Charles lowered his head, the muscles around his eyes furrowed as he looked at the line of text he had just written. He said, "Generally speaking, adult autism or Asperger's patients with well-developed behavioral capabilities do not require the same long-term sensory integration training, attention correction, or behavioral pattern cultivation therapies as adolescent or child patients."
"But if we hope for further improvement in their behaviors, my suggestion is to stimulate the brain through comprehensive neural system training, making it more active..."
At this, Strange raised a hand to cut Charles off, saying, "Thank you, Professor, I fully appreciate your expertise, and I also have some research into neurology, but right now we need to know the specific treatment methods and effects, not the principles."
"To put it simply, exercise more," Charles replied quite straightforwardly. He put down the paper he was holding, his gaze scanned over the faces of Stark and Strange, and said, "I'm referring to physical exercise, especially outdoor activities that can fully mobilize the motor neurons."
Stark furrowed his brow, and Steve also had a difficult expression. Nick pursed his lips and said, "Shiller does not seem like he likes outdoor activities. From what I've observed, few scientists in New York who are conducting research are physically active. If it weren't for basic survival needs, they'd prefer to glue themselves to the lab bench, not moving an inch."
"But we all know, outdoor activities are beneficial for mental health. Apart from the wide-open spaces that make people feel more comfortable, fully mobilizing the motor neurons can also help to balance the functioning of different brain areas."
"Studies have shown that for people who engage in high-intensity intellectual labor for many years, enhancing physical activity can significantly improve symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, and nerve pain. To be specific, the exhilaration brought by muscle relaxation and improved blood circulation can help alleviate depression."
"But Shiller is exuberant enough already," Steve instinctively said, but then he realized what he had said. He looked at Charles and said, "You mean, if there are alternatives to combat the negatives and the feeling of emptiness caused by psychological trauma, Shiller won't need to let his greed develop to such an extreme level, right?"
Charles nodded, and the others in the room finally understood the significance of the treatment plan Charles had proposed.
If autism and psychological trauma, among all other negative factors, are likened to water flow, then greed is like a water pipe.
Members of the Avengers, Nick, and even Loki and Thor of Asgard — superheroes who had dealt with Shiller a lot — lacking in the knowledge of psychology, don't understand what causes the leaks. They only noticed the pipe had become too hard, losing its resilience due to increasing structural strength, leading to self-fracturing risks, so they wanted to soften the pipe.
But Charles is more like a professional plumber. He noticed something abnormal about the marks left on the inner wall of the pipe by the water flow, traced back to the source of the water flow, found out what sort of impact Shiller is facing that compelled him to build such a solid defense. He then realized, rather than remodeling the pipe, it's better to reduce the water flow.
If the strength of the water flow drops, the pipe won't need to be so strong, this is the fundamental solution to the problem and the method most professional psychologists use to treat their patients.
Charles let out a sigh, then continued.
"Often times, the family and people around the patient with psychological disorders prefer to use behavioral correction to improve their conditions, such as making the exuberant calm down, making the depressed cheer up."
"But in reality, these abnormal behaviors displayed may be the defenses the patients of psychological disorders built against their true traumas. You can't ask a dam facing a wave of impacts to weaken its structure, because if it becomes like normal, it might be totally crushed by the pressure of reality or post-traumatic syndromes."
The room fell into a somber mood. Stark still held a bit of hope, he looked at Charles and asked: "So there's no way to completely heal Shiller's autism and psychological trauma?"
"You might think about erasing memories," Charles pursed his lips and continued, "But from my years of telepathic experience, the human brain does have a certain degree of physical memory. Even if the software is deleted, even I, cannot completely remove it."
"Moreover, after deleting the memory, a reasonable narrative must be recompiled to replace the original memory. If there are any logical loopholes, it could lead to a complete breakdown."
"Besides, I don't have that ability to completely remove such a high tower from the world. It can't be done."
Magneto glanced at Charles, apparently surprised; this was the first time he'd heard the omnipotent Professor X admit there was something he couldn't do.
Erik is very clear, though Professor X has repeated countless times to everyone that if Magneto puts on his helmet, he becomes powerless, but that sounds more like a kindergarten teacher pacifying the children.
"What about autism?" Stark was not ready to give up.
However, the expression on Charles' face became somewhat strange. He looked at Stark and said, "Tony, do you hope that your anxiety and your genius intelligence will disappear simultaneously?"