Autism Spectrum Disorders

Psychological Theory and Research

AvDermot Bowler

Häftad, Engelska, 2006

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Beskrivning

Psychological research into autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has increased exponentially in the last two decades. Much of this work has been led by various theorists who claim to have identified processes that hold the key to understanding the condition. As a consequence, newcomers to the field feel that they have to opt for one or more of the competing approaches and to neglect the remainder as being in some way wrong. In fact, the different theoretical perspectives are just that - different points of view on the same phenomenon - each with its own insights to offer. This is not to say that understanding ASD in psychological terms is just a matter of choosing a perspective and that all perspectives are of equal value. Clearly they are not. This book, in addition to providing an outline of what current perspectives have to offer, also provides a framework to help readers to decide which aspects of psychological research into ASD contribute to our understanding of the field and how these can be integrated in a way that enables research to be taken forward.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2006-10-06
Mått:155 x 229 x 17 mm
Vikt:454 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:320
Förlag:John Wiley & Sons Inc
ISBN:9780470026861

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Mer om författaren

Professor Dermot M Bowler, City University, London. Professor Bowler has published several articles in journals that include the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and Autism.

Innehållsförteckning

Preface ix1 Identifying Autism: From Discrete Entity to Multidimensional Spectrum 1Early conceptions: the ‘autistic child’ 1From discrete entity to spectrum of related conditions 5Diagnostic systems and instruments 11Dimensions versus entities: ‘lumping’ versus ‘splitting’ 16Early detection 21Conclusion 252 Understanding Other Minds: Cognitive Approaches 26Understanding false belief: a specific mental module? 26Understanding minds: a specific process or something else? 37Provisional conclusions 493 Understanding Other People: Emotion and Interaction 51Appraisal of emotion in others 53Understanding the directedness of behaviour 60Understanding others in autism: final conclusions 674 Beyond Social Impairment: Difficulties with Executive Functions 70Implications of the executive dysfunction account for our understanding of ASD 81Conclusion 885 Building a Coherent Picture of the World 90Alternative explanations of WCC phenomena 98Conclusion 1116 Attention and Perception 113Attention 113Accounting for attentional difficulties 125Conclusion 1337 Specific Aspects of Understanding: Faces, Concepts and Memory 135Face processing 135Concept formation 145Memory 152Conclusion 1658 Psychology, Autism and the Brain 167Studies of brain size and structure 167Lesion-based models of autistic behaviour 173Theories of global brain dysfunction 175Brain impairments inferred from more basic psychological processes 203Conclusion 2079 Development 209Assumptions about development in ASD: psychometrics, matching and developmental delay 209Developmental trajectories in ASD 212Developmental change in two psychological domains: theory of mind and executive functions 219Developmental theory and ASD 228Conclusion 24110 Whence and Whither: Glimpses of the Tapestry, Paths Through the Jungle 242How far have we really come? 243Stepping back to move forward? Emerging themes 247Final thoughts 261References 263Index 299