Memory strengths of ASD In ASD, memory seems to be least related to social and emotional experiences. The sensory experience of some individuals with autism help to encode some events into memory. Most high-functioning autistic children can recall personal events from a young age.
“When I was one and a half years old, I was on a ferry lying on red seats” – while several autobiographical accounts by people with autism reveal vivid memories of early childhood, the vast amount of experimental investigations found deficits in personal autobiographic memory in autism.
In general, children with autism have a weak episodic memory and they can't always recall things that happened in the past. Taking a lot of pictures and documenting the story or emotion behind the pictures has proven to work wonders for improving episodic memory.
Studies on autistic people have shown impairments to their episodic memory but relative preservation of their semantic memory. The brain regions that play a major role in declarative learning and memory are the hippocampus and regions of the medial temporal lobe.
Some people on the spectrum can recall memories from further back. Additionally, memory in people on the spectrum can closely resemble photographic or near photographic levels. Though they may not recollect a name or face, some individuals on the spectrum could surprise you with the small details they can recall.
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.
Autistic people can have powerful memories. This can result in intense flashbacks, which can be painful and embarrassing.
Specifically, in autistic brains there is significantly more folding in the left parietal and temporal lobes as well as in the right frontal and temporal regions. “These alterations are often correlated with modifications in neuronal network connectivity,” Culotta says.
We also asked each person to report any difficulties that they have with recognizing faces in everyday life. We find that, as a group, people with autism have difficulties with both remembering and perceiving faces, and report more problems recognizing faces in everyday life.
Signs of High-Functioning Autism in Children
May appear more mature for their age and have above-average intelligence. A tendency to avoid eye contact. Trouble deviating from a routine or adapting to changes. Trouble making friends and maintaining social relationships or not “fitting in” with peers.
Autistic people have difficulties recalling episodic memories, including retrieving fewer or less specific and detailed memories compared to typically developing people.
If someone in your family has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), you may be more likely to have a child with ASD. ASD can look very different from person to person, so taking a careful family health history can be important for early diagnosis.
Non-autistic infants and toddlers tend to copy others naturally. An autistic child, however, is often less likely to imitate others on their own.
Many children on the autism spectrum use echolalia, which means they repeat others' words or sentences.
It's a common misconception that autistic people are unaware of their condition. The truth is, many autistic people are very much aware of their autism and how it affects them. In fact, some say that it's through understanding and acceptance of their autism that they've been able to lead fulfilling lives.
Difficulties with paying attention
It can also be difficult if children feel they can't do the task or have been sitting still for too long, or when there are distracting things going on around them. Some autistic children can find it difficult to pay attention to and focus on things that don't interest them.
Some autistic people may experience problems seeing with “meaning” within their visual surroundings and environment. This means they may use other sensory inputs to gain meaning because they cannot internally mentalise the image, visuals or see the significance they hold.
It found that a brain scan and computer algorithm using five different measurements of brain shape and structure was up to 85% accurate in identifying the autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in adults. These measurements could be used as a “biomarker” for autistic spectrum disorders, the researchers say.
Overall, while there is no set age at which the autistic brain fully develops, it's important to focus on providing support and resources for individuals with autism throughout their lives. By doing so, we can help them reach their full potential and lead happy and fulfilling lives.
For people on the autism spectrum, the world is a bewildering place. With oversensitive sensory systems, they battle to process the maelstrom of information flowing into their brains. Often the result is sensory overload, leading to signature behaviours such as tantrums, anxiety and social withdrawal.
Autistics get posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) more often than neurotypicals, for a number of reasons. First, because social skills are confusing to them, they are more likely to be bullied and abused, which thus makes them more vulnerable to developing PTSD.
We respond by avoiding the distressing stimuli—avoidance being another core feature of PTSD. All of this hints at a complex and poorly understood relationship between autism and PTSD. While autism is never caused by trauma, there may be something about living with autism that is inherently traumatic.
Someone with autism who has experienced trauma might show their symptoms differently. Children, especially, can become increasingly upset or angry. They might also seem more withdrawn, or their normal behaviors could completely change.
Four social brain regions, the amygdala, OFC, TPC, and insula, are disrupted in ASD and supporting evidence is summarized; these constitute the proposed common pathogenic mechanism of ASD. Symptomatology is then addressed: widespread ASD symptoms can be explained as direct effects of disrupted social brain regions.
“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.