NEW STUDY SAYS BRAINS OF AUTISTIC PERSONS 'ORGANIZED DIFFERENTLY'

 According to a new study by scientists at the University of Montreal, the brains of autistic persons are 'organized differently', with the parts that process visual information highly developed. Other areas of the brain are 'less developed,' including those which deal with decision-making and planning. The research suggests why some autistic persons (my son included) excel at certain kinds of visual tasks, even while they have challenges in other areas, such as reading the expressions on other people's faces.
As the BBC quotes Dr Laurent Mottron from the University of Montreal:

"For example, this may show a means to help people to literacy in a much more natural way than the usual methods of helping autistic people."

"The natural tendency is to think that autism is a form of disorganisation. Here, what we see is that it is a reorganisation of the brain."

From the time he was a toddler, teachers and therapists quickly labeled my son Charlie a 'visual learner.' He has always had a strong visual memory, especially for colors and shapes. Though Charlie really struggles to read---somehow identifying the letters of the alphabet has always been very difficult for him---he's very good at doing things like putting together jigsaw puzzles. At school, he's shown an expected ability to assemble things like sprinkler heads. When we're out driving, Charlie is always carefully scanning the roads and, at times, has reminded his direction-impaired mother that she's driving the wrong way.
Says Carol Povey of the National Autistic Society about Dr. Mottron's study in the BBC:

"This study is interesting as it begins to demonstrate why people with autism often show a strong single channel for focus and attention.

"Some adults with autism develop their own ways of coping with this experience, some seek out calm and quiet places, whilst others find creative outlets, like art, can help them both process the information as well as give others an insight into how they see the world.

"The more insight we have into the way autism affects sensory processing, the more people with autism, their families and professionals can develop strategies to make daily life easier."

Regarding Charlie's ongoing struggle to read: I often feel that we just have not come upon the right method (and many have been tried). Studies like Dr. Mottron's make me suspect that we may have been going about teaching Charlie to read in quite the wrong way, by having him match flashcards of pictures to flashcards of words or trying to teach him phonics. As it's Autism Awareness Month, when many are calling for more understanding about autism and autistic persons, Dr. Mottron's research is especially good to learn about. Such research offers new understanding about how autistic persons perceive and understand the world, a very welcome help to parents like me who seek always to better support our children.
Dr. Mottron is known for his research about intelligence and perception in autistic persons.