Context Blindness in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Vermeulen, Peter

doi:10.1177/1088357614528799

Cited by 85 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 82 publications

(111 reference statements)

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“…ADHD children seem to frame emotions based on context clues with greater ease than children with ASD. These results might be related to the “context blindness” hypothesis (Vermeulen, 2014), which states that individuals with ASD experience impairments in the spontaneous use of context in information processing, in this case, of a social and emotional nature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Social Cognition in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Associations with Executive Functions

et al. 2017

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by social impairments. The first objective of this study was to analyze social cognition deficits of children with ADHD, high-functioning ASD (HFASD), and typical development (TD) in their performance on explicit and applied measures of theory of mind (ToM). The second objective was to investigate the relationships between executive functions and social cognition in HFASD and ADHD. One hundred and twenty-six 7- to 11-year old children, 52 with HFASD, 35 with ADHD, and 39 with TD, performed the NEPSY-II social perception subtests. Parents estimated their children's ToM skills using the Theory of Mind Inventory (ToMI). Teacher-reported data from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) were also obtained. The HFASD and ADHD groups showed worse performance on the verbal ToM task than the TD group, and only the performance of the HFASD group was significantly lower than the TD group on the contextual ToM task. Parents also estimated that the HFASD group had more difficulties on the applied ToM than the ADHD and TD groups. Furthermore, there is a different executive function-theory of mind link in the HFASD and ADHD groups: behavioral regulation processes such as inhibition and emotional control are more associated with social cognition in children with ADHD, whereas metacognitive processes such as initiation and planning have a strong association with social cognition in children with HFASD. These findings have implications for understanding social perception deficits in neurodevelopmental disorders, highlighting the need for early intervention.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Social Cognition in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Associations with Executive Functions

et al. 2017

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“…School‐aged youth with ASD may experience more victimization in regular school environments because these environments may generate more social interactions with TD peers, and therefore a higher likelihood of being rejected or victimized simply for being different [Schroeder et al, ]. In addition, the cognitive characteristic of ASD to interpret jokes and expressions at face value may be a cause of misinterpretation between groups [Vermeulen, ]. Youth with ASD may have developed a hypersensitivity to ridicule and rejection due to the stigmatization they experience in many other social contexts [Vermeulen, ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of School Bullying Among Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

et al. 2015

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The true extent of school bullying among youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) remains an underexplored area. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to: (a) assess the proportion of school-aged youth with ASD involved in school bullying as perpetrators, victims or both; (b) examine whether the observed prevalence estimates vary when different sources of heterogeneity related to the participants' characteristics and to the assessment methods are considered; and (c) compare the risk of school bullying between youth with ASD and their typically developing (TD) peers. A systematic literature search was performed and 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. The resulting pooled prevalence estimate for general school bullying perpetration, victimization and both was 10%, 44%, and 16%, respectively. Pooled prevalence was also estimated for physical, verbal, and relational school victimization and was 33%, 50%, and 31%, respectively. Moreover, subgroup analyses showed significant variations in the pooled prevalence by geographic location, school setting, information source, type of measures, assessment time frame, and bullying frequency criterion. Finally, school-aged youth with ASD were found to be at greater risk of school victimization in general, as well as verbal bullying, than their TD peers. Autism Res 2016, 9: 601-615. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…Social-skill programs for AS patients should promote the acquisition of implicit rules to navigate unpredictable social contexts. Instead of emphasizing explicit social knowledge, clinicians should focus on promoting contextual sensitivity to different situational configurations (Vermeulen, 2014). This approach may help individuals with AS to better understand the world around them and react more appropriately (Vermeulen, 2012).…”

Section: Implications and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of context processing on social cognition impairments in adults with Asperger's syndrome

Báez

Ibáñez

2014

Front. Neurosci.

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Social cognition—the basis of all communicative and otherwise interpersonal relationships—is embedded in specific contextual circumstances which shape intrinsic meanings. This domain is compromised in the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), including Asperger's syndrome (AS) (DSM-V). However, the few available reports of social cognition skills in adults with AS have largely neglected the effects of contextual factors. Moreover, previous studies on this population have also failed to simultaneously (a) assess multiple social cognition domains, (b) examine executive functions, (c) follow strict sample selection criteria, and (d) acknowledge the cognitive heterogeneity typical of the disorder. The study presently reviewed (Baez et al., 2012), addressed all these aspects in order to establish the basis of social cognition deficits in adult AS patients. Specifically, we assessed the performance of AS adults in multiple social cognition tasks with different context-processing requirements. The results suggest that social cognition deficits in AS imply a reduced ability to implicitly encode and integrate contextual cues needed to access social meaning. Nevertheless, the patients' performance was normal when explicit social information was presented or when the situation could be navigated with abstract rules. Here, we review the results of our study and other relevant data, and discuss their implications for the diagnosis and treatment of AS and other neuropsychiatric conditions (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, frontotemporal dementia). Finally, we analyze previous results in the light of a current neurocognitive model of social-context processing.

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Context Blindness in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Cited by 85 publications

References 82 publications

Social Cognition in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Associations with Executive Functions

Social Cognition in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Associations with Executive Functions

Prevalence of School Bullying Among Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

The effects of context processing on social cognition impairments in adults with Asperger's syndrome

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