The Beautiful Mind: Brain Science and Autism

Despite billions of billions spent in the field of brain science, our knowledge of the marvelous region of our body does not seem to be accelerated though. It is like digging into a bottomless well that allows only getting deeper but going nowhere.

As we become who we are precisely because of the human brain in the first place, it is so fitting that even Barack Obama has been giving a special attention by authorizing the so-called 2013 Brain Initiative, a $300-million project to revolutionize our understanding of the anatomy of the brain in order to find new ways to treat, prevent and cure brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury and autism.

It seemed the public and private investments rallied behind President Obama, unlike responses he got when announcing Obama healthcare back in the days. It is quite understandable as we have been seeing more in the population people with some mental disorders including mental retardation and children with autism. Especially the latter, among other things that is very inviting to curiosity is that some people showing clear symptoms of autism excel above average. This autism poses as another riddle yet to be understood. Why do they show a high cognitive level? Obviously we need some sample.

Mind-Boggling Sample

Severely autistic at 15, Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay, an Indian who speaks both Bengali and English, found his way into the language of eloquence (which reminds me of Helen Keller). There was no doubt that some individuals with autism have one or more remarkable talents surpassing the rest of their abilities. However, these talents usually involve visuospatial or rote memory skills such as calendar calculations, numbers, drawing or remembering train timetables.

But Tito was clearly able to use long words in complex sentences and to even produce his own philosophy about life. This is truly remarkable given that he, at 11 years old, could make only a few sounds. With only few basic practical skills, his mother, Soma had been instrumental in teaching him how to read and write by using an alphabet board and closely supervised and guided him to keep him from any trouble. From the age of six years he has written by himself using a pencil to produce many books!

Painting made by an Indonesian autistic child; courtesy of Susy Panjaitan - his therapist

When interviewed by some curious scientists, he sometimes used an alphabet board, pointing to the letters while the words he spelled (in English) were read out by his loyal mother. Despite his observable behavior which is that of a mute child with classic signs of autism ignoring people but exploring the objects that takes his attention, he replied to questions in full sentences, including long words used appropriately. And when asked to do the British Picture Vocabulary Scale, which requires the test taker to show the meaning of individual words or phrases by pointing to one of four possible pictures for each one, he hit the level of a 19-year old!

Tito's writings are characteristic of someone with autism. They revolve around himself and his personal experiences. Considering his physical and psychological disabilities, this self absorption is perhaps not so surprising. Despite this, this writing of his provides a vivid description of what it is like to be autistic and his thoughts about the meaning of life.

Qualities of Humanness

Individuals with autistic disorders like Tito, with remarkable skills in contrast to their general level of disability, arouse feelings of wonder, astonishment and intellectual curiosity.

This is precisely the point when we learn to appreciate more of ourselves through our special fellow humans. The human brain project that we talked about in the opening paragraph is a testament that we have not even walked too far into the depths of regions in which only qualities of humanness may prevail. With all the joy we take in the wars and crimes we do, we seem to have forgotten that the human mind is basically beautiful.

To end this essay, let us enjoy one of the poems Tito wrote, one that presents us with a philosophical challenge derived only from careful seeing, listening and self-dialogue.

When nothing was there
And God got bored with himself
He made everything
Then he got bored
With everything that was perfect
And so planned to make some distortions
So he made some like me
Who as they say have lost their minds

As I sat on the swing in the playground
The teachers words tossed in the air
Like bubbles of soap all around me
I did not play with them by waving them away
But I tried to feel them by waving them in and out

When I walked out of the classroom
The tail of words followed me
Words made of letters
Crawling like ants
In a disciplined row

Who dares to raise hand and tell me in the face that the poetry is not beautiful and above average?