Comments on: Autism:a cognitive style and not a deficit http://the-mouse-trap.com/2008/02/29/autisma-cognitive-style-and-not-a-deficit/ The Psychological & Neuroscientific musings of sandygautam Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:48:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Gilbert Wesley Purdy http://the-mouse-trap.com/2008/02/29/autisma-cognitive-style-and-not-a-deficit/#comment-219 Gilbert Wesley Purdy Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:21:00 +0000 http://the-mouse-trap.com/?p=223#comment-219 I can only hope that Francesca Happe's approach can be expanded upon. The position that Autism is a "cognitive style" rather than a "deficit," is, I think, resoundingly correct, but she deals in savantism and abstraction rather than practical examples at the statistical mean. The non-savant has a "cognitive style" as well and is far and away the more common case.<br/><br/>Furthermore, Happe's Autistic is too locked-in. If he or she is on the high-functioning end of the spectrum, detail-processing over cc-processing is a strong tendency rather than a locked-in cognitive-style. HFAs and those with Aspergers alter their brains through learning as do neurotypicals. I submit that routes to central coherence are available and that the high functional can come to perceive a unique and valuable coherence not readily available to those with more "normal" brains.<br/><br/>In time, we may even find that low-functional Autistics are not so profoundly disabled as we presently believe. We may just lack sufficient understanding in order to build the necessary bridge to the neurotypical world. On the other hand, they may be the deeply sad transitional result of evolution. Only time will tell. The most important thing is that we remember that they are people. I can only hope that Francesca Happe’s approach can be expanded upon. The position that Autism is a “cognitive style” rather than a “deficit,” is, I think, resoundingly correct, but she deals in savantism and abstraction rather than practical examples at the statistical mean. The non-savant has a “cognitive style” as well and is far and away the more common case.

Furthermore, Happe’s Autistic is too locked-in. If he or she is on the high-functioning end of the spectrum, detail-processing over cc-processing is a strong tendency rather than a locked-in cognitive-style. HFAs and those with Aspergers alter their brains through learning as do neurotypicals. I submit that routes to central coherence are available and that the high functional can come to perceive a unique and valuable coherence not readily available to those with more “normal” brains.

In time, we may even find that low-functional Autistics are not so profoundly disabled as we presently believe. We may just lack sufficient understanding in order to build the necessary bridge to the neurotypical world. On the other hand, they may be the deeply sad transitional result of evolution. Only time will tell. The most important thing is that we remember that they are people.

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