A Queen’s University study found that “children with autism will tell white lies to protect other people’s feelings and [that] they are not very good at covering up their lies” (Science Daily).  This was the conclusion of a study propelled by psychology professor Beth Kelley and developmental psychology PhD student Annie Li. They conducted two tests for the study.In the first test, “children with autism were told they were going to get a great gift and were then handed a bar of soap.”   Most of the children with autism nodded or said yes instead of telling the researcher that they were disappointed to receive soap instead of a great gift.  Dr. Kelley stated, “The results are surprising, because there is a notion that children with autism have difficulty appreciating the thoughts and feelings of other people, so we didn’t expect them to lie to avoid saying things that may hurt others.”  Kelley’s and Li’s research reveals that children with autism do possess the ability to tell social white lies to protect others’ feelings.

In the second test, “children were given audio clues and asked to guess a hidden object.”  Most test subjects, with and without autism, guessed the easy clues, like a chicken when they heard a chicken clucking.  An intentionally difficult audio clue, Christmas music and an Elmo doll, was used to gauge the ability to lie of children with autism.  The tester left the room after playing the Christmas music, leaving the child alone with the object.  Upon returning, the tester asked the child if he or she peeked at the object.  Children with and without autism “were equally likely to lie that they had not peeked,” but only children without autism realized that giving the correct answer would reveal that they had peeked.  Children with autism were more likely to correctly identify the object, without realizing that knowing the object’s identity would give away that they peeked at the object.

The great news is that children with autism had the presence of mind to consider another person’s feelings and lie about appreciating their gift of soap, despite the fact that they were expecting something far more exciting!  Unfortunately, the test involving audio clues and hidden objects revealed that children with autism were not able to conceal the fact that they peeked at the masked object.  Overall, however, Kelley’s and Li’s study exhibits that children with autism are capable of tuning into others’ feelings, which one might argue is more significant than being able to conceal a lie.

Science Daily reports that autism is “highly heritable,” but it is also true that many individuals with autism are born into families that do not show any hallmarks of the disorder; there is mounting evidence that autism may be environmental as well as genetic.  Nonetheless, autism has “considerable genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity” (Science Daily). Most significantly for Brainjogging, “common impairments include deficits in saccades, or rapid eye movements that shift between objects in the field of vision, and smooth-pursuit eye movements, in which the gaze is stabilized on a slowly moving object” (Science Daily).

Abnormal eye movements and other sensorimotor and neurobehavioral impairments appear common in unaffected family members of individuals with autism, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

After studying eye movement testing and other assessments of neurobehavioral function in 57 first-degree relatives of individuals with autism, Matthew W. Mosconi, Ph.D., and other colleagues at the University of Illinois at Chicago, found that “family members of individuals with autism tended to perform more slowly and less accurately on eye movement tasks, including those assessing saccades and smooth-pursuit eye movements” (Science Daily).  These findings suggest that “these alterations within sensorimotor and cognitive brain circuitry may be familial traits” (Science Daily).

Dr. Mosconi’s study revealed that the aforementioned abnormalities

were associated with several brain pathways – including the cerebellar, frontotemporal, striatal and prefrontal circuits – that have been liked to autism, some of which are important for language skills, motor control and executive function, or the control and regulation of behavior. Science Daily.

These findings suggest that many hallmarks of autism are familial traits, to an extent.  Further research must be conducted to determine the degree to which the genetic traits of autism can be manipulated, but Dr. Mosconi has provided the scientific and autistic communities with significant research.  From here, scientists must investigate what leads to autism in some individuals and mere sensorimotor and cognitive brain circuitry impairments in others.

While certain biological traits have been said to lead to autism, their causation of the disorder has not been proven.  However, most health professionals and parents of autistic children agree that there are certain metabolic abnormalities among autistic individuals.  While one study by the

The difficulty of potty training children with autism is compounded by their tendency toward "holding" their waste.

Autism Speaks’ Autism Treatment Network suggests that there is no relationship between gastrointestinal problems and type of autism, gender, race, or IQ, the findings show that gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and constipation are common among autistic individuals (Science Daily).  Often, individuals with autism will “hold” their fecal matter; to expedite potty training an individual with autism, parents and/or guardiansshould praise “going number two” as an enormous accomplishment.

As it stands now, a child must undergo evaluations which map his or her “social interaction, communication and imaginative skills” (Science Daily).  Recently, however, research has suggested that autism might one day be detected by a simple urine test.  Many major scientific and medical journals and websites have produced articles stating this theory.  It is strange to think that a disorder commonly linked to brain activity could be detected by a simple urine test, but autistic individuals have a different bacterial makeup in their intestines than do people without an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  All humans have bacteria in their intestines, 90-95% of which is E. coli.  However, a study in Australia shows that levels of E. coli are much lower in autistic individuals, generally around 56%, and even as low as 10% in some cases (“Cellular Malnutrition and Intestinal Dysbiosis in Autism,” Behavioural Neurotherapy Clinic, September 2010).

Scientists believe they might soon develop a simple urine test to expedite diagnoses of autism.

A urine or fecal test would show levels of different bacteria, thereby making it easier to test for autism through non-invasive means.  While these tests would not be the decisive factor in an autism diagnosis, they could be used in conjunction with traditional evaluations to determine more precisely the individual’s prognosis.  This could also lead to new treatment options, such as replacement or supplemental bacteria and digestive enzymes.  This study is a positive leap for parents of individuals with autism!