NASHVILLE, Tenn. – One in 68 children will be diagnosed with autism. These kids struggle with making friends, social interaction and communication. We don't know what causes one child to have autism and the other not to but now researchers may have unlocked one key on what causes these kids to have these social problems.
Ask 16-year-old Austin Miller what it's like to live with Asperger's syndrome.
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"Generally I would describe having Asperger's syndrome as being like a computer that's running a different operating system than what most computers are running," he explained.
Diagnosed at age 12, his mom Karen says she's always noticed a delay in the way he processed speech.
"I would say something to him and I would say, ‘Austin, did you?' and then he would start to answer. And so I learned I have to give him more time," she said.
Now a new study is helping explain why. Headed up by Dr. Mark Wallace, a team at Vanderbilt Brain Institute found what kids with autism see is out of sync with what they hear.
"It's like a badly dubbed video is the way we describe it," said Wallace.
The timing of what they see and what they hear does not sync up.
"We believe that change in the binding of visual and auditory information is sort of the foundation for the problems that they have in things like language, communication and social interactions," Wallace added.
That sounds about right to Austin.
"I think I can see a couple memories where I'm talking to my dad and maybe his mouth just looks a little bit out of sync," Austin said.
Researchers are building on that knowledge by testing a new interactive video game that's designed to retrain the brains of those with autism, focusing on how rewards help the brain.
"So it basically takes the tuning of the nervous system and shapes it, so that they get better." explained Wallace.
The ultimate goal is to help kids like Austin communicate better.
This study also helps explain why some children with autism are often seen covering up their ears or eyes. It could be the delay in sight and sound that confuses them and makes them focus on one sense at a time.
Autism Spectrum Disorder affects 1 percent of the population ages 3 to 17. This means that 1 in 68 babies born have autism. It is seen more often in boys than girls. This is also the fastest growing developmental disability. Only about 56 percent of students who have autism finish high school. Over a lifetime, it costs about 3.2 million dollars for a person with autism.