How I Attend—Not How Well Do I Attend: Rethinking Developmental Frameworks of Attention and Cognition in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development

Burack, Jacob A.; Russo, Natalie; Kovshoff, Hanna; Fernandes, Tania; Ringo, Jason; Landry, Oriane; Iarocci, Grace

doi:10.1080/15248372.2016.1197226

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Autism is a neurological condition with widespread effects, including in attentional, perceptual, and sensorimotor systems (e.g., Burack et al 2016; Leekam et al 2007; Mottron et al 2006). As we will show in this section, some behaviors that social motivation accounts of autism interpret as indicating a lack of social interest can occur because of factors unrelated to social motivation (see also Donnellan et al 2013).…”

Section: Alternative Explanations For Behaviors Commonly Interpreted mentioning

confidence: 99%

Being versus appearing socially uninterested: Challenging assumptions about social motivation in autism

2018

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Progress in psychological science can be limited by a number of factors, not least of which are the starting assumptions of scientists themselves. We believe that some influential accounts of autism rest on a questionable assumption that many of its behavioral characteristics indicate a lack of social interest-an assumption that is flatly contradicted by the testimony of many autistic people themselves. In this paper, we challenge this assumption by describing alternative explanations for four such behaviors: (a) low levels of eye contact, (b) infrequent pointing, (c) motor stereotypies, and (d) echolalia. The assumption that autistic people's unusual behaviors indicate diminished social motivation has had profound and often negative effects on the ways they are studied and treated. We argue that understanding and supporting autistic individuals will require interrogating this assumption, taking autistic testimony seriously, considering alternative explanations for unusual behaviors, and investigating unconventional-even idiosyncratic-ways that autistic individuals may express their social interest. These steps are crucial, we believe, for creating a more accurate, humane, and useful science of autism.

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Section: Alternative Explanations For Behaviors Commonly Interpreted mentioning

confidence: 99%

Being versus appearing socially uninterested: Challenging assumptions about social motivation in autism

2018

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“…In addition, a disregard of the larger environment is needed to minimize distraction. In ASD it has been long noted that there is an “incredible” ability to focus on detail (30) and when extreme, it may facilitate the creation of a savant skill. If a phasic stimulation induced event was to be prolonged (more accurately, not overridden), a microscopic focus with incredible detail might take place on an interest which typically would not be thought of as salient.…”

Section: Physiology Of the Lcmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is consistent with the understanding that a connectivity diagram is only the beginning, but not an answer to, brain functioning (29). Similarly, in an analysis of attention functioning, Burack et al (30) makes the case that in ASD the results found in studies looking at local vs. global attention, are different than in neuro-typical controls, however the ability to see things locally or globally was in in itself not impaired. In ASD different circuitry might be used or used preferentially, and so ASD functioning would likely be dependent on the exact task, the timing of the task, the state of the individual at the time of the task, the environment in which the task was presented (distractors or not) and many other variables.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuromodulation and a Reconceptualization of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Using the Locus Coeruleus Functioning as an Exemplar

London

2018

Front. Neurol.

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The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a heterogeneous group of developmental disorders. Although, ASD can be reliably diagnosed, the etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment targets remain poorly characterized. While there are many atypical findings in anatomy, genetics, connectivity, and other biologic parameters, there remains no discreet hypothesis to explain the core signs as well as the very frequent comorbidities. Due to this, designing targets for treatments can only be done by assuming each symptom is a result of a discreet abnormality which is likely not the case. Neuronal circuity remains a major focus of research but rarely taking into account the functioning of the brain is highly dependent on various systems, including the neuromodulatory substances originating in the midbrain. A hypothesis is presented which explores the possibility of explaining many of the symptoms found in ASD in terms of inefficient neuromodulation using the functioning of the locus coeruleus and norepinephrine (LC/NE) as exemplars. The basic science of LC/NE is reviewed. Several functions found to be impaired in ASD including learning, attention, sensory processing, emotional regulation, autonomic functioning, adaptive and repetitive behaviors, sleep, language acquisition, initiation, and prompt dependency are examined in terms of the functioning of the LC/NE system. Suggestions about possible treatment directions are explored.

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“…Jaswal et al (2016) emphasised the importance of the context of the phenomena that are studied. For instance, a review of the literature on attention in individuals with ASD showed that their abilities can vary dramatically depending on how they are assessed, and the authors argue that researchers should study "how" individuals with an atypical development perform rather than "how well" they perform, including how the ability manifests in everyday life (Burack et al, 2016). Thus, future studies should not try to generalise based on the origin of ID, but rather focus on building theory in the studied domain.…”

Section: Ef and The Difference Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time to Plan : How to support everyday planning in adolescents with intellectual disability

Palmqvist

2020

Studies From the Swedish Institute for Disability Research

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Studies from the Swedish Institute for Disability Research No. 100 At the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Linköping University, research and doctoral studies are carried out within broad problem areas. Research is organized in interdisciplinary research environments and doctoral studies mainly in graduate schools. Jointly, they publish the series Linköping Studies in Arts and Science. This thesis comes from the Swedish Institute for Disability Research at the Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning.

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How I Attend—Not How Well Do I Attend: Rethinking Developmental Frameworks of Attention and Cognition in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development

Cited by 21 publications

References 61 publications

Being versus appearing socially uninterested: Challenging assumptions about social motivation in autism

Being versus appearing socially uninterested: Challenging assumptions about social motivation in autism

Neuromodulation and a Reconceptualization of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Using the Locus Coeruleus Functioning as an Exemplar

Time to Plan : How to support everyday planning in adolescents with intellectual disability

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