This guest article from YourTango was written by Frank Medlar.
Navigating social situations can be difficult for anyone, but for people on the autism spectrum, it’s not just difficult — it’s a minefield.
People with autism or Asperger’s don’t pick up on social clues that seem obvious to most people. There are unwritten social rules that they can’t fathom. Things blow up on them when they have no idea what they’ve done wrong.
To put it mildly, that’s stressful.
High anxiety is often the silent partner of people with autism, even those who are high-functioning. That anxiety can be paralyzing in social situations. Not just deer-in-the-headlights frozen, but full-on engulfed in fear. For people with autism, it compounds their already difficult challenges.
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Whatever comes “from the heart,” it doesn’t necessarily work to break through to the autistic person. And there is some evidence that oxytocin makes the heart attach to babies, etc. Oxytocin sounds like an a promising possible drug intervention. Perhaps initiating a response and possible new or stronger neural connections using a drug administered externally will then make it easier for the brain to resuse those pathways or generate it’s own oxytocin and or other related chemicals which are necessary to be at peace with others. Sort of like ths concept of kindling in reverse – instead of setting up conditions that fuel growth of later mental health problems, this might “kindle” better mental health