Eric Courchesne of the University of California at San Diego has found significant impairments in auditory processing in autistic individuals using P300 brain wave technology (see Courchesne, 1987 for a review). The P300 brain wave occurs 300 milli-seconds after the presentation of a stimulus. (The 'P' refers to the positive polarity of the brain wave.) The P300 is associated with cognitive processing, and this brain wave is considered an indication of long-term memory retrieval (Donchin, Ritter, & McCallum, 1978). Edelson et al. (1999) examined auditory P300 activity prior to and three months following auditory integration training (AIT). Three autistic individuals participated in the experime

Sensory. If the problem appears to be due to hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli, sensory-based interventions may be helpful, such as auditory integration training, sensory integration, visual training, and Irlen lenses. Another strategy would be to remove these sensory intrusions from the person's environment.

In the late 1980's, Dr. Eric Courchesne used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine whether autistic individuals have any structural brain abnormalities. He found that two areas of the cerebellum, lobules VI and VII, were significantly smaller in autistic individuals than in the non-autistic population. This abnormality is called 'hypoplasia' and seems to hold for all ages. Those who were more impaired tended to have much smaller lobules. Interestingly, there were a small group of autistic individuals whose lobules VI and VII were much larger than normal; this condition is called 'hyperplasia.'

The movie Rain Man exposed millions of people to autism as well as the autistic savant phenomenon. (Unfortunately, some people now have the impression that all autistic individuals have these abilities.) In the movie, Raymond displayed a great memory for ball player statistics, memorized parts of the telephone book, and counted cards in Las Vegas. One wonders why this year's national autism conference is being held in Las Vegas!

Music is another common savant ability. Many performers with autism have perfect pitch and also have a great memory for music. In some cases, a person can hear a classical piece once and play it back in its entirety. Tim Baley, who also has Fragile X, is a concert pianist and the piano player for Hi Hopes, a musical group of singers and performers with autism and/or mental retardation. Hi Hopes played at the Los Angeles autism conference a few years ago and have even played at the White House. (Tim's mother wrote a book about his life. If you would like to obtain a copy of her book or learn more about Tim, you can write to: Mrs. Baley, Box 8207, Anaheim, CA 92812).

Auditory processing problems may also be linked to several autistic characteristics. Autism is sometimes described as a social-communication problem. Processing auditory information is a critical component of social-communication. Other characteristics that may be associated with auditory processing problems include: anxiety or confusion in social situations, inattentiveness, and poor speech comprehension.

Some common words found in the essay are:
VI VII, Bernard Rimland, Bauman Kemper, Smith Lovaas, Asperger Syndrome, San Diego, , University Ohio, Prior AIT, Anaheim CA, autistic individuals, auditory processing, social behavior, auditory information, brain wave, autistic savant, social interaction, savant abilities, p300 activity, social situations, p300 brain wave, auditory p300 activity, autistic individuals savant, ait autistic individuals, auditory integration training,
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