What would make anorexics starve themselves? It’s anti-biological. Could something different be going on in their brains? Indeed. According to a new study conducted by autism expert Simon Baron-Cohen at Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre anorexics may have autistic traits.
Published in the BioMed Central journal Molecular Autism, the study tested how 66 girls aged 12 to 18 with anorexia but without autism scored on tests to measure autistic traits as compared to more than 1,600 typical teenagers in the same age range.
People with autism show impaired social interaction, empathy or understanding, repetitive behavior and interests, and impaired language and communication. Here are some of the findings on how anorexics show similar deficits.
§ Anorexics show above-average interest in systems and order that plays out as concerns about body weight, shape, and food intake.
§ Anorexics show below-average scores in empathy though this trait was less pronounced than it is in people with autism.
§ Anorexics show similar rigid attitudes and behaviors as do the autistic, as well as a similar tendency to be very self-focused, and a fascination with detail.
§ Both disorders also share similar differences in the structure and function of brain regions involved in social perception.
Another thing not mentioned in the study. The autistic typically have severe sensory processing disorder (SPD) and particularly tactile hypersensitivity that extends to the mouth. The texture, taste, smell and sound of certain foods are irritating and they restrict what they eat to only a few foods. If you saw the movie “Temple Grandin,” you may recall how Temple would only eat jello and yogurt — soft, non-stimulating foods. Others will only eat crunchy foods.
This may also be the case in some anorexics. I write in my book Too Loud, too Bright, too Fast, Too Tight of a teenage girl misdiagnosed with anorexia because she hated eating due to oral/motor issues. When I gave her an oral/motor intervention, she was eating everything within 3 days!
As few psychologists are aware of sensory processing disorder, tactile oral sensitivity may be over-looked in assessing anorexics. If oral/motor issues are indeed part of their eating problems, oral/motor interventions should be an essential part of therapy for anorexics.
Sharon Heller, PhD is a developmental psychologist who specializes in books on holistic solutions for anxiety, panic and sensory processing disorder (SPD). She is the author of several popular psychology books including “Uptight & Off Center: How sensory processing disorder throws adults off balance & how to create stability” (Symmetry, 2013), “Anxiety: Hidden Causes, Why your anxiety may not be ‘all in your head’ but from something physical” (Symmetry, 2011) and “Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight, What to do if you are sensory defensive in an overstimulating world” (HarperCollins, 2002). She can be contacted via email at [email protected] and via her website, www.sharonheller.net.
