Interesting news item from The Discovery Channel (via AP) -- "unique brain wave patterns" have been found in children with autism.
Using an imaging helmet that resembles a big salon hair dryer, researchers discovered what they believe are "signatures of autism" that show a delay in processing individual sounds.
That delay is only a fraction of a second...[but] Imagine if it took a tiny bit longer than normal to understand each syllable. By the end of a whole sentence, you'd be pretty confused.
I find this fascinating. More importantly (yes, I acknowledge that there are things in this world more important than what I personally find intriguing), these findings could help parents of autistic immensely. Doctors could potentially discover and diagnose the disorder "in children as young as age 1", according to the article. That would enable parents to begin a treatment program much earlier than usual.
It's all very sci-fi looking – check out the photo. The article says that the device looks like a "salon hair dryer", but I think it looks more like something out of the X-Men. Anyway, I love trumpeting technological advances that are used to help parents and children. It's a reminder that tech isn't all about video games and cellphones that make pancakes. (Apologies to the late George Carlin, from whom I borrowed that line about pancakes. Mmmm... pancakes...)
I'd be curious to hear from anyone with more knowledge of autism than I (doctors, parents) if this treatment sounds promising, and/or if this is something that you have heard about, and whether or not you feel it will be helpful. It certainly sounds to me like it could.
Source: AP via Discovery.com
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