Abstract. The Dual Process Theory of Autism proposes that autistic individuals demonstrate greater deliberative (slower) processing alongside reduced (faster) intuitive processing.
Autism can affect cognitive processing speed, which refers to the rate at which we can take in and respond to information. Some people with autism may have slower processing speeds than their peers, making it difficult for them to keep up with conversations or respond quickly to social cues.
She has suggested that autistic people's thinking styles fall into one of three categories: visual thinkers; verbal/logic thinkers; and musical/mathematical thinkers. Although each person falls predominantly into one category, one can have a mixture of two or three.
Children with autism very often have delayed or "disordered" speech. They may recite scripts from television without understanding their meaning, repeat phrases, or make sounds that have no meaning.
Difficulty with speaking is a common feature of autism. Several studies from the past decade suggest that split-second delays in sound processing may contribute to this problem. The new study, detailed 12 September in Autism Research, is the first to suggest that lags in speech production also play a role.
Some children may have problems with auditory processing, the system by which their brains interpret the words that they hear. Others may struggle with the motor skills needed to form words. For example, speech apraxia affects people's ability to plan and coordinate the mouth and tongue movements used to talk.
When children with autism speak they sound different from most people. Their speech usually follows one of several characteristic patterns: Some talk in a flat, toneless voice, others in an exaggerated, hyper way that doesn't match the subject matter.
Every person with Asperger Syndrome is developmentally delayed, not intellectually, but at the social-emotional level. This delay can be significant; for example, a 21-year-old may seem socially and emotionally more like a 14-year-old.
Many people with autism spectrum disorder have unusual speech patterns. Monotonic, a sing-song voice, and machine-like are some of the ways in which atypical speech patterns in people with autism are described (Bonneh et al., 2011).
Because children with autism struggle to pick up these cues, they may unintentionally use flat, monotonous speech. Monotonous speech can sound robotic, emotionless, or sing-songy. Sometimes monotonous speech can be misinterpreted as a judgmental, angry, or disinterested tone.
Non-autistic people tend to assess concepts before details, also known as top-down thinking. Autistic people take the opposite approach with bottom-up thinking and use details to build concepts. It may take longer to filter out sensory details with this approach, but you're less likely to miss important information.
“Daydreaming, by itself, is an example of what is called "autistic thinking ", which means thinking that is sufficient unto itself, and not subjected to any criticism.
Autism and Emotional Intelligence
Many autistics struggle with emotional intelligence.
Some of these investigators have proposed that perception of time is altered among many people who have autism. Interestingly, other researchers have found that time perception can be an area of strength for certain people on the spectrum. Some people affected by autism appear to excel at time reproduction.
Autistic individuals are also known to have the ability to remain intensely focused for prolonged periods.
While many people with autism may appear to lack empathy and sympathy, it is not the case for all people with autism. For those who struggle with displaying appropriate empathetic responses, the reasons may relate more to social communication issues than a lack of underlying emotional response.
Conversation can be a difficult minefield for autistic young people. Initiating conversation (finding things to say) can be challenging. Even though they may like to speak about a particular interest, they may be too worried to do so or may be unsure of whether the other person is engaged in the conversation.
Children with autism also may understand an emotion's meaning differently when it's conveyed through tone of voice. But that's not because they always have trouble producing emotion in speech; the difficulty is that people with autism have problems understanding how tone is used to modify the meaning of words.
Social Skills: Individuals with Asperger's may appear to be 'loners' or come across as being shy and quiet. They may have difficulty holding eye contact, engaging with others of the same age and they may not know what to say to others to start or maintain a conversation.
Most children with Asperger's (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) have a history of delayed acquisition of motor skills (e.g., hand writing, pedaling a bike, tying shoe laces, catching a ball, opening jars, climbing monkey-bars, etc.), which is called “motor clumsiness.” These young people are often visibly awkward, ...
Accident-prone: Many people with autism are clumsy, which may be due to an overlap in brain regions implicated in motor function and autism.
Cluttering. There is another language problem found in autism that can produce fast, unclear conversation. Cluttering is when someone talks rapidly, with syllables that run together, excessive filler words and repetitions, and abnormal pauses. It often occurs alongside stuttering, though it's less well-known.
Someone who is considered a savant may be especially skilled in art, math, music, memory recall, or another subject. Savant syndrome is commonly associated with autism but can occur alongside other conditions.
Autistic folks may navigate the world and social interactions in a different way. That doesn't mean they don't have social skills. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) varies in how it may affect an individual.