The Autism News | English


People with autism have advantages, in some ways, over people without the condition, and scientists need to stop viewing the traits of autism as flaws that need to be corrected, one autism researcher argues.

By seeing autism’s differences as defects, researchers may fail to fully understand the condition, said Dr. Laurent Mottron, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal.

“Recent data and my own personal experience suggest it’s time to start thinking of autism as an advantage in some spheres, not a cross to bear,” Mottron wrote in a commentary published today (Nov. 2) in the journal Nature.

For instance, when researchers see activation in regions of autistic people’s brains that differ from others’ brains, they report these differences as deficits, “rather than evidence simply of their alternative, yet sometimes successful, brain organization,” Mottron said.

By emphasizing the strengths of people with autism, deciphering how people with autism learn and avoiding language that frames autism as a defect, researchers can shape the discussion of autism in society, Mottron said.

Autism’s advantages

Mottron said he does not want to minimize the challenges of autism. “One out of 10 autistics cannot speak, nine out of 10 have no regular job and four out of five autistic adults are still dependent on their parents,” Mottron said.

But people with autism can make significant contributions to society in the right environment, he said.

The research setting is one of those environments. Several people with autism work in Mottron’s lab, and one researcher in particular, Michelle Dawson, has made major contributions to the lab’s understanding of the condition through her work and insight.

People with autism often have exceptional memories, and can remember information they read weeks ago. They are also less likely to misremember something, which comes in handy in a science lab. Dawson can instantly recall the methods used to study face-perception in autism, Mottron said.

Recent research has shown people with autism often outperform others in auditory and visual tasks, and also do better on non-verbal tests of intelligence. In one study by Mottron, on a test that involved completing a visual pattern, people with autism finished 40 percent faster than those without the condition.

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