We returned from lunch to enjoy another session with Eustacia that was equally stimulating on Thursday. She had decided to speak on the problems going on within Autism that are disorienting us. Society today is very different from our history. The last hundred years may as well have been a thousand in terms of the differences in the way that we live.
Historically Autistic kids were more easily absorbed into society than they are today. Life was often rural in nature which allows a variety of opportunities for those on the spectrum. Young adults driving farm equipment from the time they can barely see over the steering wheel that perhaps would never have the opportunity to drive if they had to deal with urban traffic and noise. They could milk cows, care for livestock, and find meaningful purpose to their lives. Our lives get increasingly more complex to cope with on a daily basis , which is a concern for our children as they reach ages where they would like to be independent. The society itself valued a child brave enough ( fearlessly autistic) to climb to the top of a ships mast in a storm and make sure every rope was carefully, obsessively tied. Their special abilities were often of great value although narrow in scope. Our current culture places real strain on our spectrum kids.
She gave two definitions. Empathy and Sympathy. Empathy, is where if you cut yourself I can actually feel the pain of that cut. Sympathy is the imaginative act of a concious mind to imagine how someone else might feel. Empathy is why we are able to function as a tribe or group. It is the essence of our humanity.
Mirror Neurons are a new field of study. They are essentially "empathy" neurons. Neurons that respond in the premotor cortex that can be activated by imitation or actual motor operation, or even simply thinking about an action. It is a whole new area of neurological study being conducted by Dr. Ramachandra and Dr. Eric Kandel. One study she described involved them wiring up the brain of a live monkey and watching her responses. The day was very hot in the laboratory and one of the lab workers walked in with an ice cream. The monkeys brain lit up like a christmas tree in the exact area of her brain that she would use to lick the ice cream herself!
Mirror neurons don't work the same way for those on the spectrum. Autistic kids can come to sympathy through intellect, but not through emotion. Emotion is required for empathy. Spectrum kids have trouble imitating the actions of others because this is all related to the mirror neurons system. Human beings generally learn by imitation even now, right from early speech to doctors and interns and trades. Autism reminds us that the self emerges from a reciprocity with other human beings. When it withdraws, it barely exists. We characters in a play that doesn't have the same depth if there is only one player. There is isolation.
Eustacia spoke of a researcher who was looking at isolating the gene for Autism and her experience with a young Asperger's man in the audience. The young man stood up at the end of her presentation and asked her if she was trying to eliminate him. She was very upset by the exchange and explained that it was important to find the gene responsible. At the end of the lecture she approached Eustacia and talked about the exchange and they discussed that if they did isolate the gene perhaps Autism would no longer exist. The ramifications of that for that young man were deeply disturbing since that was his identity. Imagine a world without Bill Gates, Einstein, and countless others? It makes me wonder if the absolute elimination of autism will somehow hasten the exinction of the human race. People on the spectrum make a contribution to our lives and to humanity every day. Elimination of anyone for me is a disquieting thought.
I do look forward to advances and hearing more about this research in hopes that we can continue to enhance the quality of life for people who live out their lives on the spectrum. This research promises hope.
In love and light,
Kathryn
Historically Autistic kids were more easily absorbed into society than they are today. Life was often rural in nature which allows a variety of opportunities for those on the spectrum. Young adults driving farm equipment from the time they can barely see over the steering wheel that perhaps would never have the opportunity to drive if they had to deal with urban traffic and noise. They could milk cows, care for livestock, and find meaningful purpose to their lives. Our lives get increasingly more complex to cope with on a daily basis , which is a concern for our children as they reach ages where they would like to be independent. The society itself valued a child brave enough ( fearlessly autistic) to climb to the top of a ships mast in a storm and make sure every rope was carefully, obsessively tied. Their special abilities were often of great value although narrow in scope. Our current culture places real strain on our spectrum kids.
She gave two definitions. Empathy and Sympathy. Empathy, is where if you cut yourself I can actually feel the pain of that cut. Sympathy is the imaginative act of a concious mind to imagine how someone else might feel. Empathy is why we are able to function as a tribe or group. It is the essence of our humanity.
Mirror Neurons are a new field of study. They are essentially "empathy" neurons. Neurons that respond in the premotor cortex that can be activated by imitation or actual motor operation, or even simply thinking about an action. It is a whole new area of neurological study being conducted by Dr. Ramachandra and Dr. Eric Kandel. One study she described involved them wiring up the brain of a live monkey and watching her responses. The day was very hot in the laboratory and one of the lab workers walked in with an ice cream. The monkeys brain lit up like a christmas tree in the exact area of her brain that she would use to lick the ice cream herself!
Mirror neurons don't work the same way for those on the spectrum. Autistic kids can come to sympathy through intellect, but not through emotion. Emotion is required for empathy. Spectrum kids have trouble imitating the actions of others because this is all related to the mirror neurons system. Human beings generally learn by imitation even now, right from early speech to doctors and interns and trades. Autism reminds us that the self emerges from a reciprocity with other human beings. When it withdraws, it barely exists. We characters in a play that doesn't have the same depth if there is only one player. There is isolation.
Eustacia spoke of a researcher who was looking at isolating the gene for Autism and her experience with a young Asperger's man in the audience. The young man stood up at the end of her presentation and asked her if she was trying to eliminate him. She was very upset by the exchange and explained that it was important to find the gene responsible. At the end of the lecture she approached Eustacia and talked about the exchange and they discussed that if they did isolate the gene perhaps Autism would no longer exist. The ramifications of that for that young man were deeply disturbing since that was his identity. Imagine a world without Bill Gates, Einstein, and countless others? It makes me wonder if the absolute elimination of autism will somehow hasten the exinction of the human race. People on the spectrum make a contribution to our lives and to humanity every day. Elimination of anyone for me is a disquieting thought.
I do look forward to advances and hearing more about this research in hopes that we can continue to enhance the quality of life for people who live out their lives on the spectrum. This research promises hope.
In love and light,
Kathryn
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