What is Autism? Autism identified by the dictionary is a pervasive developmental disorder of children, characterized by impaired communication, excessive rigidity, and emotional detachment Autism is a serious mental illness. It can affect a child’s physical, language, and social skills.

Symptoms typically start appearing in children around age three. The Autism spectrum is very broad and there are many different ways each individual can be affected by the disorder.  Some symptoms of autism aren’t always visible, some people may have autism and you would never know. Whereas, other individuals affected by the disease may have the inability to speak and/or communicate effectively. This is just one example of how differently autism can affect each individual. Some common symptoms of autism consist of: avoiding eye contact, struggling to make relationships, trouble learning, limited facial expressions, lack of spoken language, growing attached to inanimate objects, and repetitive behaviors, such as hand flapping.

The causes of autism are still unknown, but scientists have figured genetic and environmental factors could lead to the disorder. There is no cure for autism, but it can be treated by therapy geared toward social interactions and speech. But how do we know for sure if a child really has autism, or just a learning impairment?

This is where neuropathology can help. Neuropathology is a way we can study the different parts of the brain and how they areaffected by certain mental illnesses. For example, the hippocampus is a part of the brain responsible for learning and memory. When doctors can see and study the hippocampus they can gain specific insight as to how it is functioning. They can study the size of the hippocampus and look for indicators that allude to proper (or improper) functioning of the brain. If the hippocampus is smaller than a normal one it could indicate that the hippocampus isn’t functioning right and that there may be a problem. Or if it’s signals aren’t getting through, doctors could then make the informed conclusion that the patient could have a mental illness affecting them. If we can identify any abnormalities in the functioning of different parts of the brain that are responsible for learning, memory, language, social, and behavioral skills are affected, it would help us diagnose autism earlier or even be sure someone actually has autism.  

A new study found that we can see these parts of the brain more easily in sleeping toddlers.  The study showed abnormalities in communication between the two hemispheres in the brain. When the messages sent between the language and communication areas of our brain were out of sync, autism was more likely to occur. 70% of the children in the study who had autism also experienced the synchronization abnormality.

This new way of detecting autism can have major impacts. If found early, children can go right into therapy to combat the symptoms of the disorder. They can find different coping mechanisms and different ways of learning that work for them. Autism is a serious mental disorder that affects so many lives. With this new way of discovering it, so many lives could be changed for the better. Here are some questions you can answer if you would like to look further into this topic.

1. What behavioral changes can you expect to see from two kids with autism, but are on different ends of the autism spectrum?
2. How can neuropathology help detect other diseases earlier too?
3. What can doctors do, to make neuropathology more common than it is now?