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Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
Global/local processing in autism: not a disability, but a disinclination
Kami Koldewyn1, Yuhong V Jiang, Sarah Weigelt
1Department of Brain and Cognitive Science and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Building 46 Room 4141 (Kanwisher Lab), Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA, kamik@mit.edu.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|February 5, 2013
Summary
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show a reduced preference for global processing when given a choice, but their ability to process global information is intact when instructed. This suggests a disinclination, not a disability, in global processing for individuals with ASD.
Area of Science:
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Cognitive psychology
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research
Background:
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often associated with atypical local-global processing, but research findings are inconsistent.
- Understanding cognitive differences in ASD is crucial for developing effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate global processing in children with ASD using both free-choice and instructed tasks.
- To clarify whether observed differences in global processing reflect a disability or a disinclination.
Main Methods:
- A large group of children, including those with ASD, completed tasks involving hierarchical local-global stimuli.
- Performance was assessed under both free-choice conditions and instructed conditions requiring global processing.
Main Results:
- Children with ASD demonstrated a reduced preference for reporting global properties when given a choice.
- Their capacity to process global properties remained unimpaired when explicitly instructed to do so.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest that individuals with ASD may have a disinclination, rather than an impairment, in global processing.
- This challenges the notion of inherent cognitive deficits and prompts re-evaluation of other ASD characteristics as potential disinclinations.
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