Megan Arumpanayil

     As technology continues to advance, clinicians and researchers are becoming better equipped to understand the factors that define autism.  Where there was once a diagnostic dependency on being able to gauge communicative ability, an unreliable method that was difficult to detect in children and sometimes concealed by "compensatory learning" in adults, there is now the resource of brain imaging (Frith 672).  A long hypothesized "Theory of Mind" that suggested autistic individuals possessed the ability to form explicit understandings but could not draw intuitive conclusions was verified through studies that analyzed brain activity (Frith 672).  Frith cites a study where a group of autistic individuals and a group of non autistic individuals were asked to complete a series of tasks, some requiring intuitive reasoning, and some focusing on explicit behavioral understanding.  Results consistently show an under stimulation in autistic individuals when faced with intuitive challenges compared to non autistic individuals.  This provided concrete evidence explaining the interconnected workings of different regions of the brain, linking the "medial prefrontal and temporal cortex as the neural substrate of intuitive mentalising" (672).  Such a disconnect can be found to explain symptoms common across autism such as alexithymia, difficulty expressing emotions (Frith 672).  Difficulties telling lies or general imaginativeness as described by Sacks from his interactions with Temple can be attributed to inactivity in these unresponsive regions.  These findings allow for a more comprehensive understanding of autism and how it specifically affects each person on an individualized level, providing potential for better supportive therapies, thereby improving individuals' abilities to function within society.

     While new research is invaluable to a progressively growing understanding of Autism, it is also important to keep in mind that cultural attitudes towards the condition should not be aimed to force autistic individuals into a societally approved way of thinking, but rather to allow them to better communicate with others in a way that still appreciates their individuality.  The inability to comprehend implicit information speaks volumes about the capabilities of those who are able to achieve a high level of function solely based on compensation through explicit learning. In addition to her numerous achievements in animal science, Temple Grandin has been a well recognized advocate for the unique perspective autistic individuals, particularly those with Asperger's syndrome, have the potential to provide.  She believes there is great merit to different perspectives, and that they are crucial to the development of the future.  She demonstrates this merit in her daily life, which is evident in her personally published website, including a short description of her work.