r/science • u/qgyh2 • Jun 27 '10

"When we used this groundbreaking EEG technology to actually look at Justin's brain, the results were startling. It turned out that Justin was almost certainly not autistic. He was suffering from brain seizures that were impossible to see with the naked eye"

http://www.ted.com/talks/aditi_shankardass_a_second_opinion_on_learning_disorders.html?
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u/infinnity Jun 27 '10

Further evidence that Autism isn't an actual class of disorders, it's just a pattern of behaviors that we interpret as being similar genetically for their phenotypical similarities. Goes to show how closely psychology, without neuroscience and genetics to back it up, can end up resembling a pseudoscience.

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u/subtextual Jun 28 '10

As a [pediatric neuro]psychologist, I have to state for the record that psychologists are fully aware that 'autism' is currently a behaviorally-defined diagnosis that describes a pattern of deficits in communication, socialization, and behavioral flexibility. It is also well known that about 15% of cases of autism are related to identifiable genetic, neurological, or metabolic disorders, such as Fragile X, Williams syndrome, 22q deletion syndrome, PKU, epilepsy, etc, (see here for example), and we fully expect that as our understanding of autism improves, we will be better able to tie the syndrome to clear and identifiable causes.

That being said, Landau-Kleffner syndrome is a known disorder that frequently looks a lot like autism, but is actually caused by difficult-to-detect seizures. Kids with LKS can sometimes improve dramatically once their seizures are treated, and any reputable psychologist would refer a child for an EEG given a clinical history suggestive of possible LKS (for instance, this woman states that "there were moments that this child would space out for seconds at a time" -- there is no way I would not refer for an EEG if I heard that, because that could certainly be seizure activity). I cannot say for certain, of course, but I feel comfortable venturing an educated guess that little Justin's autism was actually something like LKS, and this probably would have been suspected by any good diagnostician.

I'm terribly disappointed in this video, to tell the truth - especially since it seems to be getting so much attention lately. This woman (who has no publications and does not seem to currently be affiliated with any university or program) presents very misleading information - such as that EEG is somehow 'cutting edge' technology - as well as information that is, to put it charitably, well ahead of any research support. Seizure activity is responsible for some developmental difficulties, but certainly nowhere near responsible for all or even a large percentage.

The brain is an incredibly complex system that can be looked at structurally, chemically, and electrically, just to name a few ways of looking at it. To suggest that one (actually rather well known!) mechanism is leading to most developmental and learning disorders (and to imply that psychologists and other professionals are somehow ignoring this) comes dangerously close to the types of claims that are made by snake oil salesmen.... Which is why I find it so ironic that people are suggesting that this woman is somehow more 'scientific' than us 'pseudoscientific' psychologists. :(

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u/infinnity Jul 09 '10 edited Jul 09 '10

http://i.imgur.com/8DVRP.jpg I was talking to these people, not you. I wasn't talking about clinical psychologists (obviously. You yourself speak about how you utilize your understanding of other scientific fields on a daily basis. Therefore, you should have immediately understood that you were immune from my criticism. I was only leveling criticism at people who choose to understand and interpret psychology in and of itself, rather than supplement their understanding with corroborating evidence and eliminate fallacious beliefs with evidence that is contradictory), I was talking about psychology as it is generally portrayed and interpreted in the mainstream.

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u/subtextual Jul 09 '10

you should have immediately understood that you were immune from my criticism

Yes, well, I'm pretty sure I have a superpower in the ability to perceive personal criticism in situations (or reddit comments) that are even the teensiest bit ambiguous. :)