"Intense World Syndrome"

As readers of my blog will know, I have just posted a piece on an article in The New Scientist magazine here in the UK about "The Autism Advantage": http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627581.500-the-advantages-of-aut...

One of the things it talks about is the "Intense World Syndrome" as described by Mahran and Rinaldi at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology who undertook a piece of research undertaken into the sensory effects of being autistic. According to the article, autism is caused by a hyperactive brain that makes everyday sensory experiences overwhelming due to the brains hypersensitivity to sight and sounds.

In its ultimate form of course this would take the form of a meltdown. Fortunately I have only experienced this once, but it is was a very uncomfortable experience and led to a total cognitive shutdown on my part.

The piece made for interesting reading and highlighting the importance of having the right working conditions. In particular, the need for solitude, particularly when working on cognitive or intellectually demanding subject matter.