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.
Spatial working memory depends on a specific region of the frontal cortex that is known to be dysfunctional in autism. Despite these two impairments, the children with autism did not have global memory problems. They showed good associative learning ability, verbal working memory and recognition memory.
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.
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.
Many of my autistic clients have poor memory for facts important to those around them but have very strong rote memory for facts within their special interest. Additionally, it is common for my ASD clients to remember information but struggle to summarize the facts to others.
In general, children with autism have a weak episodic memory and they can't always recall things that happened in the past.
Children with autism have social challenges. Many kids on the Autism Spectrum have a hard time remembering what people look like, where they saw the person before, or what their name was.
The autistic brain shows fewer long-range connections but a lot more short-range connections. This means that with every thought, more connections are made, but also more side-steps; it produces nonlinear thought processes.
Autistic traits can amplify the conditions that lead to burnout, and burnout can cause these traits to worsen. They may become unable to speak or care for themselves, and struggle with short-term memory.
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.
It's always a learning curve in the beginning. And there are always challenges and benefits to each person you date. For instance, autistic people tend to be particularly honest, reliable, and loyal — some of the most important traits for a long-term relationship.
Savant syndrome is a rare, but extraordinary, condition in which persons with serious mental disabilities, including autistic disorder, have some 'island of genius' which stands in marked, incongruous contrast to overall handicap.
Because individuals with autism have a literal perception of the world, they tend to take things at face value without judging or interpreting them. This has led some researchers to conclude that people with autism perceive the world as it actually is as they don't allow their brain to shape how they see things.
Research shows that more than half of all autistic individuals have an above-average IQ, while roughly 16% have an IQ higher than 130. But having high intelligence doesn't mean that autistic individuals don't experience some challenges associated with the diagnosis.
Children with ADHD have been found to perform significantly more impaired than children with ASD on both verbal and visual working memory [19]. In another study only children with ADHD, and not children with ASD, displayed impairments in visual working memory when compared to typically developing children (TDC) [20].
In the autistic brain, the brain reduced connectivity, known as hypoconnectivity, allows weakly connected regions to drift apart, with sulci forming between them.” Research has shown the deeper theses sulcal pits are, the more language production is affected.
Due to the behavioural, information processing and sensory aspects of their diagnosis, many people on the autism spectrum often prefer familiar environments with a predictable routine. Restricted and repetitive interests, sensory processing differences and heightened anxiety can make even small changes stressful.
In conclusion, there are many factors that can make autism worse. Sensory overload, changes in routine, social isolation, co-occurring conditions, and lack of support can all exacerbate the symptoms of autism.
Each person will experience this crisis point differently. During shutdown, a person may either partially or completely withdraw from the world around them. They may not respond to communication anymore, retreat to their room or lie down on the floor.
If you're autistic and feel like logical thinking is one of your strengths, there's research to support this. Autistic people tend to have enhanced logic and deliberation skills, which may help to offset a reduced drive toward intuition and spontaneous decision-making.
Associative Thinking: Most individuals on the spectrum are associative thinkers rather than linear thinkers. In other words, one thought connects to another and so on through sometimes loose or seemingly irrelevant connections.
Early brain changes and autism spectrum disorder
Research is suggesting that, in future, brain scans may be used to diagnose autism, possibly even before behavioral symptoms become apparent.
They can't do it (yet) because no one has taught them in a way that makes sense to them. Won't do: At the same time, someone on the autism spectrum may not value social interactions and responses the way other people do. So he or she may lack the motivation to respond the way we expect.
“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.
Therefore, it appears that while some individuals may be aware they are autistic, others may not fully understand why they have difficulties connecting with people socially or engaging in conversation - yet still realize they are 'different. '