Fw: The advantages of autism

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----- Forwarded Message ----To: "deniseslist@..." Sent: Fri, May 7, 2010 1:27:13 PMSubject: FW: The advantages of autism NS 2758: The advantages of autism http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627581.500-the-advantages-of-autism.html * 04 May 2010 by Wolman MICHELLE Dawson can't handle crowded bus journeys, and she struggles to order a cup of coffee in a restaurant because

contact with strangers makes her feel panicky. Yet over the past few years, Dawson has been making a name for herself as a researcher at the Rivière-des-Prairies hospital, part of the University of Montreal in Canada.>> Dawson's field of research is the cognitive abilities of> people with> autism--people such as herself. She is one of a cadre of> scientists> who say that current definitions of this condition rely on> findings> that are outdated, if not downright misleading, and that> the nature> of autism has been fundamentally misunderstood for the past> 70> years.>> Medical textbooks tell us that autism is a developmental> disability> diagnosed by a classic "triad of impairments": in> communication,> imagination and social interaction. While the

condition> varies in> severity, about three-quarters of people with autism are> classed, in> the official language of psychiatrists, as mentally> retarded.>> Over the past decade or so, a growing autistic pride> movement has> been pushing the idea that people with autism aren't> disabled, they> just think differently to "neurotypicals". Now, research by> Dawson> and others has carried this concept a step further. They> say that> auties, as some people with autism call themselves, don't> merely> think differently: in certain ways they think better. Call> it the> autie advantage.>> How can a group of people who are generally seen as> disabled> actually have cognitive advantages? For a start, research> is> challenging the original studies that apparently> demonstrated

the> low IQ of people with autism. Other studies are revealing> the> breadth of their cognitive strengths, ranging from> attention to> detail and sensitivity to musical pitch to better memory.>> More recently, brain imaging is elucidating what> neurological> differences might lie behind these strengths. Entrepreneurs> have> even started trying to harness autistic people's talents> (see "Nice> work if you can get it"). "Scientists working in autism> always> reported abilities as anecdotes, but they were rarely the> focus of> research," says Isabelle Soulières, a neuropsychologist at> Harvard> Medical School in Boston, who works with Dawson. "Now> they're> beginning to develop interest in those strengths to help> us> understand autism.">> The fact that some people with autism have

certain talents> is hardly> a revelation. Leo Kanner, the psychiatrist who first> described> autism in the early 1940s, noted that some of his patients> had what> he termed "islets of ability", in areas such as memory,> drawing and> puzzles. But Kanner's emphasis, like that of most people> since, was> on autism's drawbacks.>> Today it is recognised that autism varies widely in terms> of which> traits are present and how prominently they manifest> themselves. The> cause remains mysterious, although evidence is pointing> towards many> genes playing a role, possibly in concert with factors> affecting> development in the womb.>> A single, elegant explanation capturing all that is> different about> the autistic mind has so far proved elusive, but several> ideas have> been put

forward that attempt to explain the most notable> traits.> Perhaps one of the best known is the idea that autistic> people lack> theory of mind--the understanding that other people can> have> different beliefs to yourself, or to reality. This account> would> explain why many autistic people do not tell lies and> cannot> comprehend those told by others, although the supporting> evidence> behind this theory has come under fire lately.>> Verbal cues>> People with autism are also said to have weak central> coherence -> the ability to synthesise an array of information, such as> verbal> and gestural cues in conversation. In other words,> sometimes they> can't see the wood for the trees.>> The idea of the autistic savant, with prodigious,> sometimes> jaw-dropping, talents has

taken hold in popular culture.> Yet savants> are the exception, not the rule. The usual figure cited is> that> about 1 in 10 people with autism have some kind of> savant-like> ability. That includes many individuals with esoteric> skills that> are of little use in everyday life--like being able to> instantly> reckon the day of the week for any past or future date.>> The reality is that children with autism generally take> longer to> hit milestones such as talking and becoming toilet-trained,> and as> adults commonly struggle to fit into society. Only 15 per> cent of> autistic adults have a paying job in the UK, according to> government> figures. The mainstream medical view of autism is that it> represents> a form of developmental brain damage. But what if that view> is> missing

something?>> The first way in which Dawson challenged the mainstream> view was to> address the association between autism and low IQ. In 2007,> Dawson> and t Mottron, head of the autism research programme> at the> University of Montreal, published a study showing that an> autistic> person's IQ score depends on which kind of test is used.> With the> most common test, the Weschsler Intelligence Scale,> three-quarters> of people with autism score 70 or lower, which classifies> them as> mentally retarded, as defined by the World Health> Organization's> International Classification of Diseases. But when the> team> administered a different, yet equally valid, IQ test known> as the> Raven's Progressive Matrices, which places less weight on> social> knowledge, most people with autism scored

at a level that> lifted> them out of this range (Psychological Science, vol 18, p> 657).>> Dawson believes her personal connection to this field of> inquiry> gives her unique insights. Recently, she began wondering if> autistic> strengths might already have surfaced in research settings,> only to> be buried in a literature dominated by the view of autistic> people> as damaged goods. "No one had ever thought to ask: What> cognitive> strengths have been reported in the literature?" she says.>> After reviewing thousands of papers and re-examining the> data,> Dawson says she has found dozens that include empirical> evidence of> autistic strengths that are cloaked by a preoccupation> with> deficits.>> Take, for example, a 2004 study where autistic and> non-autistic> people

did sentence comprehension tests while lying in a> brain> scanner (Brain, vol 127, p 1811). The autistic volunteers> showed> less synchronicity between the different language areas of> the brain> as they performed the task. The authors speculate that this> could> explain some of the language problems seen in autism. Yet> according> to the results section, the autistic group did better at> this> particular comprehension task than the control group. "The> researchers use the higher performance in one area to> speculate> about deficit elsewhere," says Dawson.>> Attention to detail>> Evidence for autistic advantages is also coming in from new> studies.> One strength derives from an aspect of autism that has long> been> seen as one of its chief deficits: weak central coherence.> The

flip> side of an inability to see the wood for the trees is being> very,> very good at seeing trees.>> Psychologists investigate the ability to aggregate or tease> apart> information by showing volunteers drawings of objects such> as a> house, and asking them to identify the shapes embedded> within it,> like triangles and rectangles. Numerous studies have shown> that> people with autism can do these tasks faster and more> accurately.> And that's not just with pictures; autistic people also do> it with> music, in tasks such as identifying individual notes within> chords.>> Maretha de Jonge, a child psychiatrist at the University> Medical> Centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands, who has done such> studies,> explains that "weak" in the context of central coherence> doesn't> have to

mean inferior in daily life. "Weakness in> integration is> sometimes an asset," she says. It can be useful to filter> out> external stimuli if you are writing an email in a noisy> coffee shop,> for example, or are searching for a camouflaged insect in> a> rainforest. Recasting weak central coherence as attention> to detail> and resistance to distraction suggests a mode of thought> that could> have advantages.>> Other autistic strengths are harder to paint as> disabilities in any> way. For example, Pamela Heaton of Goldsmiths, University> of London,> has shown that people with autism have better musical> pitch> recognition.>> On the visual side, a few autistic savants who are> immensely> talented artists are well known, but recent studies suggest> superior> visuospatial

skills may be more common in autism than> previously> supposed. Autistic people are better at three-dimensional> drawing,> for example, and tasks such as assembling designs out of> blocks> printed with different patterns (Journal of Autism and> Developmental> Disorders, vol 39, p 1039).>> Brain scans indicate that this may be because people with> autism> recruit more firepower from the brain's visual areas when> doing such> tasks. They may even use their visual areas for other> thought> processes. Mottron's team found that people with autism> were> completing the reasoning tasks in the Raven's IQ test by> using what> is usually regarded as the visual part of the brain, along> with more> typical intelligence networks (Human Brain Mapping, vol 30,> p 4082).>> Many researchers note

that people with autism seem> hypersensitive to> sights and sounds. In 2007, based partly on this finding,> Kamila> Markram and Henry Markram and Tania Rinaldi of the Swiss> Federal> Institute of Technology in Lausanne set out a theory of> autism> dubbed the "intense world syndrome" (Frontiers in> Neuroscience, vol> 1, p 77). According to this, autism is caused by a> hyperactive brain> that makes everyday sensory experiences overwhelming.>> One of their planks of evidence is autopsy findings of> structural> differences in the brain's cortex, or outer layer. People> with> autism have smaller minicolumns--clusters of around 100> neurons> that some researchers think act as the brain's basic> processing> units--but they also have more of them. While some have> linked this> trait to superior

functioning, the Lausanne team still> framed their> theory as explaining autism's disabilities and deficits.>> Mottron's team has published an alternative theory of> autism that> they believe more fully and accurately incorporates> autistic> strengths. Their "enhanced perceptual function model"> suggests> autistic brains are wired differently, but not necessarily> because> they are damaged (Journal of Autism and Developmental> Disorders, vol> 36, p 27). "These findings open a new educational> perspective on> autism that can be compared to sign language for deaf> people," says> Mottron.>> While Henry Markram maintains that autism involves a "core> neuropathology", he told New Scientist that the intense> world idea> and Mottron's theory are "aligned in most aspects". "Of> course the>

brain is different, but to say whether the brain is damaged> or not> depends on what you mean by damaged.">> What other cognitive abilities make up the autistic> advantage? More> rational decision-making seems to be one--people with> autism are> less susceptible to subjective or emotional factors such as> how a> question is worded (New Scientist, 18 October 2008, p 16).> Still,> until the idea of the autie advantage gains ground, the> full range> of autistic strengths will remain unknown.>> Yet the idea seems to be taking root. When speaking at the> TED> conference in Long Beach, California, in February,> professor of> animal science Temple Grandin, who has autism, was cheered> after> quipping that Silicon Valley wouldn't exist without the> condition.> She also claimed the tech-heavy

crowd was probably stacked> with> "autism genetics".>> Galling message>> Perhaps it will prove impossible to draw all-encompassing> conclusions about the advantages and disadvantages of a> condition> described as a spectrum. Autism includes brilliant> engineers, music> prodigies who can't unload a dishwasher, maths savants who> can't> speak, and other combinations of talent and disability.>> It is important to note, however, that the concept of the> autie> advantage has not been universally welcomed. A number of> researchers, as well as parents of autistic people, are> leery of too> much emphasis on autistic strengths. They fear it could> lead society> to underestimate some people's impairments and the> difficulties they> face.>> That outcome could threaten funding for badly

needed social> services> and therapy programmes. As one researcher who did not want> to be> identified put it: " Dawson's first-hand experience> is> valuable. But her experience doesn't necessarily map onto> other> people's.">> For a parent struggling with a child who cannot feed or use> the> toilet themselves it must be galling to hear that the> condition may> be advantageous. Yet other parents may be equally fed up of> hearing> uniformly negative messages about their children's> potential.> Perhaps only by considering the advantages of autism as> well as its> disadvantages can those affected reap better opportunities> in life.>> As far as Dawson is concerned, what matters most is> evidence. Last> year, at an autism conference, she presented a poster on> her

work.> "When people looked at my results, they said, 'It's so good> to see> something positive!' I said that I don't see it as positive> or> negative. I see it as accurate.">> Nice work if you can get it>> Thorkil Sonne, founder of the IT firm Specialisterne in> Copenhagen,> Denmark, has led private-sector efforts to capitalise on> autistic> strengths, such as memory and attention to detail. His> company> employs 48 people, 38 of whom have autism.>> After receiving training, employees work as IT consultants> to other> firms. Sonne, a former IT consultant himself, founded the> company in> 2004, soon after his son was diagnosed with autism. "I am> just a> father who reacted in despair by establishing a company> tailored to> meet the working conditions of people with autism,"

he> says.>> Specialisterne is no charity, though. The company turns a> healthy> profit--£120,000 in 2008--and branches will soon open in> the UK,> Iceland and Germany. In Chicago, a non-profit start-up> called> Aspiritech is based on Sonne's model.>> Dawson, an autistic cognition researcher at the> University> of Montreal, Canada, who has the condition herself, is> hopeful that> such enterprises will improve public attitudes and career> opportunities for people with autism. Yet she cautions> against> pigeonholing people: "Asking what kind of job is good for> an> autistic is like asking what kind of job is good for a> woman," she> says.>> Sonne says it is not his intention to stereotype autistic> people as> data-entry drones. The IT connection is because

that's> where his> experience lay, but he's already ramping up the operation> to cater> to individual preferences and talents. He recently> established an> education programme for adolescents with autism, and hired> a music> and art teacher. Sonne says: "Our ambition is to work out a> model in> which people who struggle with traditional expectations of> social> skills can excel.">> Wolman is a science writer in Portland, Oregon. His> book> Righting the Mother Tongue is available from> Harper/sonian Books> -----Inline Attachment Follows----->> _______________________________________________> tt mailing list> tt@...> http://postbiota.org/mailman/listinfo/tt>