![]() They guessed this might also extend to having limited self-insight. They noted that people on the spectrum have higher rates of alexithymia, or difficulty recognizing their own feelings, and a limited ability to imagine the minds of others. Some experts argued that autism involves poor introspection, not self-absorption. But by the 1980s and 1990s, opinions had swung in a different direction. Some individuals on the spectrum expect other people to know them better than they know themselves-and that is not always the case, either.Įarly observers viewed children with autism-a word derived from ‘autos,’ the Greek word for self-as wrapped up in their own private world. Most people think they know themselves the best, despite the fact that psychology has repeatedly demonstrated the limits of human intuition. By recognizing self-report as a valid viewpoint, researchers and clinicians are gaining insight into how people experience autism, rather than relying only on others’ accounts and observations. That means the child’s parents and teachers may perceive her differently, and how she perceives her own experiences may also be different. “A child with autism may act very differently at home than at school,” says Stephen Kanne, executive director of the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders at the University of Missouri. At the same time, they are finding that no assessment from a single vantage-that of a person with autism, her parents, caregivers, clinicians or teachers-can provide all the answers. “I think the idea that we can interpret someone’s behavior without asking them is just not fair,” says Vanessa Bal, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.Īs scientists turn more to self-reports, they are discovering these measures can be difficult to interpret. Now, however, they are rethinking those assumptions. Scientists presumed that individuals with severe impairments couldn’t answer questions about themselves, and that most people with autism have poor self-insight to begin with. He is one of several researchers uncovering ways to use and interpret self-report questionnaires that let people describe and quantify their own traits.įor a long time, such tools were rare in the autism world. It was a transformation that helped inspire Lerner’s work today-studying how people describe themselves and why those accounts sometimes differ from other people’s perceptions. “It was whether they seemed to notice or internalize them at all.” The shift wasn’t just a matter of the campers learning to articulate those experiences, he says. He continued eavesdropping on end-of-day dialogues between campers and parents and noticed that over the course of the summer, many of those conversations changed in tenor: As the young people with autism gained confidence through their interactions, they began to open up and talk more about their feelings and favorite games. Lerner saw these teenagers having a good time, but they seemed either to not know it themselves or to be reluctant or unsure how to share that experience with their families. After a day of smiling and playing with peers, they would respond with silence to their parents’ queries. “There were a couple of kids who I remember very vividly,” he says. ![]() By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Īs Lerner soon realized, this teen wasn’t the only camper with autism to react that way at pick-up time. If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. He had witnessed the boy’s giggle fit and hoped to prompt more of a response. It was the summer of 2006 and Lerner had launched the program with a colleague two years earlier. “Do you mean you just sat in a corner and stared at the wall all day?” psychologist Matthew Lerner asked him. But when his mother showed up and asked about his day, the boy clammed up. ![]() He had spent the day doing improv and other drama-based activities-part of a six-week summer camp in Boston designed to help children with autism build social skills. Just moments earlier, the teenager had been laughing so hard he was in tears.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |