scholarly journals The Autistic Detective: Sherlock Holmes and his Legacy

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya Freeman Loftis
Keyword(s):  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Crime Fiction ◽  
Autism Diagnosis ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Sherlock Holmes ◽  
Fictional Character ◽  
The Public ◽  
Television Shows ◽  
Popular Television

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 200%;"><span>Sherlock Holmes has long been rumored to be on the autism spectrum. Yet the significance of the great detective's autism "diagnosis" has been largely overlooked. While it would be impossible to diagnose a fictional character with a neurological difference, it says something about the way that the public imagines autism that Holmes is consistently imagined and described as a person on the spectrum. Indeed, Conan Doyle's character popularized the stereotype of the detective with autistic traits, thus perpetuating several common tropes about autism. Emulating Conan Doyle's famous tales, contemporary crime fiction frequently creates detective characters with autistic characteristics. For example, popular television shows such as&nbsp;</span><span>Criminal Minds</span><span>&nbsp;present detectives with autistic traits who are clearly constructed to remind audiences of Holmes. While figures such as Spenser Reid (and other crime fighters following in Holmes's shadow) may seem to counteract fears of people with cognitive disabilities as deviant, criminal, or dangerous, they may actually reinforce those stereotypes.</span></p> </span>

scholarly journals Vicarious ratings of social touch the effect of age and autistic traits

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Connor J. Haggarty ◽  
David J. Moore ◽  
Paula D. Trotter ◽  
Rachel Hagan ◽  
Francis P. McGlone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Similar Pattern ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Autism Diagnosis ◽  
Social Touch ◽  
Parental Reports ◽  
Effect Of Age

AbstractTactile sensitivities are common in Autism Spectrum Conditions (autism). Psychophysically, slow, gentle stroking touch is typically rated as more pleasant than faster or slower touch. Vicarious ratings of social touch results in a similar pattern of velocity dependent hedonic ratings as directly felt touch. Here we investigated whether adults and children’s vicarious ratings vary according to autism diagnosis and self-reported autistic traits. Adults’ scoring high on the AQ rated stroking touch on the palm as less pleasant than a Low AQ group. However, in contrast to our hypothesis, we did not find any effect of autism diagnosis on children’s touch ratings despite parental reports highlighting significant somatosensory sensitivities. These results are discussed in terms of underpinning sensory and cognitive factors.

scholarly journals The Portrayal of Tourette Syndrome in Film and Television

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Calder-Sprackman ◽  
Stephanie Sutherland ◽  
Asif Doja
Keyword(s):  
Tourette Syndrome ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Television Programs ◽  
The Public ◽  
Film And Television ◽  
Television Shows ◽  
Medical Disorders

Objective:To determine the representation of Tourette Syndrome (TS) in fictional movies and television programs by investigating recurrent themes and depictions.Background:Television and film can be a source of information and misinformation about medical disorders. Tourette Syndrome has received attention in the popular media, but no studies have been done on the accuracy of the depiction of the disorder.Methods:International internet movie databases were searched using the terms “Tourette’s”, “Tourette’s Syndrome”, and “tics” to generate all movies, shorts, and television programs featuring a character or scene with TS or a person imitating TS. Using a grounded theory approach, we identified the types of characters, tics, and co-morbidities depicted as well as the overall representation of TS.Results:Thirty-seven television programs and films were reviewed dating from 1976 to 2010. Fictional movies and television shows gave overall misrepresentations of TS. Coprolalia was overrepresented as a tic manifestation, characters were depicted having autism spectrum disorder symptoms rather than TS, and physicians were portrayed as unsympathetic and only focusing on medical therapies. School and family relationships were frequently depicted as being negatively impacted by TS, leading to poor quality of life.Conclusions:Film and television are easily accessible resources for patients and the public that may influence their beliefs about TS. Physicians should be aware that TS is often inaccurately represented in television programs and film and acknowledge misrepresentations in order to counsel patients accordingly.

scholarly journals Descriptive analysis of the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) in a sample of Brazilian adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Luiza Costa Alves ◽  
Jonas Jardim de Paula ◽  
Debora Marques de Miranda ◽  
Marco Aurelio Romano-Silva
Keyword(s):  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Clinical Score ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Autism Spectrum Quotient ◽  
Clinical Validity ◽  
Autism Diagnosis ◽  
Stereotyped Behaviors ◽  
Future Work

Background: The Autism Spectrum Disorder is characterized by the presence of difficulties in social interaction, inflexible, repetitive and/or stereotyped behaviors and interests. The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) is a self-report instrument with 50 items created to quantify autistic traits in individuals older than 18 years with average or above-average intelligence. Objectives: The principal aim was to present a brief descriptive analysis of the AQ in a heterogeneous sample of Brazilian adults, also, to measure the clinical validity of the scale. Method: We recruited all the participants in Brazil (N=1024). Then we described the distribution in the general population (N=385) and investigated the AQ accuracy in a sample of autistic adults (N=32). Results: Our results suggested that autism traits were normally distributed in the population, but Brazilian adults have shown a different profile from the original study. Further, we found that 24 adults from the sample had a clinical score on the AQ, compatible with their previous autism diagnosis. Discussion: Our population probably reports more symptoms compared to other because the original clinical score represents a lower percentile in our sample. Also, future work will be required to adequate the use of the AQ in the Brazilian population.

scholarly journals Korean LGBT

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Kim
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Advocacy Organizations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Television Shows ◽  
Difficult Time ◽  
Issue Advocacy ◽  
Popular Television ◽  
Lgbt Movement

South Korea does not have a strong and visible lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender social movement in the public, despite active issue advocacy organizations, political representation from the Democratic Labour Party, and popular television shows that portray LGBT characters and themes. The LGBT movement has had a difficult time growing in South Korea because, as some have argued South Korea has long been ignorant about homosexuality and awareness of ‘gay’ had not been discovered until the early 1990s. I will look at three causal reasons that best describe the dearth of a growing social movement pushing for LGBT rights.

scholarly journals Developmental trajectories of autistic social traits in the general population

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Richard Pender ◽  
Pasco Fearon ◽  
Beate St Pourcain ◽  
Jon Heron ◽  
Will Mandy
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Population Sample ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Communication Disorders ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Growth Mixture Modelling ◽  
Autistic People ◽  
Social Difficulties ◽  
Autism Trait

Abstract Background Autistic people show diverse trajectories of autistic traits over time, a phenomenon labelled ‘chronogeneity’. For example, some show a decrease in symptoms, whilst others experience an intensification of difficulties. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a dimensional condition, representing one end of a trait continuum that extends throughout the population. To date, no studies have investigated chronogeneity across the full range of autistic traits. We investigated the nature and clinical significance of autism trait chronogeneity in a large, general population sample. Methods Autistic social/communication traits (ASTs) were measured in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children using the Social and Communication Disorders Checklist (SCDC) at ages 7, 10, 13 and 16 (N = 9744). We used Growth Mixture Modelling (GMM) to identify groups defined by their AST trajectories. Measures of ASD diagnosis, sex, IQ and mental health (internalising and externalising) were used to investigate external validity of the derived trajectory groups. Results The selected GMM model identified four AST trajectory groups: (i) Persistent High (2.3% of sample), (ii) Persistent Low (83.5%), (iii) Increasing (7.3%) and (iv) Decreasing (6.9%) trajectories. The Increasing group, in which females were a slight majority (53.2%), showed dramatic increases in SCDC scores during adolescence, accompanied by escalating internalising and externalising difficulties. Two-thirds (63.6%) of the Decreasing group were male. Conclusions Clinicians should note that for some young people autism-trait-like social difficulties first emerge during adolescence accompanied by problems with mood, anxiety, conduct and attention. A converse, majority-male group shows decreasing social difficulties during adolescence.

scholarly journals Diachronic Tendency and Thinking Style Across the Broader Autism Spectrum: Sources of Individual Differences?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stian Orm ◽  
Ella Holt Holmberg ◽  
Paul L. Harris ◽  
Maria Nunez ◽  
Francisco Pons
Keyword(s):  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Broader Autism Phenotype ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Inner Speech ◽  
Autism Spectrum Quotient ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Thinking Style ◽  
Mental Images ◽  
High School Degree ◽  
Future Events

Abstract Objectives First, to see whether previous studies showing a limited capacity to spontaneously evoke the past and the future of a present moment (diachronic tendency) and a prevalence of mental images over inner speech (thinking style) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder could be replicated in individuals belonging to the broader autism phenotype. Second, to test the hypothesis that individuals thinking with mental images have a more limited diachronic tendency compared with individuals thinking with inner speech. Methods Adults (N = 309, Mage = 31.5 years, 76% women) with at least a high school degree were assessed with the Autism Spectrum Quotient, a test of diachronic tendency comprising four pictures varying in social interactivity and dynamicity, and a thinking style scale comprising three items representing three different everyday situations. Results The results showed that adults with many autistic traits have a limited diachronic tendency but only when the situation is socially interactive and dynamic, think more in mental images than individuals with no or few autistic traits but nevertheless still think more with inner speech than with mental images, and the more the participants reported thinking in inner speech, the more they evoked past and future events when describing a socially interactive and dynamic situation. Conclusions More autistic traits are associated with a limited diachronic tendency in socially interactive and dynamic situations and more thinking in mental images, and thinking style could be one of the determinants of diachronic tendency in socially interactive and dynamic situations.

scholarly journals Less Illusion of a Just World in People with Formally Diagnosed Autism and Higher Autistic Traits

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Bertrams
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Autism Diagnosis ◽  
Just World ◽  
External Locus ◽  
General Belief ◽  
Autistic People

AbstractPeople differ in how strongly they believe that, in general, one gets what (s)he deserves (i.e., individual differences in the general belief in a just world). In this study (N = 588; n = 60 with a formal autism diagnosis), whether or not autistic people and those with high autistic traits have a relatively low general belief in a just world is examined. The results revealed the expected relationship between autism/higher autistic traits and a lower general belief in a just world. In a subsample (n = 388), personal belief in a just world, external locus of control, and self-deception mediated this relationship. These findings are discussed in terms of autistic strengths (less biased information processing) and problems (lowered well-being).

scholarly journals Dysfunctions in Infants’ Statistical Learning are Related to Parental Autistic Traits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettoni Roberta ◽  
Valentina Riva ◽  
Chiara Cantiani ◽  
Elena Maria Riboldi ◽  
Massimo Molteni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Statistical Structure ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Visual Habituation

AbstractStatistical learning refers to the ability to extract the statistical relations embedded in a sequence, and it plays a crucial role in the development of communicative and social skills that are impacted in the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Here, we investigated the relationship between infants’ SL ability and autistic traits in their parents. Using a visual habituation task, we tested infant offspring of adults (non-diagnosed) who show high (HAT infants) versus low (LAT infants) autistic traits. Results demonstrated that LAT infants learned the statistical structure embedded in a visual sequence, while HAT infants failed. Moreover, infants’ SL ability was related to autistic traits in their parents, further suggesting that early dysfunctions in SL might contribute to variabilities in ASD symptoms.

scholarly journals The Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory (CATI): development and validation of a new measure of autistic traits in the general population

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. W. English ◽  
Gilles E. Gignac ◽  
Troy A. W. Visser ◽  
Andrew J. O. Whitehouse ◽  
James T. Enns ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
General Population ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Predictive Ability ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Autism Spectrum Quotient ◽  
Sensory Sensitivity ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract Background Traits and characteristics qualitatively similar to those seen in diagnosed autism spectrum disorder can be found to varying degrees in the general population. To measure these traits and facilitate their use in autism research, several questionnaires have been developed that provide broad measures of autistic traits [e.g. Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ)]. However, since their development, our understanding of autism has grown considerably, and it is arguable that existing measures do not provide an ideal representation of the trait dimensions currently associated with autism. Our aim was to create a new measure of autistic traits that reflects our current understanding of autism, the Comprehensive Autism Trait Inventory (CATI). Methods In Study 1, 107 pilot items were administered to 1119 individuals in the general population and exploratory factor analysis of responses used to create the 42-item CATI comprising six subscales: Social Interactions, Communication, Social Camouflage, Repetitive Behaviours, Cognitive Rigidity, and Sensory Sensitivity. In Study 2, the CATI was administered to 1068 new individuals and confirmatory factor analysis used to verify the factor structure. The AQ and BAPQ were administered to validate the CATI, and additional autistic participants were recruited to compare the predictive ability of the measures. In Study 3, to validate the CATI subscales, the CATI was administered to 195 new individuals along with existing valid measures qualitatively similar to each CATI subscale. Results The CATI showed convergent validity at both the total-scale (r ≥ .79) and subscale level (r ≥ .68). The CATI also showed superior internal reliability for total-scale scores (α = .95) relative to the AQ (α = .90) and BAPQ (α = .94), consistently high reliability for subscales (α > .81), greater predictive ability for classifying autism (Youden’s Index = .62 vs .56–.59), and demonstrated measurement invariance for sex. Limitations Analyses of predictive ability for classifying autism depended upon self-reported diagnosis or identification of autism. The autistic sample was not large enough to test measurement invariance of autism diagnosis. Conclusions The CATI is a reliable and economical new measure that provides observations across a wide range of trait dimensions associated with autism, potentially precluding the need to administer multiple measures, and to our knowledge, the CATI is also the first broad measure of autistic traits to have dedicated subscales for social camouflage and sensory sensitivity.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document