brains and building connections that allow people to function in ways they never thought they might.
Essentially, she starts with what is already working for a particular child and gets that child to pay particular attention to what he or she’s doing, building bit by bit upon what he or she already knows. With every new sensation felt, muscle moved, question answered, new connections are built in the brain, and a new map is created replacing the old, damaged map.
One terrific way to get a child to awareness of where they are already is to join in enthusiastically in what he or she is doing but keeping at a comfortable distance to begin with. It seems likely to me that the motor neurons that are working well enough to create the movement that the child knows how to do are stimulated additionally by watching the parent or therapist do the same thing. I don’t know whether it helps the function of the neurons that are working already or they create connections to other neurons that take on the mirror functions that have been missing, but one of the things that people have found when they imitate their children is that, after a while, the child’s attention changes and the child can begin imitating the parent, usually in tiny – but very significant – ways to begin with. Suddenly, the child’s brain is learning in a whole new way.
I’ve heard many people say, “There is no cure for autism.” And perhaps, they are right — to an extent. It is likely that all children with autism have some impairment in the function of their neurological systems. And it is possible, at least in some cases, that you cannot “fix” the areas of the brain that are impaired. However, as science has shown time and again, the brain is very plastic and there have been many times when people have been able to learn to do something that they “should not” have been able to do, because they were able to rewire their brains by recruiting neurons that do work to do the work of the neurons that don’t.
There have been a number of spectacular recovery stories that I’ve noticed many people working hard to dismiss, as if the very fact that they don’t go the way “most” cases go means that they don’t count. I don’t understand that kind of thinking. As far as I’m concerned, I want to understand everything about what has worked to recover children with autism. You can’t put all the pieces of the puzzle — any puzzle — together by dismissing the ones that don’t fit with your preconceived notions. The only way you can get the whole picture is by looking closely at those outlying, oddly-shaped pieces, and developing a theory that encompasses them.
~ Professor
* For more blogs by Professor, please click here
References:
- Baniel, Anat. 2012. Kids Without Limits. New York: Penguin Group, Inc.
- Burbacher, T., et al. 2005. “Comparison of blood and brain mercury levels in infant monkeys exposed to methylmercury or vaccines containing thimerosal.” Environmental Health Perspectives, 2005 Aug;113(8):1015-21.
- Colleti, Michelle. “Mirror Neurons and Autism,” “Imitation, Mirror Neurons and Autism,” and “Motor Planning, Mirror Neurons and Autism,” www.watersedgehealing.com.
- Iacoboni, Marco. 2008. Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect With Others. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- Kaufman, Raun. 2002. “Building a Bridge – Breakthrough Strategies for Reaching our Children,” Good Autism Practice Journal, Supplement October 2002.
- Piper-Terry, Marcella. 2012. “Paul Offit is Right! Autism is About the Synapse… and Dendritic Immunity,” www.vaxtruth.com.
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I don’t know how familiar Americans are with Intensive Interaction but it is a therapy from the UK which is of the same ilk as SonRise and Floortime. Intensive Interaction, though, is based on early childhood development. Just thought I’d draw your attention to it. xxx
Thanks, Sara! Hadn’t heard that one before. Killah is back in the UK, so maybe she’ll check it out for us first-hand.
Great way of combining the therapy model with the biological mechanism. And to Dr. Pr-Offit I always say…among other things, MMR = ADEM, ADEM = Autism -Bailey Banks vs. HHS. (Vaccine court award)
Thanks, Marco. Yes, possible mechanisms are proven, no matter how much they want to go around saying they’re not. :-/
Thanks, Mary. It is quite remarkable how much healing MAY be attained, when you work WITH the body and mind.
Excellent article! Thanks also for mentioning Anat Baniel’s book Kids Beyond Limits. Her approach sounds very promising!
We have been doing the SON RISE program with our 7 year old son for over three years now.
About three years ago, I had an experience similar to you. I sat down next to him building a tower of plastic blocks and even knocking it down like he used to do over and over again at that point. As I did that, I got the most beautiful smile and eye contact he had ever given me!
He used to avoid writing at that point, but once we allowed him to draw his favorite objects like fans and microwave ovens, he got very interested in drawing, and began consuming a dozen sheets of paper a day! (Another indirect example of joining versus stopping him from what he was doing.)
Soon, we expanded our play to drawing microwave ovens repeatedly but for each other. Soon, he asked me what my favorite color was. And when I said Orange he handed me his orange crayon to draw a microwave oven! Soon, I was also allowed to put a bowl of carrot soup in the microwave oven! It was the beautiful beginning of a long journey!
We were beginning to understand that joining and accepting him for where he is, was instrumental in showing him what friendship even means! Actually, we were understanding what friendship even means!
About 3 years later, our son has almost fully recovered from autism, and goes to a mainstream school. It is a miracle– given the so called “fact” we are constantly told to believe in: “autism cannot be cured”!
However, I actually think that the miracle here is not our son’s recovery. As you said, the human brain is truly capable of the most amazing changes, no matter what age! He was always going to do this… if only we gave him a chance! The miracle is, we as his parents changed, and believed in our son in spite of the mainstream advice of being “realistic” about what to expect from him!
Once again, thank you for the excellent article.
You’re welcome! Thanks for the great story!
We have/are experiencing the magic healing of SonRise times 4 kids. Our youngest did not respond to anything but SonRise(for therapy intervention). The love, joining, acceptance has quite literally built a bridge from each of the kids worlds to ours. It takes time and patience but is a gentle and loving approach to connecting with your child and training the brain. As our children became healthier from homeopathic and consistent medical intervention/support; we found they were finally available to respond to therapeutic interventions. I fully believe that the therapy and medical intervention together have given us the gift of 3 nonverbal to verbal, to socially intentional little beings. Even our 1 little one whom was verbal, has made phenominal progress in so many aspects. Our journey continues and it has been an awesome experience and healing for our 4 babies, plus Momma and Daddy, too. We are also loving enjoying the road and this precious time with each of them so much more now, as they take us ahead. SonRise has been a game-changer for the good here. Momma T. @ detourautism.blogspot
Thanks for the story, Momma T!
Very well written! I completely agree that there are so many facets to healing our children. And I consider everything I come across and every report from a parent that something helped. I knew that they did miracles with brain injury patients, teaching them to walk and speak again and that means this avenue has potential for our children.
And with years of being in the ASD community, research and reading there are organizations iwth a lot of money that work at dismissing the progress that is made with any therapy. Unfortunately this is limiting actual real research that could be helping many children. But with blogs like this and organizations like TMR we can continue to inform parents that there are things that help.
Great article!
Thanks, Jan! That’s what we’re here for.
Terrific piece–I’ve never understood why it was such a reach to think something designed to alter the immune system, aka, vaccines, could possibly play a role in our children’s autism.
Me, neither, Janet. And the more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
YESSSSSSS!!!!! TEACH, TEACHAH!!!
Thanks, Diana! I guess I’ll keep it up. 😉
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“There are many people who would be making far less money if those pieces were publicized, and there are powerful forces in play trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
This piece makes so much sense. Maybe it’s another reason that experts like to pretend autism is some sort of mental illness, some strange developmental quirk. We usually hear from psychologists and psychiatrists about autism. What this piece talks about is brain damage. If we go down that road, we have to admit what’s causing the damage in the first place.
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism
Amen, Anne. I think that’s why we hear so little about the damage that’s causing the behaviors. Which means that we have to piece this stuff together ourselves. :-/
Thanks for this post! I have Anat Baniel’s book and started reading but forgot about it. Definitely going to finish it now 🙂
Highly recommend it, Shiri. She lays it out step by step what needs to be in place to for someone to start making new connections. It’s really beautiful.
I had to smile as I read this one. In August, I went to a Son Rise Start Up. There I realized that my son didn’t “fit” autism the way I had thought. After I returned home, I tried the Son Rise techniques and was amazed at how well they worked, but I still felt something was missing because me son has more physical disability than he has symptoms of autism.
Over the course of three weeks, Anat Baniel’s book Kids Without Limits was mentioned to me three times. I read it. Luckily, I was able to find someone trained in her method somewhat locally and we started.
I feel the direction you took with this blog post mirrors what we are seeing. Watching my son’s brain awakening has been nothing short of amazing. It is also humbling. I have spent the last 5 years trying to force change, growth, with the many interventions we have tried. What I am realizing is that the body and the brain are doing the best they can with what they currently have. Instead of forcing things, give the brain the tools it needs to grow and learn. When we stopped forcing and started teaching and allowing him to do his best and not constantly demanding what WE wanted to see, not only did we start seeing tremendous gains, but we also found he was so much happier. And so were were we.
Instead of being at war with “autism” and his physical limits, we became a team. Instead of hurrying from one intervention to the next, we started listening to what he and his body had to tell us, working WITH him instead of doing battle with what we perceived to be “wrong”.
How do I know we are on the right path, at least for us? I believe that when we find the right path, things just fall into place. It is no longer such a struggle. We are no longer struggling through each day. Instead, we are finally enjoying each day. We are thrilled with his progress, but, more importantly, he feels respected, and that is something that doesn’t come in a bottle.
I LOVE this! I’m so glad to hear he’s doing so well. And what a testimonial!
What an excellent, thoughtful article.
I have long believed that another aspect of what is happening with programs like Son-Rise and with ABA therapy is that through increased joining and repetition, the startle response diminishes and the body’s “fight-or-flight” mechanism is reduced. As the over-secretion of stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) begins to slow, the chemistry of the body changes and the depletion of neurotransmitters (especially serotonin) and essential minerals and B-vitamins is also slowed.
The effects of stress on physiology cannot be overstated. And “stress” encompasses physical, emotional, and environmental situations.
As our children learn and grow through their increased interaction with us and with others around them, their biology is also changing and helping to heal the damage they have endured.
Your ending comment says it beautifully: “You can’t put all the pieces of the puzzle — any puzzle — together by dismissing the ones that don’t fit with your preconceived notions. The only way you can get the whole picture is by looking closely at those outlying, oddly-shaped pieces, and developing a theory that encompasses them.”
Well done.
Thanks, Marci! I totally agree about joining reducing stress levels, too. When kids are engaging in their “stims,” they are usually experiencing stress. That’s a big reason why they are reverting to a soothing behavior. Anything we can do to DECREASE that stress has to make a big difference in their level of safety, their ability to pay attention, and, ultimately, their ability to learn.
Thank you for the comment. In my experience, there is no scope forjoining in ABA, and in fact I was reprimanded for joining my son (who had autism) in his repetitive behaviors by his very well meaning ABA teacher.
Unfortunately, I’ve heard that, too, Abhijit. Which is why I didn’t bring up ABA, though I KNOW that there are practitioners who use joining. I think it is “non-standard” ABA and it just depends upon how “orthodox” the practitioner is.
Awesome blog! We must never give up putting the autism puzzle back together. Autism is a brain injury, fortunately though the brain regenerates every six months. The more I study the body the more I realize how much power we have within us to heal.