by Bette Lamont
One of the most moving experiences to be had by a parent or therapist is to witness an authentic, relational child emerging from the isolation and internal chaos of autism.
While the cause of this epidemic is continually being debated, and sub-types being defined, it is not the purpose of NeuroDevelopmental Movement® to pursue this debate, nor to diagnose children on the autism spectrum. Our purpose is to address the underlying neurodevelopmental challenges of each individual child and thus help them create a more organized developmental base and claim a sense of themselves and the world.
The diagnostic criteria for autism include four general characteristic with numerous sub-categories, including: Qualitative impairment in social interactions; qualitative impairments in communication; restrictive repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviors; delays or abnormal functioning in social interaction; language as used in social communication, symbolic, or imaginative play. This is the DSM IV criteria for the diagnosis of autism. We rely on the presence of these characteristics to make a diagnosis without regard to the underlying cause of the characteristics.
However, we do a disservice to the children we are trying to help if we rely solely on these external characteristics when there are a variety of means to discover their underlying cause.
There are many studies that indicate that children with autism have a structural basis for that condition, often displaying abnormal electroencephalograms, seizures, and abnormalities on neurological examination. Autopsies of autistic persons have revealed abnormalities in the hippocampus and cerebellum.
NeuroDevelopmental Movement® is a process designed to directly address the structural bases that are implicated in autism. In NDM theory we have observed and now propose that a child or adult of any age, when taken back through normal stages of development that occur in the first months of life, will experience substantial changes in behaviors.
At this stage it may be useful to discuss the relationship between specific areas of the brain and behaviors. While each brain is different, the arc of our experience bends toward a neurodevelopmental view of autism as perhaps the most helpful in finding appropriate solutions.
Behaviors typical of autism can be associated with specific organs in the brain. The autistic individual who exhibits anxiety, self destructive or self mutilation behaviors and who is unable to bond may be demonstrating dysfunction at the level of the pons. The pons is an organ of the brain that is myelinized between birth and seven months of age. The pons needs stimulus in the earliest months of life to fully organize its functions. Damage to that organ of the brain, often accompanied by inadequate stimulation due to cultural changes in child-rearing practices can lead to dysfunction and thus, abnormal behaviors.
Looking at the pons in detail we become aware that this organ is responsible for vital sensation. Knowing when we are in pain, too hot, too cold, in danger, is a survival skill that is organized during these earliest months of life. If this function is disrupted the person may see everything as threatening and exhibit pervasive anxiety in any but the most familiar and routine environments. The pons may be constantly sending out the “Alert! Danger!” signal when no danger is in sight.
Conversely, because the pons is responsible for integrating the sensation of pain, the client may feel a need to inflict pain on themselves in order to feel that they are “real” and “alive”. Weighted suits have been developed to give these individuals strong sensory stimulation to help alleviate the symptom. Our interest, however, is in going back to stimulate the pons and normalizing perception so these behaviors and interventions are no longer necessary for them to feel ‘normal’.
During the birth to seven month stage of development, when the pons is most actively being integrated, the infant goes through many steps in the bonding process. This is the time, for instance, during which the infant makes profound eye contact with other human beings. These infants recognize that the human face, with its particular arrangement of eyes, nose and mouth, belongs to a being that can potentially feed them, keep them warm, or save their life. This recognition that the world is basically responsive and safe is one of the bases for bonding.
Without this orientation to other human beings, the child may develop attachments to objects that represent safety, and cannot bear to be without them. These are the situations in which a truck or a blanket may become more comforting and beloved than a parent. One of the reasons the object becomes safer than a family member is that the object has a constant shape, appearance, and relationship to the autistic child, while a human being is every changing and unpredictable. When the object is challenged or taken away, the aforementioned anxieties become even more intense and severe behavioral problems can ensue.
By diligently doing daily activities that stimulate the pons, going back to re-do, in effect, what nature intended in the infant, we see significant changes in behaviors. For example, one of our clients after two months of NDM had developed his first friendship, had more confidence in school and horseback riding, and had begun to hug his mother spontaneously and lovingly for the first time. By the end of our year of work together this client had lost his apprehension in crowded situations; was willing to have conversations amongst a group of people; played appropriately with his younger brother, demonstrating care and compassion; no longer chewed on his knuckles or picked his scabs; was able to sleep in his room alone for the first time; and had developed three friendships.
In effect, the three characteristics common both to pons level dysfunction and to autism had been resolved. This young man could now feel extremes; he was able to bond with family members and friends; his particular anxieties had diminished to the point of being non-issues.
Abnormalities in the cerebellum are often seen in children with the diagnosis of autism. Why do autistic people rock back and forth or twirl repetitively? This is a response to the needs of the cerebellum. The cerebellum, together with the vestibular system, orients us in space, in relation to the pull of gravity. The system of canals in the inner ear act much like a carpenter’s level and tell us when our head is upright, where down is, and how to orient in the world. If this system is dysfunctional, the cerebellum will require a great deal more stimulation. This stimulation comes best from the stereotypical rocking and spinning of the autistic person. However, the system does not become more effective in processing these signals, so the rocking behavior continues while the child tries without success to develop an orientation to the world.
Stimulus to the cerebellum, an organ that is being fully integrated during the 7-12 month period of life, involves retracing steps to do those activities that would integrate the cerebellum of a normally developing child. This stimulus, in order to be effective, must be done consistently, intensively, and repetitively to break through the dysfunction and create a higher level of functioning.
Why is the autism spectrum individual so sensitive to light, sound, touch? During the 7-12 month period of development, the brain is developing the capacity to filter out sensations it does not need in order to do the primary task at hand. In any ordinary moment of our lives we are bombarded with the texture of our clothes, the pressure of the chair, the contact with a watchband. Our eyes take in color, shifting patterns, light, and movement. Meanwhile, our ears are dealing with a passing truck, the cell phone of the person sitting next to us, a radio in the background, and the conversation in which we are engaged. How do we choose where our attention should go?
The fact is that we do not have to make those choices because they are processed at pre-cortical levels of the brain. All sensation initially comes into our brain not through the cortex, but through more primitive organs that are developing filtering skills in the 7-12 month period. When we attempt to focus, our lower brain cooperates with us beautifully so that we can conceivably stand in a noisy restaurant, making casual conversation with a dinner guest while writing a check for the meal. This is the world that most of us are able to live in comfortably.
When lower brain centers are unable to do their job due to dysfunction, lights can be too bright; repeated patterns can cause distress or even seizures; textures against our body never disappear into the background, but instead become a constant stream of sensory input. Thus, many autistic individuals will wear the most non-offending fabrics. Sounds can be overwhelming; repetitive sounds can never be set aside to focus on conversation, but may instead become more dominant than a speaker sitting in front of the client. In extreme cases the client can be totally absorbed by a sound that is imperceptible to anyone else in the room.
The infant brain develops a marvelous mechanism for allowing us to prioritize, filter, sequence, and moderate sensation. Inherent in every human brain are reflexive responses, sensory receptors and movement patterns that help create pathways in the brain that normalize our relationships to the sensory world.
During the first year of life, it has been estimated that the human brain learns 50% of everything it is ever going to know. While that specific percentage may be debatable, what is not in question is that the infant is acquiring a tremendous amount of skill and knowledge that will become the scaffolding for all later learning. Because this infant does not learn through language, logic, or self-contemplation, we have to consider deeply that the major learning tools for this child are reflex, movement, and sensation. With a rich sensory and motor diet the infant integrates critical brain functions, among them the ability to screen and filter unnecessary information in order to focus on a specific object, activity, or conversation.
We must also consider that lack of these critical learning elements may limit the capacity of primitive organs in the brain to function to their potential. And in addition, we must acknowledge that the repetition of these same early activities at any time during the lifespan has the capacity to stimulate primitive brain functions. In sum, characteristics common to pons, cerebellar, and midbrain level dysfunction and to autism, can been resolved when treated with a NeuroDevelopmental Movement® plan.
Can NeuroDevelopmental Movement® effectively address the symptoms of autism spectrum disorders? The answer is a certain ‘YES’. By addressing the neurological dysfunction at the appropriate developmental level normal function is achievable. If we can recognize that a neurological dysfunction is the source of the collection of symptoms known as autism, we will develop better tools for integrating autistic individuals into society.
Sources:
“Autism”, Scott, Susan, NW Neurodevelopmental Training Center, Woodburn, Oregon
Scott, Florence, R.N., lectures and training 1987 – 1990
Goodchild, Sargent, Executive Director, Active Healing. Adult, fully recovered from autism, cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder.
Developmental Movement Center files, 1988 – 2008
DSMV-IV, 2006