Yawning is rarely Autistic Children Can Be Signs

Without realizing it, often at the sight of other people will join in. yawn yawn, because yawning can be contagious indeed. For children who rarely respond to other people yawning response, the child may have autism.

Yawning is a reflex action that happens to everyone, usually carried out to breathe the air in large quantities and is followed by breathing.

Yawning is contagious because it is triggered by empathic mechanisms which function to maintain group vigilance. Therefore, yawning is a sign of empathy.

In addition, the causes of contagious yawning in other nervous system active mirror (mirror neurons system), the neurons located in the front of each hemisphere of the brain of certain vertebrates.

However, a study published in the latest issue of the journal Child Development found that children with mild autism will often respond to evaporate responses than children with severe autism.

That is, yawning can be a sign that the child does not respond to the social responses that occur in the vicinity. According to researchers, in response to contagious yawning occurred significantly starting at age 4 years.

Experts say these results add understanding of autism. Although these findings have not been able diaplikasilan practical, but experts believe that the inability to respond to something as simple as yawning, can be a sign of autistic disorder in children.

"If social consciousness is reduced or getting worse, then it can affect a neurologic response such as yawning contagious," said Susan Wilczynski, executive director of the National Autism Center in Randolph, Massachusetts, as reported by ABC News on Monday (9/20/2010).

Principal investigator Molly Helt, a doctoral candidate at the University of Connecticut, decided to focus on the transmission of evaporated after finding that children with autism do not respond when he tried to make it evaporate.

Other autism experts also agreed and added that the understanding of the response to certain cues, such as yawning, it is important to understand the key aspects behind the autism.