Theories (ASD)

Why can’t one single theory that completely explains autism?

Earlier theories often tried to find one main cognitive problem that caused autism. Current research recognizes that autism is much more complex and involves interacting:

• Biological factors

• Developmental factors

• Social factors

• Individual differences

• Environmental/contextual factors

Why are theories benefical to us?

Can still help us understand specific characteristics of autism, even if they don't explain every autistic person

What are the four primary congivite deficits?

• Theory of Mind (ToM)

• Weak Central Coherence (WCC)

• Executive Dysfunction

• Context Blindness

What are the three dimensional theories?

5. Social Motivation Theory
6. Extreme Male Brain Theory
7. Broken Mirror Neuron Theory

What does dimensional mean?

means that everyone has some degree of autistic traits. Autism is just the point where these traits become strong enough or clustered enough to cause major challenges in daily life.

What is theory of mind?

Understanding that other people have their own thoughts, feelings, beliefs, wants, and perspectives

• Understanding your own mental states

• Understanding other people's mental states

• Understanding that someone else's perspective may be different from yours

• Predicting/explaining other people's behavior

ToM:
➡ Can I understand what you think/feel/believe?

ToM in autistic individuals might look like what in defect?

Research has found that some autistic individuals may have difficulty with:

• False-belief tasks (Understanding that someone can believe something that isn't true)

• Pretend play

• Mental-state vocabulary

• Understanding thoughts from someone's eyes

• Distinguishing accidental vs. intentional actions

• Deception

• Complex emotional causes

• Humor, teasing, and idioms

What can ToM treatment look like?

Treatment can target:

• Perspective taking

• Shifting viewpoints

• Sarcasm

• Pretend play

• Mental-state words (think, know, imagine)

• Accidental vs. intentional actions

• Facial expressions/emotion

Ways to teach it:

• Stories

• Social Thinking

• Social Stories

• Video modeling

• Role-play

• Visual supports

• Comparing "my view" vs. "your view"

What is Weak Central Coherence (WCC)?

The theory suggests that some autistic people may naturally focus more on individual details rather than the overall picture.

🌳 Forest = big picture
🌲🌲🌲 Trees = individual details

WCC = "Details instead of the big picture."

What are possible strengths for a weak central coherence?

Detail-focused processing can be helpful for:

• Mathematics

• Engineering

• Music

• Visual information

• Logic

• Reading

• Finding patterns

• Systemizing

Some people may have very strong attention to detail.

What are possible weaknesses for a weak central coherence?

May have more difficulty:

• Understanding the overall meaning

• Combining information from different sources

• Understanding context

• Finding the main idea

• Understanding a social situation as a whole

• Integrating visual pieces into a complete picture

What does treatment look like for weak central coherence?

SLPs/educators can:

• Use stories to teach the big idea

• Use visual supports

• Use graphics

• Show sequences

• Highlight main ideas

• Use concept maps

• Use Social Stories

• Teach students how to identify the main idea in text

What is Executive Function?

brain skills we use to plan, organize, control, and adjust our behavior

They include:

• Planning

• Self-monitoring

• Working memory

• Impulse control

• Inhibition

• Attention

• Cognitive flexibility

• Shifting from one thought/task to another

Example:

Making a friend requires many executive-function skills:

1. Approach the person

2. Think about what to say

3. Start a conversation

4. Learn about the person

5. Make plans

6. Manage the conversation

7. Control impulses

8. Consider the other person's perspective

What is treatment for executive functioning?

Treatment can work on:

• Making plans

• Setting small goals

• Knowing when to ask for help

• Switching between activities

• Sustaining attention

• Working memory

• Inhibition/self-control

Combining executive-function goals with social goals

What is a major concept in executive functioning used in therapy?

Scaffolding = temporary support that helps someone successfully complete a task.

The goal is eventually:

Support → Success → Independence

The environment should be set up to make success possible.

What is context blindness vs context ?

Context blindness refers to difficulty recognizing a context and understanding the behaviors that are typically expected in that situation

"I don't know what this situation means or what I'm supposed to do here."

Context = the situation/environment that helps us understand what is happening.

For example, you behave differently at:

• School

• A funeral

• A restaurant

• A friend's house

• A doctor's office

We use context clues to figure out:
"What's happening here, and what am I expected to do?"

What is treatment for context blindess?

Teach context explicitly.

Use:

• Social Stories

• Video models

• Role play

• Preparation for unfamiliar situations

• Context clues

• Emotion/facial-expression connections

• Questions about how people are feeling

• Activities that build flexibility

What is the social motivation theory? and what does it mean that it’s dimensonal?

Meaning it focuses on traits that can vary across people rather than assuming one universal deficit.

• Main idea:

For some autistic individuals, social interaction may be less rewarding or motivating.

• Less social attention

• Less interest in social interaction

• Less enjoyment of social interaction

• Reduced social engagement

Important: The presentation says this is a theoretical lens and not a description of every autistic person.

How can we use treatment for social motivation theory?

Create meaningful reasons to interact.

• Make social interaction enjoyable

• Use the person's interests

• Follow the child's lead

• Build on their interests

• Teach communication partners to be responsive

What is the extreme male theory?

• dimensional

• Systemizing/logical reasoning!!!

• describes the theory as observing stronger systemizing and lower empathizing scores in some individuals, while emphasizing that these traits vary widely across the population.

What does treatment look like for social motivation theory?

• Structured teaching

• Predictable environments

• Visual schedules

• Video models

• Learning activities involving:

  • Logic

  • Patterns

  • Predictability

• Teaching social rules and perspective taking

What is the broken mirror theory?

This theory proposes differences in the mirror-neuron system, which may affect:

• Imitation

• Some aspects of social understanding

Treatment for broken mirror theory include?

• Imitation training

• Gestures

• Motor imitation

• Language imitation

• Video modeling

• Social Stories

• Role-play

• Observing and copying others

Difficulty with planning, flexibility, inhibition, organization, etc.

executive functioning

Social interaction may be less rewarding/motivating for some people

social motivation theory

Difficulty putting details together into the big picture

weak central coherence

Difficulty using the situation/context to understand what is happening

context blindness

Focuses on differences in systemizing and empathizing traits

extreme male brain

Focuses on possible differences in imitation/mirror-neuron systems

broken mirror theory

Understanding thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and perspectives

ToM

No single deficit explained autism. Researchers shifted toward multi-factor biological and developmental models

primary cognitive deficit

What DSM era introduced primary coginitve deficits?

3

What are the modern diemnsional theories?

Autism is increasingly viewed as a spectrum of interrelated traits across the general population

Autism unfolds over time. Research on infant siblings shows that traits develop gradually on a continuum and that early brain differences adapt across developmental stages.

developmental perspectives

Belgian psychologist Peter Vermeulen proposed that ToM difficulties stem from what? and why?

context blindness

• a reduced tendency to automatically read the surrounding context to predict appropriate behaviors or interpret emotions. Context provides the environment in time and space that gives meaning to facial expressions, gestures, and actions.

• ToM relies heavily on context. Without reading the context, reading someone's internal mind is nearly impossible or easily misread. You cannot accurately judge someone’s thoughts or feelings from their facial expressions or body language alone; you must factor in the situation.

• When an individual struggles to automatically process the surrounding context, they lose the vital clues needed to correctly infer what someone else is thinking or feeling.

2. Example: Crying vs. Context

• Without Context (ToM Alone): Looking at a picture of a crying face in isolation, a person using basic Theory of Mind might infer, "That person is sad".

• With Context: If the context reveals the person just won a major, unexpected award, you realize they are actually crying tears of extreme happiness.

• In Research: Autistic children often focus strictly on facial expressions regardless of the background context. When shown a child looking sad next to a large pile of Christmas presents, neurotypical children assume the child is happy because of the context (getting gifts), while autistic children label the emotion as sad based solely on the facial expression.

What is Autobiographical memory?

your personal memory system. It is the explicit memory of your own personally experienced events

Autobiographical memory is made up of two main components?

semantic

episiodic

What is semantic memory?

• Knowing facts!!

• The semantic component of memory consists of knowing general facts, concepts, and personal information without needing to relive the experience.

• In Autism: Autistic individuals often have relatively strong semantic autobiographical memory compared to episodic memory.

What is episodic memory?

• Reliving the vivid experince

• The episodic component is a vivid, sensory-rich recollection of a specific personal experience. It allows you to mentally "re-experience" what happened, including feelings, sights, and sounds.

• In Autism: Autistic individuals frequently experience fewer episodic memories, have more difficulty retrieving them, and recall fewer sensory, emotional, or time-and-place details. They are also more likely to recall these memories from a third-person observer perspective rather than a first-person lived perspective

what is predictive processing?

The brain constantly uses past experiences to predict what a situation means before focusing on details. Context creates expectations that make the world predictable

what challenges do ASD individuals experience with extreme male brain theory?

Lower average levels of cognitive empathy or intuitive social connection.

what is a strength that ASD individuals have with extreme male brain theory?

Heightened "systemizing" abilities—a strong capacity to analyze, construct, and master rule-based, logical, or mechanical systems (e.g., mathematics, coding, mechanics, detailed taxonomies

what challenges do ASD individuals experience with social motivation theory?

Reduced interest, attention, or intrinsic enjoyment in typical social interactions, often linked to differences in brain reward systems. This can result in less spontaneous social engagement or lower motivation for small talk

what is a strength that ASD individuals experience with social motivation theory?

High intrinsic motivation for deep, specialized individual interests, self-directed pursuits, and independent learning rather than motivation tied primarily to social praise or peer approval

what challenges do ASD individuals experience with broken mirror theory?

Potential differences in internally simulating or automatically imitating the actions, gestures, and social movements of others

what is a strength that ASD individuals experience with broken mirror theory?

Autistic individuals may rely more on conscious, rule-based, or analytical strategies to learn skills rather than relying purely on automatic, unconscious social imitation.

what challenges do ASD individuals experience with executive functioning?

Difficulties with flexible cognitive control, goal-directed planning, working memory, impulse control, and adapting to unexpected changes in routines.

what is a strength that ASD individuals experience with executive functioning?

Strong affinity for structure, routine, clarity, and predictable environments.

what challenges do ASD individuals experience with weak central coherence?

Struggles with deriving overall, global meaning from a collection of details or integrating contextual information into a unified whole. For example, seeing a cake, balloons, and candles as separate objects rather than instantly recognizing a birthday party.

what is a strength that ASD individuals experience weak central coherence?

Exceptional detail-focused processing, superior local attention, and hyper-awareness of fine details or patterns that neurotypical individuals frequently overlook.

What challenges do ASD individuals experience with ToM?

Difficulties with inferring, recognizing, or predicting other people’s thoughts, feelings, intentions, and perspectives. This can make social interactions, predicting human behavior, and understanding non-literal language harder.

what is a strength that ASD individuals experience with ToM?

Highly direct, honest, and explicit communication styles that rely on clear, literal language rather than hidden social assumptions or unspoken cues.

What challenges do ASD individuals experience with context blindness?

A reduced tendency to automatically use the surrounding context (time, place, social setting) to predict expected behaviors or interpret ambiguous expressions. This is closely tied to difficulties in scene construction and retrieving episodic autobiographical memories (vivid, sensory-rich personal past experiences), making it harder to engage in "mental time travel" to predict future social scenarios.

what is a strength that ASD individuals experience with context blindness?

Strong semantic autobiographical memory (factual knowledge retention) and an ability to process information neutrally without being overly swayed or constrained by surrounding social context or expectations.

what is the "underconnectivity model"?

• where areas of the brain lack strong connections with other areas of the brain

• shows difficulties with connectivity between the amygdala (the emotion center of the brain) and other areas of the brain

what is scene construction?

it allows you to mentally visualize a specific place, time, and situation in your mind. This ability is essential for imaginative pretend play, predicting social situations, imagining future scenarios (counterfactual reasoning), and regulating behavior

how does episodic memory contribute to scene construction?

contributes to scene construction by supplying the rich, first-person raw materials—such as specific visual, auditory, and emotional details from your past personal experiences—that your brain needs to reactivate and build that mental scene.

how does Episodic memory contribute to our understanding of social situations?

lets you engage in "mental time travel" to retrieve past social contexts, helping you anticipate what will happen next and determine what behaviors are expected (e.g., knowing to speak softly in a library versus cheering at a game

Vivid, sensory-rich recollections of specific past experiences that allow you to mentally "re-live" what happened, including feelings and physical sensations.

how does semantic memory contribute to our understanding of social situations?

Semantic facts give you the rules of a setting, while episodic memories provide the contextual backdrop needed to interpret ambiguous expressions or actions accurately—like recognizing that tears mean joy rather than sadness at an award ceremony

General, factual knowledge about yourself and the world (e.g., knowing what a party is or knowing you are an honest person) without needing to re-experience it.

What is the problem with any one of those explanations for autism (Primary Congitive Deficit) ? and why did researches move away from those explanations of autism?

1. is that no single cognitive theory can fully explain the complete profile or diversity of autism.

2. Too Much Variety: Autistic individuals are very different from one another, and a single "deficit" cannot account for everyone's unique mix of strengths and challenges. Can’t the full spectrum or diversity of autism. No single cognitive core account could cover every strength, challenge, or individual difference seen across autistic individuals It’s Multi-Factorial: Research shows autism results from many interacting biological, brain, and environmental factors, not just one core cognitive problem. Shift to Developmental & Dimensional Models: Modern science views autism as a broad spectrum of traits that change over a person's lifespan, rather than a single broken cognitive switch.

How has those theories benefited us?

• Research: Replaced guesswork with scientific testing, tracked early child development, and showed autism is complex.

• Diagnosis: Shifted focus to visible behaviors, defined autism as a spectrum, and allowed earlier detection.

• Treatment: Proved skills can be taught, introduced child-led learning for real-life skills, and combined therapies (NDBIs).

• Society: Shifted focus from "fixing" people to removing barriers, built neurodiversity acceptance, and prioritized quality of life.

What have those theories done to help better understand diagnosis?

• Observable Traits: Shifted criteria away from speculative causes onto clear, observable behaviors.

• Dimensional View: Framed autism as a continuous spectrum of traits rather than an all-or-nothing category.

• Earlier Identification: Enabled clinicians to identify subtle early signs and diagnose children sooner.

Focusing on observable traits rather than causes; viewing autism as a spectrum/dimensional construct; early identification.

What have those theories done to help build more treatment methods?

• Evidence-Based Practice: Behavioral approaches (ABA) proved autistic individuals can learn skills and established objective outcome measurement.

• Naturalistic Care: Criticisms of rigid ABA led to child-led, relationship-based approaches that help skills generalize to real life.

• Combined Models (NDBIs): Merged behavioral and developmental methods while using context and memory tools to teach meaningful, flexible skills.

Proving skills can be learned through behavioral methods (ABA); shifting to naturalistic, child-led care due to poor generalization; combining approaches into NDBIs.

What have those theories done to change societal attitudes?

• Social Model Shift: Moved focus from "fixing" a medical disorder to removing environmental barriers.

• Neurodiversity Acceptance: Promoted viewing autism as natural human variation, emphasizing strengths, self-determination, and autistic input.

• Redefining Success: Shifted goals from symptom reduction to improving quality of life, autonomy, and community inclusion.

Moving from the medical model to social/biopsychosocial models; the neurodiversity movement; redefining success around quality of life, autonomy, and community inclusion.

What have those theories done to help move the research forward?

• Scientific Testing: Replaced outdated psychoanalytic ideas with testable, empirical cognitive models.

• Deeper Complexity: Pushed researchers toward multi-factor, brain-based, and predictive-processing models.

• Early Tracking: Inspired infant sibling studies showing that autism traits develop gradually over time.

Replacing psychoanalytic ideas with empirical models; shifting to multi-factor models when single-deficit theories failed; starting infant sibling studies.

What is the benefit of viewing autism as a developmental condition?

It shows that autism unfolds gradually over time, where small early differences cascade into later ones. This allows clinicians to identify subtle early signs and start supportive interventions sooner to guide positive development

What have been some of the contributions of behaviorism and ABA to autism treatment?

• Demonstrating that autistic individuals could learn!!! helped drive the shift away from institutionalization and toward community-based educational and therapeutic services!!!!

• ABA established that autistic individuals can learn and gain skills, introduced objective measurement of progress (Introduced precise, objective tracking to evaluate whether interventions are actually effective) , emphasized empirical research (Shifted the field away from untested psychoanalytic theories toward treatments evaluated using scientific, empirical evidence) , and helped move care away from institutionalization (Deinstitutionalization) toward educational services.

How does a social model of disability change the way we view autism treatment? How does it mesh with the ICF model of disability we talked about last week?

1. The authors detail the transition away from a medical/deficit framework toward models that value neurodiversity, aim to remove environmental barriers, and prioritize quality of life and autonomy over enforcing typical behavior. treatment focuses on making environments easier to navigate!!!

2. modern developmental approaches align with international health and disability frameworks (like the ICF), which view disability as an interaction between personal traits and environmental contexts rather than a purely internal defect.

How does Westby’s Extend on ToM?

Traditional ToM focuses on whether someone understands what others think or feel. Westby extends this by showing that ToM relies heavily on context and memory—you cannot accurately read a situation or a person without reading the environment first.

What does context blindness refer to? How does it influence how we interpret situations?

1. It is the difficulty automatically pulling in background information, environmental cues, and past memories to make sense of what is happening right now.

2. How It Influences Interpretation:

   • Literal vs. Flexible Thinking: Without context, situations are interpreted literally or rigidly.

   • Same Action, Different Meaning: A person with context blindness might misread a situation because they focus on isolated details (e.g., someone laughing) without realizing the surroundings change what that behavior actually means (e.g., laughing at a joke vs. laughing during a sad movie).