It's a well established fact that many on the autism spectrum have an aberrant temperature perception, which can result from too high and too low sensory thresholds or both. In order to stabilize body temperature humans take conscious and unconscious corrective actions. Since many people on the spectrum aren't aware of their body temperature they don't take conscious corrective actions. My question is: how about the unconscious, automatic reactions of the body such as sweating, having goose bumps, increasing or decreasing ones metabolism and the like. Are these automatic responses intact in autism? All of them?
Although my answer shall not be scholarly at this instance, please allow me to try to answer form my own, parent's experience.
Temperature changes, not necessarily conscious ones, but also the one based unconsciously, such as when exposed to different changes: climate, change of circumstantial conditions, colds, other sorts of bacterial infections that a child on the spectrum might have impact significantly on their mood and behavior.
Mot only that this is true, but also defense mechanism from the organic point of view may lack: such as in the case when we wear ourselves warmer if we feel cold. My son would not dress himself if he feels cold, although he shows that: a cold that is not instant and conscious of course, but which might have come from other sources. Simply, they sometimes, not always, do not correct such a situation.
On the other hand, when he wants to seep and it is cold, ( which to my very modest knowledge is conscious ), he can cover himself much better than his neuro-typical sister. To my opinion, they react, try correction, but not appropriately, by some other activity, which is due, ( please correct me if I am wrong) to their sensory problems.
Please don't take this for granted. Just a matter of experience. maybe it can help.
Finally a very important question, and after all, I am one of those who wants to know the truth.
Bujar.
This is very interesting, as once more, it overlaps with sensory problems that people with dementia have...that is, problem with perception of temperature that lead to inappropriate responses.
Thanks Bujar.
Jan, thanks for the swift response. Of course you're right that CNS/PNS has to be intact in order to survive. I just wanted an expert opinion to ascertain this holds for all non-cognitive adaptation. Who knows if there are some mechanisms functioning poorly.
Your expertise on this point seems to be centered around schizophrenia and I'm not so sure it can be entirely generalized to autism. Thanks for the literature once more.
On my site I have themes in the background of a number of recommendations. Now I'm busy writing the theme 'temperature'. So the relevant stuff I find will end up there. I'll notify you when it's finished and I might -probably will- en up with a couple of unresolved matters. If sufficiently interesting / challenging, I know where to find you. Happy New Year!
Cathy, indeed I find, when searching in the literature I have amassed 5 out of 6 'hits' are in the area of environment/dementia. The closer to the heart of the matter, the less applicable such findings and insights prove to be, however, but they certainly alert one to the relevant issues.
Cathy, do you have literature for this? It seems at odds with what Jan says and I gathered too: no disturbances in the 'automatic' physiological responses.
Lots on night sweating on info websites, but also on hyper-arousal and being in a constantly stressed state (again, many people with dementia are very stressed, for similar reasons: sensory overload, deficits in sensory processing, interpretation and management of personal environment, coupled with difficulty in communication/verbalisation of need). What's not to get stressed about?! This is why I am researching affording opportunities for restoration/relaxation.
Found this, which is interesting: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0059730
Thanks Cathy, looks interesting.
I've uploaded a page on temperature and autism here http://www.architectuur-voor-autisme.org/?p=6414
(Remember that this is for a lay audience and now already it may be too much for a lot)
Commentary welcome,
Be well,
flip
Thanks.
By the way, any thoughts on multi-senosory rooms/ snoezelen I could visit in the Netherlands. Preferably in schools.
Article Core body temperature changes in school-age children with ci...
An interesting question; since ASD patients often suffer a sleep disorder, the finding that core body temperature is concurrently affected could be of interest for you.
That’s very interesting, thanks. I began to suffer neurological symptoms after an infection last year. I now have very low tolerance for higher ambient temperatures. by higher, I mean anything out if the low 20s. Am I right in saying hat fire temperature normally drops slightly at night?
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