Autism may arise from brain's response to early disturbances

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By Mark Johnson is director of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London.

My childhood seemed pretty normal, I have an older brother and sister, I used to play in the street with the other kids from a very young age like a totally normal up bringing.

When I was probably about 2 years old I remember my mum taking me to one of her friends houses and I was playing with a fire truck toy that broke so I started crying because it had broke and I was scared of being told off. ( i didn't even brake it though the woman said that piece always falls off)

but I don't remember my parents ever hitting me or shouting at me when I was young so it was an unfounded fear.

I was always really quiet and liked to stay near my mums side when I was with her, other parents used to tell her how I was such a well behaved child and a credit to her. ( I did play out with the other kids with no real adult supervision like a normal child of the 80s though)

I don't think there was anything that changed me it just seems to have been how my brain was from the start.

It wasn't until secondary school when I started losing friends and feeling different but looking back I was always like this.