Evidence has shown children with autism have immature and abnormal breathing patterns. Symptoms of this can include breath holding, “playing” with their breath, irregular fast upper thoracic breathing and so on. Because breathing co-ordination is responsible for the critical balance of oxygen delivery to the tissues, all these behaviours will reduce oxygen supplies to the brain and effect sensory-motor and metabolic function. Added to this the more stressed the child is the worse these oxygen imbalances become.
Thus in autism symptoms of abnormal breathing can include diverse metabolic problems including digestive upsets, constipation, abnormal sleep, abnormal cerebral blood circulation.
The areas of the brain that are affected by autism are particularly involved in respiratory control. The result is fast shallow breathing poorly co-ordinated with oxygen demand which produces lowered aerobic metabolism and a consequent tendency for waste products to build up in cerebral tissues affecting their functions.
An assessment at Advance answers the many difficult questions related to the diverse symptoms of autism and explains the often confusing history of its appearance.
The TST exercises are very gentle, they require no active involvement on the part of the child and can for example be done while children are asleep.
The causes of abnormal breathing relate to the areas of the brain implicated in autism, these are the limbic system and the cerebellum both of which play roles in breath control.
The limbic system changes breathing patterns in relation to emotional state and the cerebellum co-ordinates breathing with different physical and mental activities.
The result is that the children’s breathing cannot appropriately meet the oxygen demands of stress during everyday activities such as learning and social interaction or adapt to the metabolic demands of sleep and digestion.
In addition a reduction of oxygen to the brain before birth will also affect respiratory development by causing a compensatory shift of blood supply away from the lungs and diaphragm to help the brain. This leaves the respiratory organs weak and immature and makes them less able to support the immune system and to cope with negative events in later life.