We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanual Kant

I loved reading the book, 'The Brain that Changes Itself' by Norman Doidge, M.D. My new bible and latest fascination on brain plasticity. But I am particularly intrigued about how this theory relates to autism. In chapter 3, 'Redesigning the Brain' Michael Merzenich purports the theory of the critical period of brain development is thwarted in children with autism. Babies are unable to differentiate between the senses in the world around them which explains a lot of their fussiness and irritability and crying often for no apparent reason. BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) is a nerve growth factor which plays an important role in brain development. The BDNF turns on the nucleus-basilis which is the part of our brain that allows us to pay attention and remember what we have experienced. '(BDNF) is like a teacher in the brain saying, 'Now this is really important-that you have to know for the exam of life' (page 81).  When enough BDNF is released it turns off the nucleus basalis and our brains' neurons have been mapped and we are able to differentiate between important and not important sensory input. In people with autism the nucleus basalis is never switched off.

In children with autism, so much BDNF is released that instead of just important connections in the brain being reinforced, everything is. This explains why children with autism are hypersensitive to sensory stimuli because their brains are hyperexcitable and hypersensitive. Because the neuron brain maps have not been properly developed this explains why so many children with autism also suffer from epilepsy because once a few brain neurons start firing, the whole brain can be set off.  This can also explain why children with autism have bigger brains because since more neurons are being reinforced there is more substance that increases the fatty coating around the neurons.
Now this led to Merzenich developing his 'Fast Forward' program which is brain training; however, it requires 1 hour and 40 minutes per day 5 days per week. Money and Time??

We need an autism specific school in Geelong and more pre school funded places for early intervention. Investment in prevention will assist in the long term dealing with the consequences of not sufficient early intervention.