Rewiring the Autistic Brain 139
sciencehabit writes "Signs of autism — such as impaired social skills and repetitive, ritualistic movements — usually begin to appear when a child is about 18 months old. Autism is thought to result from miswired connections in the developing brain, and many experts believe that therapies must begin during a 'critical window,' before the faulty circuits become fixed in place. But a new study (abstract) shows that at least one malfunctioning circuit can be repaired after that window closes, holding out hope that in some forms of autism, abnormal circuits in the brain can be corrected even after their development is complete."
Anyone else insulted by this? (Score:1, Informative)
Most symptoms of an ASD can be patched over with a little studying & practice & I know this from experience.
If bad thriller movies have taught us anything... (Score:5, Informative)
...any experiments along these lines will lead to the subjects developing terrifying mental powers, leading to a series of events ending with the callous lead scientist having his head explode.
No surprise here (Score:4, Informative)
That said, it is obviously more flexible the younger you are, so if you can spot signs of neurological problems early and devise treatment regimens to offset, balance, or repair those problems it makes sense to do it as early as possible, even if it can be done to some degree later.
Re:No such thing as 'autism' (Score:2, Informative)
Seriously, and with all due respect, fuck you very much.