Talent in autism: hyper-systemizing, hyper-attention to detail and sensory hypersensitivity

We argue that hyper-systemizing predisposes individuals to show talent, and review evidence that hyper-systemizing is part of the cognitive style of people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). We then clarify the hyper-systemizing theory, contrasting it to the weak central coherence (WCC) and executive dysfunction (ED) theories. The ED theory has difficulty explaining the existence of talent in ASC. While both hyper-systemizing and WCC theories postulate excellent attention to detail , by itself excellent attention to detail will not produce talent. By contrast, the hyper-systemizing theory argues that the excellent attention to detail is directed towards detecting ‘if p, then q’ rules (or [input–operation–output] reasoning). Such law-based pattern recognition systems can produce talent in systemizable domains. Finally, we argue that the excellent attention to detail in ASC is itself a consequence of sensory hypersensitivity . We review an experiment from our laboratory demonstrating sensory hypersensitivity detection thresholds in vision. We conclude that the origins of the association between autism and talent begin at the sensory level, include excellent attention to detail and end with hyper-systemizing.

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Initial Evidence for Increased Weather Salience in Autism Spectrum Conditions

10.31234/osf.io/pbh4v ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Matthew J. Bolton ◽

William G. Blumberg ◽

Lara K. Ault ◽

H. Michael Mogil ◽

Stacie H. Hanes

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Processing ◽

Physical Disability ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽

Weather Information ◽

Autistic People ◽

Neurological Functioning ◽

Future Work ◽

Logical Rules ◽

Attention To Detail

Weather is important to all people, including vulnerable populations (those whose circumstances include cognitive processing, hearing, or vision differences, physical disability, homelessness, and other scenarios and factors). Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) affect information-processing and areas of neurological functioning that potentially inhibit the reception of hazardous weather information, and is of particular concern for weather messengers. People on the autism spectrum tend to score highly in tests of systemizing, a psychological process that heavily entails attention to detail and revolves around the creation of logical rules to explain things that occur in the world. This article reports the results of three preliminary studies examining weather salience–psychological attention to weather–and its potential relationships with systemizing in autistic people. Initial findings suggest that enhanced weather salience exists among autistic individuals compared to those without the condition, and that this may be related to systemizing. These findings reveal some possible strategies for communicating weather to autistic populations and motivate future work on a conceptual model that blends systemizing and chaos theory to better understand weather salience.

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Central coherence and the shaping of expertise in design: evidence from designers with autism spectrum conditions

Artificial intelligence for engineering design analysis and manufacturing ◽

10.1017/s089006041700066x ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 321-330

Author(s):

Andy Dong ◽

Ann Heylighen

Keyword(s):

Information Processing ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Weak Central Coherence ◽

Central Coherence ◽

Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽

Coherence Theory ◽

Design Practice ◽

Cognitive Behaviors ◽

Personal Experiences

AbstractThis paper proposes to contribute to our understanding of the fundamental cognitive processes essential to designing by exploring the experiences of people who have different information processing behaviors to those found in most people. In particular, we focus on people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) because they are known to have information processing behaviors that are both maladaptive and exceptional. Central to our study is the question: what can we learn from people with ASC about cognitive processes essential to designing? The scholarship on cognitive behaviors associated with the autism spectrum and narratives on the experiences with design practice by individuals with ASC are discussed in relation to cognitive processes associated with designing. In turn, the individuals commented upon the analysis of cognitive processes associated with designing in light of their personal experiences with design practice. We conclude that the weak central coherence theory of autism provides a useful prediction of the cognitive processes necessary for expertise in design, and that both the framework for expertise in design and the way it is studied may require updating.

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Weak central coherence and executive dysfunction in children with autism spectrum disorder

Neuroscience Research ◽

10.1016/j.neures.2011.07.063 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 71 ◽

pp. e16 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Miyuki Torii

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Executive Dysfunction ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Weak Central Coherence ◽

Central Coherence

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Understanding autism: insights from mind and brain

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2002.1209 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 358 (1430) ◽

pp. 281-289 ◽

Cited By ~ 209

Author(s):

Elisabeth L. Hill ◽

Uta Frith

Keyword(s):

Signs And Symptoms ◽

Executive Dysfunction ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Central Coherence ◽

Restricted Interests ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Recent Developments ◽

Genetic Mechanisms ◽

Mind And Brain ◽

Methodological Difficulties

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication as well as repetitive behaviours and restricted interests. The consequences of this disorder for everyday life adaptation are extremely variable. The general public is now more aware of the high prevalence of this lifelong disorder, with ca . 0.6% of the population being affected. However, the signs and symptoms of autism are still puzzling. Since a biological basis of autism was accepted, approaches from developmental cognitive neuroscience have been applied to further our understanding of the autism spectrum. The study of the behavioural and underlying cognitive deficits in autism has advanced ahead of the study of the underlying brain abnormalities and of the putative genetic mechanisms. However, advances in these fields are expected as methodological difficulties are overcome. In this paper, recent developments in the field of autism are outlined. In particular, we review the findings of the three main neuro–cognitive theories of autism: theory–of–mind deficit, weak central coherence and executive dysfunction.

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Theory of Mind Deficit versus Faulty Procedural Memory in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism Research and Treatment ◽

10.1155/2013/128264 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Miguel Ángel Romero-Munguía

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

Theory Of Mind ◽

Cognitive Skills ◽

Behavioral Flexibility ◽

Poor Performance ◽

Executive Dysfunction ◽

Procedural Memory ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Central Coherence ◽

Spectrum Disorders

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have impairments in social interaction, communicative capacity, and behavioral flexibility (core triad). Three major cognitive theories (theory of mind deficit, weak central coherence, and executive dysfunction) seem to explain many of these impairments. Currently, however, the empathizing-systemizing (a newer version of the theory of mind deficit account) and mnesic imbalance theories are the only ones that attempt to explain all these core triadic symptoms of ASD On the other hand, theory of mind deficit in empathizing-systemizing theory is the most influential account for ASD, but its counterpart in the mnesic imbalance theory, faulty procedural memory, seems to occur earlier in development; consequently, this might be a better solution to the problem of the etiology of ASD, if it truly meets the precedence criterion. Hence, in the present paper I review the reasoning in favor of the theory of mind deficit but with a new interpretation based on the mnesic imbalance theory, which posits that faulty procedural memory causes deficits in several cognitive skills, resulting in poor performance in theory of mind tasks.

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The Summer of Adventure

Living on the Spectrum ◽

10.18574/nyu/9781479864355.003.0002 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 25-52

Author(s):

Elizabeth Fein

Keyword(s):

Role Playing ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Weak Central Coherence ◽

Central Coherence ◽

Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽

Interpersonal Coordination ◽

Cognitive Characteristics ◽

Clinical Ethnography ◽

Alternative Culture ◽

Live Action

This chapter chronicles a summer of clinical ethnography at a camp for youth with Asperger’s syndrome and related autism spectrum conditions, run by a close-knit community of live-action role-playing (LARP) gamers aiming to be inclusive of neurodiversity. Within this alternative culture with its alternative norms, the neurodevelopmental differences associated with Asperger’s took on new and valued meanings and manifestations. The chapter reviews predominant theories about cognition in autism (theory of mind, executive function, and weak central coherence), depicting these attributes not as individual deficits but as collaborative engagements with the physical, cultural, and symbolic materials of the surrounding world. Autism, the chapter proposes, is characterized by a heightened reliance on external systems of organization to create a sense of experiential coherence and to fend off existential threats of meaninglessness and chaos. LARP games offer one such system of organization through their framework of stable, shared narratives, and genre conventions. These resources support interpersonal coordination, bringing together people who share relevant cognitive characteristics into a tenuous but deeply valued community.

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Investigating distinct and related contributions of Weak Central Coherence, Executive Dysfunction, and Systemizing theories to the cognitive profiles of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and typically developing children

Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

10.1016/j.rasd.2014.12.005 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 77-92 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Sandra B. Vanegas ◽

Denise Davidson

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Executive Dysfunction ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Weak Central Coherence ◽

Central Coherence ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Cognitive Profiles ◽

Typically Developing Children ◽

Spectrum Disorders

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What aspects of autism predispose to talent?

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2008.0332 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 364 (1522) ◽

pp. 1369-1375 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

Francesca Happé ◽

Pedro Vital

Keyword(s):

Executive Dysfunction ◽

Population Based ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽

Repetitive Behaviours ◽

Older Children ◽

Processing Bias ◽

Spectrum Disorders ◽

Enhanced Perceptual Functioning ◽

Restricted And Repetitive Behaviours

In this paper, we explore the question, why are striking special skills so much more common in autism spectrum conditions (ASC) than in other groups? Current cognitive accounts of ASC are briefly reviewed in relation to special skills. Difficulties in ‘theory of mind’ may contribute to originality in ASC, since individuals who do not automatically ‘read other minds’ may be better able to think outside prevailing fashions and popular theories. However, originality alone does not confer talent. Executive dysfunction has been suggested as the ‘releasing’ mechanism for special skills in ASC, but other groups with executive difficulties do not show raised incidence of talents. Detail-focused processing bias (‘weak coherence’, ‘enhanced perceptual functioning’) appears to be the most promising predisposing characteristic, or ‘starting engine’, for talent development. In support of this notion, we summarize data from a population-based twin study in which parents reported on their 8-year-olds' talents and their ASC-like traits. Across the whole sample, ASC-like traits, and specifically ‘restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests’ related to detail focus, were more pronounced in children reported to have talents outstripping older children. We suggest that detail-focused cognitive style predisposes to talent in savant domains in, and beyond, autism spectrum disorders.

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Initial Evidence for Increased Weather Salience in Autism Spectrum Conditions

Weather Climate and Society ◽

10.1175/wcas-d-18-0100.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 293-307

Author(s):

Matthew J. Bolton ◽

William G. Blumberg ◽

Lara K. Ault ◽

H. Michael Mogil ◽

Stacie H. Hanes

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Processing ◽

Physical Disability ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽

Weather Information ◽

Autistic People ◽

Neurological Functioning ◽

Future Work ◽

Logical Rules ◽

Attention To Detail

AbstractWeather is important to all people, including vulnerable populations (those whose circumstances include cognitive processing, hearing, or vision differences; physical disability; homelessness; and other scenarios and factors). Autism spectrum conditions affect information processing and areas of neurological functioning that potentially inhibit the reception of hazardous weather information and are of particular concern for weather messengers. People on the autism spectrum tend to score highly in tests of systemizing, a psychological process that heavily entails attention to detail and revolves around the creation of logical rules to explain things that occur in the world. This article reports the results of three preliminary studies examining weather salience—psychological attention to weather—and its potential relationships with systemizing in autistic people. Initial findings suggest that enhanced weather salience exists among autistic individuals relative to those without the condition and that this may be related to systemizing. These findings reveal some possible strategies for communicating weather to autistic populations and motivate future work on a conceptual model that blends systemizing and chaos theory to better understand weather salience.

Download Full-text