Many children on the Autism Spectrum have difficulty recognizing emotional cues such as nonverbal  expressions which are thought to be conveyed through the eyes as well as connecting with others emotionally on an interpersonal basis.  A large part of communication between humans is nonverbal communication.  This means to say that it is not just the words that are spoken but in addition how they are spoken, inflection, as well hand gestures, body postures and facial expression. 

The inability to recognize faces and facial expression is called prosopagnosia.  This inability to interpret facial expressions often leads to difficulty in social situations with others.  It is also been thought to be involved with a lack of empathy toward others which also is at times associated with autism. 

The area of the brain most associated with prosopagnosia is the fusiform gyrus of the temporal lobe. Although it is thought that the fusiform gyrus has a specific face area, it is also thought to be responsible for things such as processing of color information as well as number and word recognition.  As an example, people with prosopagnosia can recognize a different pens or forks but not faces.  Until recently it was thought that propsopagnosia or face blindness and is is sometimes called could not be improved.  Instead,  patients were taught techniques to compensate for the face recognition deficiency such as looking at clothing, voice or hair color in order to attempt to identify who the patient was speaking with.

A recent study in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders published out of the University of Alabama Birmingham used a computer based social skills training program for children with autism spectrum disorders.  This interactive program showed a positive impact in a group with Autism and a group with Asperger’s Syndrome.  Both groups showed improvement in the ability to recognize faces as well as improvements in the ability to recognize emotion. The Asperger’s group also showed improvement in social interactions in a natural environment. This should come as great news to parents who see their children have difficulty making friends and struggle while attempting to socialize at school or the park.

This feeds well into the current model of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change, in which practitioners of functional neurology are looking for tools to activate specifically targeted under functioning areas of the brain. With regular stimulation of these areas at the correct intensity and frequency, positive changes can be made to help address various deficiencies whether sensory, motor or in this case social. If you have a child on the Autism Asperger’s Syndrome and this type of treatment sounds interesting to you, look for a physician that practices functional neurology in your area.

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