What is autism?
WHY IS IT SO HARD TO DEFINE?
Does autism come from the Brain, the
Mind or the Body?
-The terms Brain and Mind are sometimes used interchangeably
-Sometimes people forget that Body is attached to the Brain and therefore Mind
-Some believe it is a disorder (stemming from genetic or birth defect),
-Some believe it is a disease (stemming from environmental or viral causes).
-Some believe it is simply a difference (a natural, normal variant in humans)
-Additionally, autism is a spectrum, impacting individuals to different degrees
Symptoms of autism
Social-interaction difficulties
Communication challenges
Repetitive behaviors
Anxiety
Irritability
Focus and attention issues
Control issues
Lack Theory of Mind
Self stimulatory behavior
Gut issues
So what is autism?
Autism is all of the above.
Autism involves the body, brain and minds of individual people. Sometimes there are clear
genetic tendencies, and sometimes there are clear environmental causes, and sometimes all of
us can be somewhat on the spectrum.
The symptoms we see in those with an autism diagnosis can be obstacles for a good quality of
life.
What does this mean therapeutically?
Therapy is treatment intended to relieve or heal a disorder.
As a therapist (or parent), you are in a position to make decisions about how you intend to
relieve (compensate) or heal (remediate) autism.
Many therapists and settings are focused on compensation of symptoms (ex. Social skills,
structured teaching, shaping, modifying and extinguishing behavior)
Pathways Treatment Center focusses on remediation
Remediation of autism
Remediation is the correction of something that is not functioning correctly
What does remediation of autism mean? Organization of the body, brain and mind.
Is remediation an option for autism? Yes. It requires a lot of work.
Is remediation “measurable”? Not easily.
Is it quick? No and requires that the parents are highly involved, motivated and supported.
Is it worth it? Absolutely 
What do we know about brains of people
with autism?
Brains of people who have autism have some important anatomical and functional differences
from brains of people who do not have that diagnosis.
There is an increasing body of research being done into these differences.
There is not a specific area of the brain that is “not working” but the
synchronicity and connectivity of neural pathways are different.
What do we know about minds of people
with autism?
-confusion
-difficulty focusing
-overwhelmed
-disconnected
-stuck in thought
-afraid of change
-misunderstanding
- chaotic
Philosophy
Minds are the activity of the brain
Minds develop via experiences and relationships
The wiring of your brain can change your mind
Your mind can change the physiology of your brain
Your experiences and relationships happen with your body
Your mind develops via experiences and relationships
Its all connected
Neuro Plasticity
the capacity of the brain to create new neural connections and grow new neural connections in
response to thoughts (mind), experiences and relationships
This capacity of the brain continues throughout a lifespan
Some of my Therapy Heroes
Dr. Svelana
Masgutova
Dr. Steven Gutstein
Dr. Daniel Siegel
Dr. Siegel’s Hand model
Consider how information comes into
the body
Sensory information enters the body and is transmitted via sensory nerves to the central
nervous system
Early in development specific motor patterns occur in reaction to the sensory input and are
called Primitive Reflexes
As the baby grows and develops these Primitive Reflexes integrate into the brain and serve as
basis for many necessary functions of the brain.
Primitive Reflexes
Reflex:
◦ A muscle reaction that happens automatically in response to a certain type of
sensory stimulation
◦ Neuro-sensory-motor reflex circuits
◦ Automatic, unconscious, and constant – guaranteeing stability for the nervous
system in stress and distress
Mediated by the BRAINSTEM and CEREBELLUM
The movements are innate, not volitional and are expressed by every
individual
Emerging as early as 11-12wks gestation.
Emergence, Activation, maturation, and
integration.
The Purpose of Reflex Patterns
Survival and protection/ genetically encoded system programed to spur on development
Fundamental neurological building blocks for all learned movement and skills
Crucial for development of the brain and many cognitive and intellectual processes
Protection, survival, growth and development
Vygotsky
“The first infant movements do not disappear, they continue to work in union with higher
nervous formations”
In other words, primitive reflexes do not become “inhibited”, they integrate.
The integration is very important for development of the brain and therefore the mind.
What if the reflexes do not
integrate?
Physical, emotional and cognitive functioning will likely be impacted.
People with labels such as: Autism, Dyslexia, ADHD, LD, apraxia, Aspergers, Downs Syndrome,
sensory processing disorder, and speech and language disorder are very likely to have nonintegrated reflexes
Integration of Primitive Reflexes
Serves as a way to organize and stabilize what is occurring in the brainstem and lower limbic
system
Establishes “positive protection” so that the brain can develop and mature
The Reticular Activating System is a part of your brainstem. It acts as a customizable filter
which adapts to sensory information delivered from the sensory neurons
Many people with autism have RAS filtering problems, delivering too much or too little
information to the brain
The Brain is an Experience Dependent
Organ
If the information from the sensory and motor input from the body is unreliable or different, the
wiring of that brain will be different and unreliable
Brains that are unreliable have a difficult time experiencing the world and relationships in a
regular way
The mind builds on the structure of the brain is also based on experience and relationships
MNRI
Masgutova Neuro-Sensory-Motor Reflex Integration
Russian Psychologist, Svetlana Masgutova.
Techniques and exercises developed with the goal of maximizing positive protection in order to
facilitate restoration and maturation of the primary movement systems.
Combining what we know about how the body works biomechanically (contraction and
extension principles)…..with how we understand the brain to work neurologically
What does MNRI look like?
It is hands on work with the body and face
Specific sensory input along with the correct motor movement to re-pattern primary reflexes
Other parts of MNRI are about releasing tendons and muscles that are in protection and delivery
of specific touch into the tactile system
The Oral Facial part of MNRI is about activation and integration of the cranial nerves and is
directly applicable for eating, talking and auditory processing
The Mind and Autism
If the RAS of people with autism is not properly functioning, that person will have over or under
reactions to sensory input
Based on that experience, the person is likely to be put into a state of “fight/flight/freeze”
Being in that state limits the brain’s ability to use its higher order thinking abilities
Being in that state also creates high states of emotion for both that person and those around
that person
This impacts relationships, communication and experience based learning
Relationship Development Intervention
(RDI)
Developed by Steven Gutstein and his wife Rachelle Sheeley, Child Psychologists in Houston, TX
A parent training model that uses consultation to address the core thinking, learning,
communication and relationship issues common in people who have autism
RDI is about helping parents to use communication, trust and engagement to restore a guiding
relationship and expose the child to dynamic thinking processes
Static Thinking
The vast majority of mind differences in people with autism revolve around relative strengths in
static thinking and relative deficits in dynamic thinking.
Static thinking involves mental processes that are predictable, patterned, routine, and
unchanging in nature. Static thinking can be simplistic (watching the same video again and
again) to very complex in nature (What day of the week was November 28, 1798?)
Doing things repetitively, screen time, using chunks of language and having a hard time with
change is symptomatic of too much static thinking
Dynamic Thinking
Dynamic thinking is often thought of as common sense.
It is non-patterned, context dependent, co-regulatory and un-predictable
It typically develops without people targeting work on it
Having conversations, working with others, having friendships, managing multiple things at the
same time are examples of dynamic thinking abilities
People with autism typically have difficulties around these “non-measurable” processes, making
them slippery concepts in therapy
What does RDI look like?
Consultants meet with parents and provide education about autism and dynamic learning
Concepts include things like how to use communication to help the child with pre-requisites of
experience based learning
Pre-requisites include: engagement, feeling safe in relationship, building trust, communication,
reciprocity, internal motivation and competency, paying attention….
Parents are given a goal to work towards with the help of the Consultant. Parents video tape
their work and then problem solve as a team
Does this fit into a Speech-Language
Pathology model?
It is all related, body, brain, mind and communication.
Communication and thinking, relationships and learning are impossible to separate.
Parents want and need to be involved in the therapeutic process if remediation will be possible.
The setting in which you work will likely dictate what kinds of work you are able to use.
My website is: www.pathwaystreatmentcenter.org
Email: aecameron@aol.com