‘Noisy’ autistic brains seem better at certain tasks. Here’s why neuroaffirmative research matters

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 12:01:24 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/noisy-autistic-brains-seem-better-at-certain-tasks-heres-why-neuroaffirmative-research-matters-225180>

"Autism is a neurodevelopmental difference associated with specific experiences
and characteristics.

For decades, autism research has focused on behavioural, cognitive, social and
communication difficulties. These studies highlighted how autistic people face
issues with everyday tasks that allistic (meaning non-autistic) people do not.
Some difficulties may include recognising emotions or social cues.

But some research, including our own study, has explored specific advantages in
autism. Studies have shown that in some cognitive tasks, autistic people
perform better than allistic people. Autistic people may have greater success
in identifying a simple shape embedded within a more complex design, arranging
blocks of different shapes and colours, or spotting an object within a
cluttered visual environment (similar to Where’s Wally?). Such enhanced
performance has been recorded in babies as young as nine months who show
emerging signs of autism.

How and why do autistic individuals do so well on these tasks? The answer may
be surprising: more “neural noise”."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

Comment via email

Home E-Mail Sponsors Index Search About Us