Intense World Theory of Autism…
Tuesday, December 12, 2023.
What is the Intense World Theory of Autism ?
The Intense World Theory of Autism is the fascinating work product of researchers Kamila Markram, Henry Markram, and Tania Rinaldi-Barkat.
The Intense World Theory of Autism posits that, instead of neurodivergent humans being viewed as having differently wired minds, they could be seen as having more wiring with a sort of Big Brain Energy (sorry, couldn’t resist…) which is also ‘supercharged’.
The Intense World Theory is also supported by the fact that autistic brains produce 42% more information at rest than a neurotypical brain!
The brains of autistic children produce, on average, 42% more information than non-autistic children when in a resting state, a study has found (Velázquez & Galán, 2013). This may explain why children with autism tend to withdraw into their own inner world and become socially detached.
One of the study’s authors, Roberto Fernández Galán, explained:
“Our results suggest that autistic children are not interested in social interactions because their brains generate more information at rest, which we interpret as more introspection in line with early descriptions of the disorder.” (once again, revealing the NT tendency to make sh*t up and live in stories).
Is Intense World Theory a cognitive overwhelm?
The study supports a theory of autism called the “Intense World Theory” (Markram et al., 2007).
This theory promotes the reframe that neurodiversity is not a mental deficit, but a mental overload. Autistic children deal with this by attempting to control, or dial-down stimulus from the outside world.
These researchers have a intriguing edge to their thinking; they describe autism as characterized by hyper-perception, hyper-attention and hyper-memory.
All the minds major functions are working at an increased capacity, perhaps explaining why autistic children tend to avoid the company of others.
Rather than being uninterested in other people, autistic children may find the sudden rush of information from other humans overwhelming.
Unfortunately, it’s a tired cliche that the neurodiverse lack empathy. It’s a common presenting problem in Neurodiverse Couples Therapy. It’s been described as one of the main deficits of autism for neurotypical family members.
But the Intense World Theory suggests quite the opposite: it actually produces an over-sensitivity.
Waaaay too much information…
The current study, published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroinformatics, examined data from autistic and non-autistic children using magnetoencephalography (MEG; below), which measures electrical currents in the brain.
By comparing the activity across the two groups, the neuroscientists were able to conclude that the…
“…brains of subjects with autism create more information at rest. We propose that the excessive production of information in the absence of relevant sensory stimuli or attention to external cues underlies the cognitive differences between individuals with and without autism.” (Velázquez & Galán, 2013).
The authors believe that similar results will be obtained when the brains of those with schizophrenia are analysed.
Novel approaches…
If correct, the Intense World Theory may have profound implications for the treatment of autism in the specific, and neurodiversity writ large.
It suggests that some current treatments for autism–which attempt to increase neuronal functioning–are inappropriate. Instead, Markram et al. (2007) argue, children with autism should be in a calming environment. Then their true strengths can shine:
“The Intense World Syndrome suggests that the autistic person is an individual with remarkable and far above average capabilities due to greatly enhanced perception, attention and memory. […] It may well turn out that successful treatments could expose truly capable and highly gifted individuals.” (Markram et al., 2007).
Final thoughts…
The phrase “calming environment” requires careful dyadic unpacking with a well-trained couples therapist. In any couples therapy conversation, the phrase “calming environment” must be splayed open and dissected like a frog in your high school biology class.
It’s been my experience that many neurodiverse men struggle to explain to their partners and families what it feels like to live amongst them. They often are reluctant to ask for even the most mundane of accomodations.
What I find intriguing is that the more we migrate away from a pathologizing perspective, the more revelatory avenues of mutual understanding seem to present themselves.
Be well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
RESEARCH:
Markram H, Rinaldi T, Markram K. The intense world syndrome--an alternative hypothesis for autism. Front Neurosci. 2007 Oct 15;1(1):77-96. doi: 10.3389/neuro.01.1.1.006.2007. PMID: 18982120; PMCID: PMC2518049.
