rTMS and Autism

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I've read a couple of articles about how researchers in Australia are running clinical trials using rTMS (repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) on children with autism to see if it can help with the delay of language and some other things. Does anyone know more about this stuff?
A couple of years ago I had rTMS for treating my depression (before I was diagnosed with Aspergers)...after the rTMS my Aspergers symptoms were MUCH more prominent. I've obviously been very interested in this subject for some time now...

I never heard of this treatment. Can you tell me more about it? Are you saying they are putting your brain next to a magnet?

Essentially—yes. It was approved by the FDA five or so years ago for the treatment of depression (when no other drugs/treatments work). rTMS is affective for about 1/3 of people with depression. Its supposed to be completely side-effect free, as opposed to medications or ECT which can obviously impair your memory among other nasty things.

After exhausting all other options (tons of different meds, tons of therapy etc), I opted for the rTMS. They have rTMS machines at most reputable hospitals. Every other day for several weeks you sit in this chair (the machine) and a nurse straps your head to the main part which emits about 10 electrical pulses every couple of minutes. The machine is VERY high-tech (must cost millions of dollars)...it automatically adjusts itself so that it can target the exact part of your brain which is (supposedly) correlated with depression. If you move your head even slightly the machine automatically stops and it readjusts itself. The magnetic pulses just feel like someone tapping on your head...not painful or anything, just gets really annoying after a while lol...takes like an hour or two. I just brought some books and magazines with me to deal with the boredom.

My theory is that maybe my initial depression was caused by social issues, loneliness (from Aspergers) that can't be treated with medications alone...since I wasn't diagnosed with Aspergers at that point in time (and rTMS has NOT been approved by the FDA for the 'treatment' of autism), thats why the machine had an...unusual effect on me...to say the least. I was thinking of filing a report to the FDA but never got around to it.

If you say it is "side effect free", why is it reserved only for the case when all other options fail? Shouldn't lack of side effects be a reason for rTMS to be the very first thing to try?

You'd think that, but there are probably several reasons that it isn't. One being money- The OP said it's a treatment that lasts several weeks. Medication is often needed for several months/ years, if not a life long treatment.. Which means more money in the long run. It's also a fairly new treatment, being approved for only 5 years is pretty much brand new, so I'm sure many doctors don't think about it right away, and it sounds like many people don't either. I know for I'd never heard of it before now, so I wouldn't think to suggest it.

I think it sounds like it could be an interesting study for autism, though, if they think it might help with speech problems.

There's a program on one of the science channels called "Ingenious Minds". A large percentage of the episodes are about individuals on the spectrum. On one episode they interviewed John Elder Robison talking about how TCM stimulation changed his life. They then demonstrate the process on him. The assumption being, as you know, that the magic wand is stimulating the mirror neurons which allow one to pick up on, and understand social cues, resulting in an increase in empathy. Does it still look like something out of a 1930's Flash Gordon cliffhanger?

So, might one ask, what part of the brain did they focus on in the treatment of your depression? Right hemisphere? Frontal?
Hypothetically, stimulation of one area could conceivably diminish activity in another associated area. I'm really curious now.