Might we be Calling Problems Seen in Autism Spectrum Conditions: ‘Poor Theory of Mind,’ when Actually they are Related to Non-Generalised ‘Object Permanence’?

Authors

  • Wenn B. Lawson Department of Disability University of Birmingham, UK
  • Brynn A. Dombroski Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2015.03.01.6

Keywords:

Autism Spectrum Conditions, Theory of Mind, Object Permanence, Challenging Behaviour.

Abstract

Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and the delayed development of object permanence is often not questioned, and is rarely understood. The following paper attempts to explore this idea and suggests reasons for why such development is delayed and the possibility that certain difficult behaviours seen in children with ASC are less likely to be connected to having poor theory of mind and more connected to lacking generalized concepts of object permanence.

References

American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Arlington, VA, American Psychiatric Association 2013. Web. [access date: 1 June 2013]. dsm.psychiatryonline.org DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Belmonte MK. Abnormal attention in autism shown by steady-state visual evoked potentials. Autism 2000; 4: 269-285. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1362361300004003004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361300004003004

Dern S. Autistic intelligence, autistic perception and autistic patterns of thought that we all share in different degrees - an update. Accessed Jan. 31, 2013. www.autismand computing.org.uk

Harmon K. Autism might slow brain's ability to integrate input from multiple senses. Scientific American August 2010; 21: 19.

Lawson W. Life Behind glass London: JKP 2000.

Lawson W. The passionate mind: How individuals with autism learn. Jessica Kingsley: London 2011.

Murray DKC. Attention tunneling and autism. In P. Shattock & G. Linfoot (Eds.), Living with autism: The individual, the family and the professional Sunderland: Autism Research Unit, University of Sunderland 1992; pp. 89-97.

Murray DKC, Lesser M, Lawson W. Attention, monotropism and the diagnostic criteria for autism. Autism 2005; 9(2): 139-156. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1362361305051398 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361305051398

Lawson W. Sensory connection, interest/attention and GAMMA synchrony in autism: Brain connections and preoccupation’. Medical Hypothesis: Elsevier (Dec 27. pii: S0306-9877(12)00541-5, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2012.12.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2012.12.005

Baillargeon R, DeVos J. Object permanence in young infants: further evidence. Child Development 1991; 62(6). DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1130803

Björne p. A possible world: Theory to practice. In Lund University Cognitive Studies 2007; 134. http://raisingchildren. net.au/articles/autism_spectrum_disorder_attention.html

McLeod SA. Sensorimotor Stage 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.simplypsychology.org/sensorimotor.html

Parrot W. Emotions in Social Psychology, Psychology Press, Philadelphia 2001.

Grace E. Object Permanence and Infants’ Accessed: January, 2015. http://www.kidsdevelopment.co.uk/ objectpermanenceinfants.html

LeDoux J. The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life. New York: Simon and Schuster 1998.

Klin A, Jones W, Schultz R, Volkmar F. The enactive mind or from actions of cognition: Lessons from autism. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 2003; 358: 345-360. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2002.1202 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2002.1202

Young J, Klosko J, Weishaar S. Schema Therapy: A Practitioner's Guide. New York: The Guilford Press 2003.

http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gipej/teaparty.pdf

Happe F, Frith U. The weak coherence account: Detail-focused cognitive style in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 2006; 36(1): 5-25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-005-0039-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-005-0039-0

Richards AE. Gamma oscillatory activity in autism spectrum disorder during a gaze cueing task, Eastern Michigan University Digital Commons @ EMU 2012.

Koldewyn K, Weigelt S, Kanwisher N, Jaing Y. ‘Multiple Object Tracking in Autism Spectrum Disorders.’ Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1694-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1694-6

Green R. 2011. www.livesinthebalance.org https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=uoXBFOZml80

Downloads

Published

2015-03-26

How to Cite

Lawson, W. B., & Dombroski, B. A. (2015). Might we be Calling Problems Seen in Autism Spectrum Conditions: ‘Poor Theory of Mind,’ when Actually they are Related to Non-Generalised ‘Object Permanence’?. Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment, 3(1), 43–48. https://doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2015.03.01.6

Issue

Section

General Articles