Small fans are essential to a child’s brain, and they help to regulate temperature and air flow, as well as control blood pressure and oxygen levels.
Now, researchers are looking at how they could be harnessed to help those with autism.
The study, which appears in the journal Pediatrics, used an electrode to measure brain activity while small fans were inserted into the brain of a patient with autism, known as MZ-19, a.
It was an experiment to determine how the small fans might be used to help children with autism learn and thrive.
The electrodes were placed over the scalp of a child who had autism, and the researchers recorded the electrical activity over time.
The researchers then compared the brain activity to brain waves recorded from the children’s parents, who also underwent MRI scans.
Researchers found that children with ASD tended to have a lower baseline electrical activity than children with normal developmental disorders, but they did not have lower levels of brain activity when they were placed in a cool room.
“These results suggest that the brain response to small fans may be associated with brain activity, especially when a small fan is used to promote learning,” the study said.
“Future research should investigate the extent to which these findings relate to specific therapeutic interventions in the context of small fan use for children with ASDs.”
“The study also shows that these results may hold for other sensory and cognitive impairments in ASD,” the authors added.
“In particular, we found that the presence of small fans could influence the development of auditory processing, as evidenced by the significant difference in auditory processing in children with severe autism compared to those with mild or moderate autism.”
Researchers believe the study has potential to improve autism care and help children develop new strategies for learning.
“Although small fans have not been proven to be beneficial for the brain, it may be helpful in improving cognitive development,” the researchers concluded.
“Small fans are an important tool to help facilitate the learning process for children whose sensory, cognitive, and social development has been severely impaired by autism.
Such therapeutic tools are important to our patients and to our society.”
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