Our Sensory System + Polyvagal Theory + Social Neuroscience
Our nervous system and brains are incredible complex. Figuring out exactly what is causing neurological disorders is going to take time, but there is no doubt there is both internal (our bodies) and external (our environment) factors at play.
As I delved deeper into what we know of our sensory system, how our brain develops and the polyvagal theory, I came to the following conclusions:
These are all linked
Neuroception should be considered our 9th sense
We need to consider ability to detect "Social stimuli" a sense. Where Social Stimuli includes eye contact, human voice, touch, and smell.
The development of the social brain requires a well-regulated sensory system (including sense of safety) as the endocrine system is linked to the vagus nerve and produces the hormones (like Oxytocin) we need for developing language, communication, empathy, executive function, etc.
ASD is increasingly theorised to be a biological difference arising in the gut-brain axis (the vagus nerve)
Therefore, the research is pointing in this direction...
A better definition could be: A Sensory Processing difference where an individual's ability to process and act upon information received via social stimuli creates challenges in social interaction, resulting in difficulties in emotional regulation and communication.
The severity of this difference in processing social stimuli combined with sensory differences in the other senses results in a huge spectrum (or sphere) of presentations in individuals.
Hence Dr. Stephen Shores saying, "If you've met one person with Autism, you've met one person with Autism."
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