Is Talent in Autism Spectrum Disorders Associated with a Specific Cognitive and Behavioural Phenotype?

Bennett, Emily; Heaton, Pamela

doi:10.1007/s10803-012-1533-9

Cited by 32 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Estimates of the prevalence of savant abilities among persons on the autism spectrum range from 1/200 (Hermelin, 2001) to 1/3 or even higher when not distinguished from peaks of ability (Bennett and Heaton, 2012;Howlin et al, 2009). A prevalence of 10% was classically reported by Rimland (1978) based on a postal survey of 5400 parents of autistic children that included questions about special abilities related to music, memory, numbers, and art.…”

Section: Prevalence and Specificity Of Domain-specific Abilities In Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a study with a large cohort of autistics, Howlin et al (2009) found that 28.5% of the participants met criteria for a savant skill based on parental reports, and 17% met criteria for an exceptional skill within Wechsler intelligence scales. In a parental questionnaire screening, Bennett and Heaton (2012) found that 42% of a sample of 125 AS children and adolescents were reported by their caregivers to possess a skill that contrasted with their overall level of functioning. Among the AS persons in the database of the Specialized Clinic for Pervasive Developmental Disorders of Rivière-des-Prairies Hospital, savant abilities, as defined by the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R; Lord et al, 1994), were found in 45.3% (143/316) of AS individuals with speech onset delay or anomalies, and in 72.9% (97/133) of AS individuals without speech delay.…”

Section: Prevalence and Specificity Of Domain-specific Abilities In Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mechanism of veridical mapping (VM), an extension of EPF, has been proposed in an attempt to account for the role of perception in the high prevalence of savant syndrome in autism (Bennett and Heaton, 2012;Howlin et al, 2009;Rimland, 1978). Grounded in the enhancement of perception and pattern detection observed in autism, we propose that VM can account for enhanced memory for couplings between homologous parts of similar patterns both within and across perceptual modalities that underpin the genesis and development of savant abilities.…”

Section: Introduction: Veridical Mapping In Autism and Savant Syndromementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Veridical mapping in the development of exceptional autistic abilities

Mottron¹,

Bouvet²,

Bonnel³

et al. 2013

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

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206

162

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Superior perception, peaks of ability, and savant skills are often observed in the autistic phenotype. The enhanced perceptual functioning model (Mottron et al., 2006a) emphasizes the increased role and autonomy of perceptual information processing in autistic cognition. Autistic abilities also involve enhanced pattern detection, which may develop through veridical mapping across isomorphic perceptual and non-perceptual structures (Mottron et al., 2009). In this paper, we elaborate veridical mapping as a specific mechanism which can explain the higher incidence of savant abilities, as well as other related phenomena, in autism. We contend that savant abilities such as hyperlexia, but also absolute pitch and synaesthesia, involve similar neurocognitive components, share the same structure and developmental course, and represent related ways by which the perceptual brain deals with objective structures under different conditions. Plausibly, these apparently different phenomena develop through a veridical mapping mechanism whereby perceptual information is coupled with homological data drawn from within or across isomorphic structures. The atypical neural connectivity characteristic of autism is consistent with a developmental predisposition to veridical mapping and the resulting high prevalence of savant abilities, absolute pitch, and synaesthesia in autism.

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Section: Prevalence and Specificity Of Domain-specific Abilities In Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Prevalence and Specificity Of Domain-specific Abilities In Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: Veridical Mapping In Autism and Savant Syndromementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Veridical mapping in the development of exceptional autistic abilities

Mottron¹,

Bouvet²,

Bonnel³

et al. 2013

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

Self Cite

206

162

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…ASD is most often investigated from the perspective of its core deficits, yet there is growing evidence to suggest that individuals with the disorder can also demonstrate cognitive strengths (Baron-Cohen et al 2009; Bennett and Heaton 2012). Mathematics represents one of a handful of skills routinely reported as a savant talent in autism, and indeed some individuals with ASD have shown extraordinary powers of calculation and mathematical reasoning (Howlin et al 2009; Treffert 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinctive Role of Symbolic Number Sense in Mediating the Mathematical Abilities of Children with Autism

Hiniker

Rosenberg‐Lee

Menon

2015

J Autism Dev Disord

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Despite reports of mathematical talent in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), little is known about basic number processing abilities in affected children. We investigated number sense, the ability to rapidly assess quantity information, in 36 children with ASD and 61 typically developing controls. Numerical acuity was assessed using symbolic (Arabic numerals) as well as non-symbolic (dot array) formats. We found significant impairments in non-symbolic acuity in children with ASD, but symbolic acuity was intact. Symbolic acuity mediated the relationship between non-symbolic acuity and mathematical abilities only in children with ASD, indicating a distinctive role for symbolic number sense in the acquisition of mathematical proficiency in this group. Our findings suggest that symbolic systems may help children with ASD organize imprecise information.

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“…Yet, areas of preserved memory processing have also been found (e.g. Assouline, Foley Nicpon, & Dockery, 2012; Boucher & Lewis, 1989; Boucher & Warrington, 1976; O’Shea, Fein, Cillessen, Klin, & Schultz, 2005) including exceptional memory skills (Bennett & Heaton, 2012; Mottron, Belleville, Stip, & Morasse, 1998). Southwick et al (2011) used a comprehensive test battery, the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL; Reynolds and Bigler, 1994), to broadly assess memory performance in ASD and found that the individuals with ASD performed significantly below age- and education-matched typically-developing comparisons (TDC), 5–19 years of age, across all domains of memory function.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesial temporal lobe and memory function in autism spectrum disorder: An exploration of volumetric findings

Trontel

Duffield

Bigler

et al. 2015

Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology

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Studies have shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to perform significantly below typical developing individuals on standardized measures of memory, even when not significantly different on measures of IQ. The current study sought to examine within ASD whether anatomical correlates of memory performance differed between those with average-to-above-average IQ (AIQ Group) compared to those with low average to borderline ability (LIQ group) as well as in relations to typically-developing comparisons (TDC). Using automated volumetric analyses, we examined regional volume of classic memory areas including the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, entorhinal cortex, and amygdala in an all-male sample AIQ (n = 38) and LIQ (n = 18) individuals with ASD along with 30 typically-developing comparisons (TDC). Memory performance was assessed using the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL) compared among the groups and then correlated with regional brain volumes. Analyses revealed group differences on almost all facets of memory and learning as assessed by the various subtests of the TOMAL. The three groups did not differ on any ROI memory-related brain volumes. However, significant size-memory function interactions were observed. Negative correlations were found between the volume of the amygdala and composite, verbal, and delayed memory indices for the LIQ ASD group indicating larger volume related to poorer performance. Implications for general memory functioning and dysfunctional neural connectivity in ASD are discussed.

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Is Talent in Autism Spectrum Disorders Associated with a Specific Cognitive and Behavioural Phenotype?

Cited by 32 publications

References 39 publications

Veridical mapping in the development of exceptional autistic abilities

Veridical mapping in the development of exceptional autistic abilities

Distinctive Role of Symbolic Number Sense in Mediating the Mathematical Abilities of Children with Autism

Mesial temporal lobe and memory function in autism spectrum disorder: An exploration of volumetric findings

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