‘Ignite CHANGE’

ASD Awareness Month, April 2024

There are many dates during April all centred around Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) – they are World ASD Awareness Month, World Autism Week (2nd - 8th April), and this week begins with World Autism Day. 

One theme for this awareness month in 2024 is ‘Ignite Change’. 

It is a compelling theme for any campaign. It suggests a powerful bright catalyst that brings about important change that is enduring. 

During April you can get involved with all sorts of education and events that range from the international to your local community. Locals in WA should also keep an eye out for all the colourful lights projected onto and out of buildings and well known structures around Perth and regional areas, as individuals and groups ‘Light up the Spectrum’ for Autism Awareness. There is even a map to these luminous displays and a photo competition for those that might be inspired to capture the bright lights that hope to ignite change and raise awareness this month.

Photo by Shahadat Rahman on Unsplash

When we think of light, we might think of the stars, of shiny planets and sparkling constellations lighting up the night sky. Dr Lisa Gershwin interviewed on the ABC - described ‘the spectrum’ of the experience of ASD as more like ‘a constellation in space where we [individuals with ASD] are all at different points in space, and not in a linear spectrum that goes from - NOT autistic at one end, to VERY autistic at the other’. 

To visualise the complex spectrum of ASD in this way, much more like a diverse and vibrant constellation that changes over time, also lends itself to better understanding the intricacies of the characteristics of this experience for an individual. 

We can’t leave her quote without talking a little more about Dr Gershwin. 

Dr Gershwin, Lisa, is a Scientist, an Author, an Artist, and she is a ‘neuro-spicy’ member of the board of Autism Tasmania. Lisa studies many things, including jellyfish. She developed an amazing system to predict blooms of dangerous Irukandji jellyfish in Queensland, and she was one of the co-describers of a unique jellyfish that is now called Bazinga reiki, in a new family called Banzingidae. 

Bazinga! 

There is much to be appreciated in her description of the constellation of ASD, and the way she names jellyfish too.

Image by: Canva

Currently there are core areas used to define an ASD diagnosis that are characterised by differences in behaviour, social interaction, communication, and sensory processing. Individuals with ASD may also experience additional challenges, things like ADHD, anxiety and depression.

Within current meta-analysis of scientific literature, where a team look closely at as many international research studies asking similar questions that they can find, it is suggested as many as 50-70% of individuals with ASD may also be diagnosed with comorbid (meaning different disorder, but at the same time) ADHD, and 40% may also struggle with an anxiety disorder. These challenges for an individual, when all happening at the same time, can add yet more complexity to the experience of daily life.

Photo by Kym MacKinnon on Unsplash

When we think of light, we may also think of electricity. Did you know our ability to think, feel, and do things every day is because of the billions of the tiny neurons in our brains and how they work together electrically and chemically. This activity produces electrical waves that we can measure called brainwaves. Special brain scans known as QEEG can be used to see how the brain by measuring these brainwaves. 

QEEG brain scans measure your brainwaves in real time and can detect unusual patterns of brain activity in specific areas and networks of the brain. Different areas of the brain have different functions, and if an area of the brain is not producing the right type of brainwave activity it cannot do the “job” it was designed to do. In other words QEEG brain scans provide information about an individual’s brain function that can help to explain why someone has difficulty with specific things, like attention, learning, or self-regulation.

QEEG brain scans cannot be used to diagnose ASD because diagnosis is based upon certain behavioural criteria being met. QEEG brain scans can be used though to help understand why someone is thinking, feeling and behaving the way that they are. This unique information about how an individual’s brain is working can also be used to direct personalised and drug-free therapies such as neurofeedback.

What is Neurofeedback Therapy?

Neurofeedback, also known as EEG Biofeedback, is a brain-based therapy that uses a sophisticated brain-computer-interface (BCI) to help people change their own patterns of brain activity by training brainwaves, the tiny electrical signals produced by the brain. Neurofeedback harnesses the natural ability of the brain to change its own structure and function, a process known as ‘neuroplasticity.’

Brain training is not new. For example, people have been changing their own patterns of brain activity for thousands of years during the practice of meditation. Neurofeedback is not meditation but instead uses modern technology to help people change very specific patterns of brain activity to improve how their brain works.

Neurofeedback is suitable for people of almost all ages. People sit comfortably and relax during training whilst sensors precisely detect and measure brainwave activity. This information is analysed in real-time and presented as audio and visual feedback. This real-time feedback can be used to improve brain function, through a process known as ‘conditioning’, a type of learning.

Neurofeedback is often guided by information from special brain scans known as QEEG (Quantitative Electro-Encephalogram). The information from these scans can allow for more specific and targeted training.

Photo by Victor Rodriguez on Unsplash

As psychiatrist Dr. Norman Doidge describes in the internationally best-selling book ‘The Brain’s Way of Healing - Remarkable Recoveries and Discoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity’ (2015):

“Neurofeedback is a sophisticated form of biofeedback and an extremely versatile treatment. It has recently been recognised by the American Academy of Paediatrics as a treatment for removing ADD and ADHD symptoms as effectively as medications. It rarely has side effects, as it is a form of brain training. It also has been approved for the treatment of certain kinds of epilepsy and is effective for many other conditions, including certain kinds of anxiety, post-traumatic stress conditions, learning disorders, brain injuries, migraines, and sensitivities that affect the autistic spectrum, to mention a few. It is a neuroplastic treatment but is not better known because it was pioneered before neuroplasticity was widely understood.”

Photo by Maxim Berg on Unsplash

It is interesting to consider change too as something that is a constant. As we are changing all the time, our brains are changing, and so too is science. ASD has only had standard definitions and diagnostic criteria from the early 1900’s, though it is unknown how long Autism has been a natural and valuable part of human neurodiversity. Consider too the ‘spectrum’ of definitions and conceptualisations for ASD have changed significantly over this time - being informed by research, clinical experience, and most importantly recently by Autistic-led organisations. These descriptions will continue to change as neuroscience advances, just as ‘mainstream’ and evidence-based treatment options will also change.

If you would like to find out more about how your unique brain functions and changes, with everything you think, feel and do each day, the Team at The Perth Brain Centre embrace you and your bright brain. 

You can watch, read, call or email, to find out more today.

About the authors:

Daniel Lane (Clinic Director, Perth Brain Centre)

Ms. Emily Goss (Occupational Therapist, Senior Clinician, Perth Brain Centre)