|
Why we need cognitive explanations of autism| old_uid | 8185 |
|---|
| title | Why we need cognitive explanations of autism |
|---|
| start_date | 2010/02/16 |
|---|
| schedule | 15h45-17h |
|---|
| online | no |
|---|
| location_info | salle 1.63 |
|---|
| summary | I will give a personal point of view of two cognitive theories that have shaped my own understanding of the signs and symptoms of autism since the 1980s. With these theories I have tried to get closer to what it is like to be autistic. One of these theories, ‘mindblindness’ for short, attempts to explain the characteristic social features of the condition. The other theory, ‘weak central coherence’ for short, attempts to explain some of the non-social features and to throw some light on the savant talent that is frequently associated with autism. While these theories contribute to a fuller picture of the nature of some of the most characteristic features of autism, other factors must also be taken into account, such as other cognitive abilities and disabilities as well as compensatory learning. To separate these different factors, I use a ‘3-levels’ framework (Morton & Frith, 1996), which distinguishes biological, cognitive and behavioural levels of explanation. This framework demonstrates that cognitive theories need to be tested in two different directions, that is, against predictions about behaviour as well as about neurophysiological processes. An example is given by the mindblindness theory, which links behaviour to an underlying neuro-cognitive mechanism, and is thus able to give us glimpses of a causal chain from brain to mind to behaviour. |
|---|
| responsibles | Zondervan |
|---|
| |
|