Neurofeedback for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Making friends and forming alliances is a mammalian quality that is most pronounced in humans, allowing us to achieve exceptional, civilisation-building accomplishments that we could not produce on our own.  Social functioning is a key component of this, and we can help persons on the autistic spectrum improve this quality substantially.  

Recognising and appreciating another person’s capacity for independent thought and scope of action is a fundamental component of social interaction, called Theory of Mind.  Possibly better defined than its encompassing ASD umbrella, this is an important concept underlying interpersonal relationships.  Appreciating that the ‘other’ is not merely an extension of oneself is also a key component of effective parenting.   

We have prefrontal brain areas that govern our sense for social rules and self/other distinction.  Human interaction is also defined by boundaries:  One person’s social boundary is another’s personal space, and vice versa; we thrive when we find the appropriate level of invasiveness versus recruitability.  Not letting people into one’s personal space, i.e. excessive obstinacy, creates boundaries, while excessive invasiveness is alienating and deemed disrespectful.  There are cultural components to this, creating variability, and as always, flexibility is key.  Both features – social boundaries and personal space – are governed by distinct brain areas, which we can train.  

Our Mirron Neuron System enables us to learn actions and behaviour from observation, and quickly.  This is a well-studied set of neural nodes, or distinct brain areas, that is core to the social-cognitive processes of imitation, empathy and Theory of Mind.  We can train these areas, and their cohesion, with neurofeedback, in a non-invasive, medication-free manner. 

Social emotions are recognised and processed by distinct brain areas.  When these are dysrhythmic, a spectrum of symptoms can ensue.  Perception is at the forefront, and our mirror neuron system is a key part of this.  Assuming some functionality here, we can then see possible egocentricity bias, meaning that we are prone to making empathic judgments based on our own state of mind while disregarding the other.  It can also adversely impact our ability to shift attention and recognise agency.  The result is friction with our environment, and a contributor to social anxiety.  Training these brain areas leads to substantial calming and acceptance, in our experience. 

Recognising the needs of other(s), and accomodating these in a way that preserves our own needs and ambitions, is key to fluid social interaction, such as turn-taking.  We rely on a stable and evolved sense of self, something that our Default Mode Network, and its healthy interaction with our Task Positive Network, provides.  A core part of Daniel’s neurofeedback is training this specifically, as part of a holistic approach.  

Easing anxieties and reducing phobias is an evidence-based effect of Personalised Brain Training.  There are numerous cortical sources of anxiety.  It can take the form of social anxiety, where a person doesn’t understand social complexities or emotions; a “what’s next” anxiety where we are unsure of our relationship to the scene in front of us; relational thinking, where we are wired to think that all sensory stimulus is directed at us, and fail to feel sufficiently detached; or excess concern with our appearance.  Phobias can be an inflexibility when confronted with situations reminiscent of a previous, unpleasant situation.  They can also result from sensory overload or lack of processing / integration, such as towards sound, heights, light, taste or touch.  Again, we find these resolve with Daniel’s neurofeedback training.

Predictive capacities are frequently impaired in autism.  This can include being unable to catch a ball or anticipate motion of objects in general, an often dangerous deficiency in the outside world.  It further extends to modelling others’ behaviours and needs, impairing our ability to show consideration and integrate into more complex social situations.  Inflexibility with regard to routines and learned behaviour is another frequent manifestation.  On a more nuanced level, impaired predictive capacity can lead to misunderstanding incongruences, taking things too literally, and thus failing to appreciate humour, irony or satire.  This in turn can lead to misunderstandings that cause friction with our environment.  Our Default Mode Network plays an important role here, and it is something we can train to greatly enhance quality of life in many facets. 

Social rules are an important part of societal interaction.  These can be non-explicit, and may comprise exemptions, requiring a non-polarised appreciation that is situation-specific.  We can train this flexibility, both with regard to perception and manipulation.  

Verbal and non-verbal communication is a complex subject which is dealt with in this section; we often find substantial leaps in tandem motivation and self-esteem improvements that arise from developments of the above aspects.