For some autistic people, it can be hard to figure out what to say—even when you know what you mean. One possible explanation is differences in synaptic pruning, a natural process that happens during early childhood. This is when the brain clears out unused synapses—the connections between neurons that help transmit information. Pruning makes the brain more efficient by keeping the connections used most often. When extra synapses remain, they can create mental noise that makes it harder to sort through thoughts and put them into words.
How Synaptic Pruning Works
- In early childhood, the brain creates more synapses than it will ultimately need.
- As we grow, the brain prunes away the connections that are used less frequently.
- This process continues through adolescence and into early adulthood, especially in the prefrontal cortex (the area involved in decision-making, social behavior, and planning).
Synaptic Pruning and Autism
Research suggests that people with autism may experience less synaptic pruning than their neurotypical peers. That means:
- More synapses are left intact, especially in areas related to sensory processing and social communication.
- The brain may become over-connected, which could lead to being easily overwhelmed or overstimulated.
- There may be less efficiency in choosing which connections are most useful for things like social interaction, communication, and executive functioning.
Could This Explain Why It’s Hard to Know What to Say?
Possibly. Here’s how:
- Too many competing connections: If your brain hasn’t pruned excess pathways, it might mean you have too many possible thoughts, interpretations, or responses at once.
- Hard to prioritize: Without pruning, it might be harder to quickly filter out irrelevant thoughts or decide which idea is the “right” one to say.
- More processing time: You might feel like you need more time to sort through mental clutter, especially in real-time conversation.
- Increased sensory/social load: When social cues, facial expressions, or tone of voice are hard to process efficiently, it adds more mental load, making word-finding or forming responses even harder.
To summarize, synaptic pruning helps streamline the brain. If it’s less effective—as it may be in autism—it can contribute to:
- Slower or more effortful communication
- Difficulty filtering and organizing thoughts
- Feeling overwhelmed in conversation
It doesn’t mean you’re less capable—it means your brain works differently. That difference can make communication take more energy or feel more complex, even when you know exactly what you mean. It’s like a field of wildflowers compared to a garden of tulips – both are beautiful in their own way.
This concept resonates with the lived experience many people have shared with me. “I see all the possibilities”, or “I have all the thoughts at the same time” are phrases I hear a lot.