What Happens When We Ask Autistic Persons What Is Wrong With Them?

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081001093758.htm

What Happens When We Ask Autistic Persons What Is Wrong With Them?

ScienceDaily (Oct. 7, 2008) — To date, few studies have focused on

the viewpoints of autistic persons themselves despite an increasing

number of published autobiographies. The aim of this study is to

highlight their personal experiences, and to compare them to

scientific and medical knowledge and representations.

Adopting an anthropological approach, the authors analyzed 16

autobiographical writings and 5 interviews with autistic persons.

The investigators systematically screened this material and explored

the writers' sociodemographic characteristics, cognitive skills and

interests with a focus on their sensory-perceptual experiences and

their representations of autism. The authors' ages (22-67 years),

their countries (n = 8) and backgrounds were varied, and most of them

were high-functioning individuals with autism or Asperger syndrome.

The most striking observations were that all of them pointed out that

unusual perceptions and information processing, as well as

impairments in emotional regulation, were the core symptoms of

autism, whereas the current classifications do not mention them.

The results of this study suggest that what has been selected as

major signs by psychiatric nosography is regarded as manifestations

induced by perceptive peculiarities and strong emotional reactions by

the autistic persons who expressed themselves.

These considerations deserve to be taken into account by

professionals to better understand the behavior and needs of autistic

persons. The Authors propose to include this point in the reflection

on the next psychiatric classifications.

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Journal reference:

Chamak et al. What Can We Learn about Autism from Autistic Persons?

Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 2008; 77 (5): 271 DOI:

10.1159/000140086

Adapted from materials provided by Journal of Psychotherapy and

Psychosomatics, via AlphaGalileo.