In this episode, Sal, Adam & Justin speak with Melissa Mello of the UC Davis Mind Institute on Autism.

Mind Pump Recommends: White Boy Ricky. (3:21)

Introducing Melissa Mello: Who is she and what does she do? (4:50)

What got her into this field of research? (6:00)

Has autism exploded or have people become more aware? (6:31)

How do we categorize autism? (8:41)

What do we know about the autistic brain? (11:50)

Breaking the myths of autism. What causes it? (13:50)

Is there a link between poor nutrition/lack of exercise and autism? (17:36)

Have there been any evolutionary advantages to having autism? (19:45)

How does one treat autism? (21:42)

What are the different forms of autism? Spectrums? (23:05)

What symptoms can parents look for? (25:11)

Are there any tools/objective tests to see if kids are on the spectrum? (27:14)

The lessons she has learned working with children with autism. (28:23)

Has she had a particular breakthrough recently? (29:36)

Are there common mistakes parents make that have autistic children? (32:03)

Are we doing a good or bad job treating children with autism? (36:23)

What are the biggest roadblocks when it comes to furthering research and treatments? (38:00)

What is the hallmark of autism? (39:21)

Is there a gut/brain connection when it comes to autism? (42:39)

What frustrates her the most and does she have to battle the parents? (44:26)

What are the big rocks to address if your child gets diagnosed with autism? (46:15)

When the child wants to talk, but can’t. What does that mean? (47:51)

How does she deal with failure? (49:04)

Does she get emotional connected to the children she treats? (50:48)

Her thoughts on labeling things without knowing. (54:40)

Knowing what we know now, does she speculate on who may have had autism? (57:10)

What potential future research excites her in the field? (1:01:30)

Have there been paradigm shattering moments in her career? (1:03:15)

Does she find herself closed off from other people after a long day? (1:05:05)

Recommendations for websites with quality autism research/information. (1:07:14)

Are there symptoms she sees in adult patients? (1:10:27)