--- title: What if People With Autism Are Actually Hyperfunctional? description: A study suggests that the brains of people with autism—Intense World Syndrome, to some—may be hyperfunctional, not stunted or impaired canonical: https://time.com/3905841/autism-hyperfunctional/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-03T16:18:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:03.174Z article:section: Health og:title: What If People With Autism Are Actually Hyperfunctional? og:description: A study suggests that the brains of people with autism—Intense World Syndrome, to some—may be hyperfunctional, not stunted or impaired og:url: https://time.com/3905841/autism-hyperfunctional/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What If People With Autism Are Actually Hyperfunctional? twitter:description: A study suggests that the brains of people with autism—Intense World Syndrome, to some—may be hyperfunctional, not stunted or impaired twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production video:duration: 02:06 video:published: 2014-09-24 section: health topics: vaccines, autism, anti-vaccine misinformation, medical research, causation vs. association, study methodology, medical fraud, public health genre: explainer, fact-check, opinion tones: combative, authoritative, dismissive, urgent emotions: contempt (medium), concern (medium), confidence (high) sentiment: negative audience: general readers, health-conscious parents, science-interested viewers, policy observers people: Jeffrey Kulger, Andrew Wakefield organizations: TIME content_suitability: health controversy [00:00-01:49]; death [01:44-01:52] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable --- # What If People With Autism Are Actually Hyperfunctional? > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=3f95774c-ac5e-44ad-9500-86bf107a267d&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk [Watch (HLS stream): Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ai82XWJ8.m3u8) (2:06)  _Published 2014-09-24. TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger responds to anti-vaccine claims about a 2004 study that allegedly linked vaccines to autism in African American boys. He argues the study excluded subjects without birth certificates, that the critics confuse association with causation, and that a web video spreading the claims is narrated by Andrew Wakefield, whose 1998 paper was fraudulent and who lost his UK medical license. He concludes that vaccines are safe and effective while rumor-mongering can be deadly. ## Key points - The 2004 study excluded subjects who had no birth certificates, so data such as mother's age and race could not be confirmed. (00:17) - The study found a slightly higher rate of autism among some children vaccinated between 24 and 36 months of age. (00:48) - Kulger argues those children were likely already autistic and were vaccinated later as a requirement for special education programs. (00:56) - Kulger says critics confuse association with causation, using a military haircut analogy to illustrate the error. (01:05) - The narrator of the web video spreading the rumors is Andrew Wakefield, whose fraudulent 1998 paper falsely linked vaccines to autism. (01:16) - Wakefield has had his license to practice medicine revoked in the UK. (01:34) - Kulger concludes that vaccines are safe, effective and vitally important. (01:44) - Kulger states that rumor-mongering about vaccines can kill. (01:49) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:25] Introducing the anti-vaccine study claim. Kulger introduces a claim that a 2004 study withheld a link between vaccines and autism in African American boys. - [00:25 to 01:05] Flaws in the study and causation. Kulger explains missing birth certificate data and argues critics confuse association with causation, using a haircut analogy. - [01:05 to 01:34] Wakefield's discredited role. Kulger identifies Andrew Wakefield as the narrator of the video and recounts his fraudulent 1998 paper and revoked license. - [01:34 to 02:06] Conclusion on vaccine safety. Kulger concludes vaccines are safe and effective and warns that rumor-mongering can kill. ## Key quotes - [00:12] Jeffrey Kulger: "But again and always, they're wrong." - [00:48] Jeffrey Kulger: "the people criticizing the research make the familiar mistake of confusing associated with causation." - [01:44] Jeffrey Kulger: "vaccines are safe, effective and vitally important." - [01:49] Jeffrey Kulger: "Rumor mongering, on the other hand, can kill." ## Questions this video answers - What flaw does Kulger identify in the 2004 study's data collection? [00:17] - Why does Kulger say the higher autism rate among vaccinated children does not show vaccines cause autism? [00:48] - Who narrates the web video spreading claims about the study? [01:16] - What happened to Andrew Wakefield's medical license? [01:34] - What does Kulger conclude about vaccine safety? [01:44] ## Content suitability - health controversy [00:00-01:49]: Discusses vaccine safety claims, autism and disputed medical research. - death [01:44-01:52]: Closing statement that rumor-mongering can kill. by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jun 3, 2015 4:18 PM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jun 3, 2015 4:18 PM UTC Most people who think about autism think of people who struggle or are inept in some ways, especially when it comes to social behaviors. But there’s growing evidence that the autistic brain may actually be more super-wired to detect and absorb cues from the outside world. Now, a [new study](http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2015.00127/full) published in the journal _Frontiers in Neuroscience_ suggests that the brains of people with autism are actually hyperfunctional rather than stunted or impaired, and that if treated early in a very predictable environment, symptoms could diminish. In 2007, researchers Kamila Markram, Henry Markram, and Tania Rinaldi [developed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2518049/) an alternative theory for what autism is, called the “Intense World Syndrome.” They believe that autism is not some form of mental deficit, but that the brain is actually supercharged and hyperfunctional. This makes stimuli overwhelming to people with autism, causing them to socially and emotionally withdraw as a mode of self-protection. In the new study, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), including Henry Markram and Kamila Markram, showed how autism might be treated following this theory. The researchers took a group of rats and exposed them to a drug called valproate (VPA), which is a process commonly used to model autism in the rodents. The researchers then exposed the rats to three different environments. The first was a standard environment: a typical laboratory cage. The second was a unpredictable enriched environment, which had things like a running wheel, toys and places to hide. In this environment, the researchers would regularly clean the cages, change out the toys and reorganize the space. The third was a predictable enriched environment, which had stimuli like toys and a running wheel, but after every cleaning the cage remained the same and nothing was moved out of place. The researchers found that rats exposed to VPA were more sensitive to their living environments compared to control rats. The VPA-exposed rats living in the predictable environment did not develop the same emotional behaviors like anxiety and fear that the VPA-exposed mice living in the unpredictable environment or the standard environment did. The researchers concluded that an unpredictable or impoverished environment exacerbates the autism-like symptoms in rats, but a very predictable environment can prevent these symptoms from developing. Though the study is still preliminary and was done in rats and not humans, Kamila Markram says she thinks it does have implications for how children with autism might be treated in the future. “Many therapies do recognize that structure and predictability is important, but none of the approaches has put this at the center,” she says. “We say you have to put it at the center and you need to be addressing sensory overflow.” **MORE** [Temple Grandin: What’s Right With the Autistic Brain](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2153096,00.html) In the ideal scenario, Markram says kids with autism could be diagnosed when they are very young and then raised in a very stable and predictable environment. “You would approach the child from the same direction, books are on the same shelf, toys are always in the same place,” she says. Markam says that it’s also necessary to change the way people view the disorder as a whole. “It’s important to us that we move away from the autism as a deficit model. These children are hyperfunctional and they can’t bear their environment,” says Markan. “If you have that view, it changes the way you look at research. If you’re a parent, you’ll treat your child in a different way.” ## Transcript [00:00] So, our recent report claimed that a 2004 study [00:04] withheld a link between vaccines and autism in African [00:08] American boys. No surprise, the anti- vaccine [00:12] crowd considered this a big win. But again and always, [00:17] they're wrong. Here's why. [ MUSIC ] First, [00:25] the subjects excluded from the study had no birth [00:28] certificates available. Meaning data on their mother's [00:31] age, race and more could not be confirmed. And that [00:35] information was vital for the work the investigators [00:38] were doing, More important, the people criticizing the [00:42] research make the familiar mistake of confusing [00:45] associated with causation. While it's true that the study [00:48] did find a slightly higher rate of autism among some [00:52] kids vaccinated between 24 and 36 months of age, it's [00:56] almost certain that those children were already autistic [00:59] and were vaccinated later as part of a basic health [01:02] requirement for attending special education program [01:05] [ MUSIC ] programs. If you join the Army and get a [01:08] mandatory crewcut before basic training, you don't [01:12] then conclude that military service causes baldness. [01:16] Finally, the narrator of a disgraceful web video [01:20] spreading the rumors about the study is Andrew [01:22] Wakefield. The British researcher whose fraudulent [01:26] 1998 paper falsely linking vaccines to autism [01:30] got the entire got the entire anti- vaccine mess started. [01:34] Wakefield has had his license to practice medicine [01:37] revoked in the UK. And is hardly in a position to be [01:40] offering opinions on anything at all. So for the billionth [01:44] time, vaccines are safe, effective and vitally [01:49] important. Rumor mongering, on the other hand, can [01:52] kill. 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