Autism: Intense World Syndrome

Post Reply New Topic

This view of autism resonates with me more strongly than any other I have come across, (e.g. E-S and mind-blindness).

Here's a quote from the 2007 scientific study which proposed the idea that autism can be called Intense World Syndrome: -

"The lack of social interaction in autism may therefore not be because of deficits in the ability to process
social and emotional cues as previously thought, but because a subset of
cues are overly intense, compulsively attended to, excessively processed
and remembered with frightening clarity and intensity. Autistic people
may, therefore, neither at all be mind-blind nor lack empathy for others,
but be hyper-aware of selected fragments of the mind, which may be so
intense that they avoid eye contact, withdraw from social interactions and
stop communicating. In such a scenario, the world may become painfully
intense for autistics and we, therefore, propose autism as an Intense
World Syndrome. We now review some of the key findings in past autism
research and provide a possible alternative interpretation of the results in
the light of the hypothesized syndrome."

General article: -
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and- ... sm-theory/

Scientific article: -
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2518049/

Sounds plausible. Intense world, yeah, I can dig it.

I was actually thinking about this last night and thought of searching on this site for it.

Always made more sense to me than the inert-cement-block-with-nothing-going-on-inside model.

But if the most famous-est autism experts don't endorse it, how true can it be? ( <-- just kidding/sarcasm)

I'm not sure; I feel rather mind-blind and clueless to me. I'm sure if things were just too intense I'd be aware of the fact... it never occurred to me as a kid to make eye contact or any of that, not know I was supposed to but couldn't out of intensity.

Do people that are nonverbal really just "withdraw from communication"? I thought they just couldn't. This theory confuses me.

It makes sense to me. It fits what I know about myself.

All though, I always wonder with these kind of things, could the idea be true for just some people with autism, not all?

May not apply to all, by no means clear that AS is unitary.

Certainly Intense World close fits some of my Inner Circle and is not far off others.

I think I fit 'Intense World Syndrome' more as an adult and E-S/mind-blindness more as a child/adolescent. Always had elements of both though. But that's me.

Sounds plausible to me too. I like how it ties the sensory overload to the social deficits. I.e. We withdraw due to intense stimulation and fail to learn social skills during some crucial development period. If this is the case, it probably occurs subconsciously and during infancy. Maybe even in the womb?

Yep, I like to refer to my intense empathy being IWS. My latest blog kind of goes into it, though it's about music. I think I'm too intensely into music vs. other music fans. Makes me feel lonely.

It makes a lot of sense, but I'm not sure it's a complete explanation. Wouldn't the intensity of social experience result in "deficits in the ability to process
social and emotional cues?" It doesn't seem to me to be an either/or proposition.

Quote from "Intense World Syndrome" research referenced above:

"Such excessive neuronal processing in circumscribed circuits is suggested to lead to hyper-perception, hyper-attention, and hyper-memory."

I was born in 1960 and had some of the more severe traits that usually separate an autistic child from one that develops Aspergers; I had the significant speech delay until four years old; however, I can remember complex thoughts about the world when I was three years old. I wondered why? The research for the "Intense World Syndrome Model" indicates that the Autistic Brain is born smaller and then growth accelerates until age four. Although, most of my life, I had a hard time verbally expressing my complex thoughts and perceptions about the world, this hyper-attention, and hyper-memory helped me to gain success in life.

I was born in a small town with small schools. The most stimulating things in my environment were black and white TV (Andy Griffith, etc.), the sound of cars, and people with positive outlooks on life. The hyper-perception quality was most troublesome with the sense of touch; other senses were heightened, but the environmental experience, in general, was pleasurable.

My environment did not get overstimulating until Middle School. Up until this point my school pictures show a happy, smiling child. After this, the blank stare and face with no expression. I eventually learned the social processes again, and was able to blend in well enough, but it was a constant science project.

Stimulus from technology crept into my life at a reasonable pace, but got overwhelming in my mid 40's. First the colors in the TV and Computer started to hurt my eyes; black and white TV shows did not hurt. Then, I could not bear the sound of music, then light in general, then the sound of voices, and finally a general feeling that I had my finger stuck in an electrical outlet.

I think one of the leading environmental factors that may affect the severity of where a person is on the spectrum is the stimuli from our world today. This may also factor in with the number of cases reported. The intensity of environmental stimulus is incredible compared to what it was 50 years ago. The amount of information we are exposed to is amazing; particularly for a mind that focuses on details.

Over Stimulus (the adrenaline effect) may be exciting if a person has a normal nervous system. An individual that is young, robust, and very high on the spectrum, may be able to handle a great deal of stimulus/stress for many years. I think the eventual effect of the constant "adrenaline life" can be particularly destructive to the health of people on the Autism Spectrum.

The good news is we can have a positive impact on this if we reduce the amount of stimulus we are exposed to. The bad news is it is very difficult because all types of adrenaline stimulating devices: TV, Computers, Loud Music Devices, Cell Phones, Video games, etc. are addictive; not much different than a monkey pressing a lever to get cocaine. And, unfortunately, in many cases, stimulus overload/intense stress cannot be avoided in school and work.

I suggest keeping the nervous system rested as much as possible whenever possible by whatever means available that you find that works: meditation, yoga, animals, nature, quiet music you find relaxing, etc., along with moderate exercise, if you have the physical ability to do so. Exercise can help burn off excess adrenaline, improving the quality of relaxation and sleep.

amazing article, thank you.

very true for me too.
I was rather LFA as a kid and now I fit Aspergers better than LFA or even HFA.

but as a kid, not much was going in there other than what facinated me at the moment, but as I grew up, I become keenly aware of things going on around me and some can be overwhelming. Eye contact is still bothersome. As a kid, I didnot make eye contact because it just did not occur to me. As an adult, I dont like to because it is too invasive.

Yeah this sounds interesting. Usually I feel the world is too intense for me.

Yes that is very similar to my own case.

One of the things that came up in that article was the parts of the brain called the amygdala. Their idea is very interesting that at least part of the problem in autism is that the amygdala are busier than usual. Wikipedia also talks about how the amygdala are responsible for storing long-term memories depending on how strong the emotions associated with those memories are. Maybe this also explains why we memorize so much about our special interests when we're enjoying them so much.