Train in the bedroom by Max
Penguin Bubbles by Max
Crocodile in the Bathtub by Max
(Examples of my son's visual thinking and artistic expression at age six and seven)
Have you ever thought about the way you think? I know it is a strange question but it is one that scientists are now looking at with regard to people who are on the autism spectrum. In a recent BBC news report, there is a story about how University of Montreal scientists found that people who have autism have highly developed areas of the brain to process visual information. It seems there is a price to pay for this brain specialization. They also found that certain parts of the brain in people with autism are less active.
The study authors analyzed brain imaging studies conducted over a span of 15 years and compared the brain images of autistic participants with those who do not have autism. They found that autistic individuals show more activity in the temporal and occipital regions and less activity in the frontal cortex than people without autism. What this means in everyday language is that people with autism are probably going to be better at perceiving and recognizing visual patterns but may have difficulty in the ability to plan and make decisions. The study can be found in the April issue of the journal Human Brain Mapping.
As a parent of a child with autism my response to this report is, “Tell me something new!”
It seems this is a case where science validates what we pretty much know about autism especially if we have a family member who has been diagnosed with this disorder. Many children with autism are “visual thinkers.” When I hear the term, visual thinker, I think of Temple Grandin, a famous animal scientist who is also an adult with autism. Her life story is depicted in an award winning movie called Temple Grandin where you get to see how her visual thinking helped her to think outside the box and problem-solve in a way few people can. Yet you also get to see where her style of thinking led to great difficulties in relating to others.
Temple Grandin is also the author of many books including “Thinking in Pictures” which details her way of processing information. She explains what thinking in pictures means on her website:
“I THINK IN PICTURES. Words are like a second language to me. I translate both spoken and written words into full-color movies, complete with sound, which run like a VCR tape in my head. When somebody speaks to me, his words are instantly translated into pictures.”
When I read Temple Grandin’s book for the first time it was like a light bulb went off for me. It made so much sense to explain my son’s thought processes and also how very difficult verbal language was and still is for him. It also explained my son’s passion for art.
Shortly after my son, Max, was diagnosed with autism, he began to draw. Within the span of several months we found out that Max was both autistic and artistic. My son had never drawn much of anything before his fourth birthday. We had one coloring page where he scribbled randomly with a crayon and I labeled it “Blue” and hung it on the wall above his bed.
