Weak Central Coherence Theory of Autism

Autism Lexicon: Weak Central Coherence (WCC) Theory

The WCC Theory is a cognitive theory of autism (cognitive theories try to explain how autistics think). 

It suggests that  autistics focus on noticing details but might struggle with seeing the bigger picture. This affects how they see and understand the world around them. This unique way of thinking brings both strengths and challenges, affecting everyday tasks, social interactions, and work or hobbies.

Read about WCC in more detail 

For the Academic/Scientific Audience

PlainSpeak Plain Language for the Lay Reader

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Other posts on WCC

Other Theories of Autism

Vanderbilt Brain Institute Graduate Student Directory

Just noticed I'm in the Grad Student Directory of Vanderbilt Brain Institute.

https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/brain-institute/about-us/team-directories/#h2-graduate-student-directory

The end of Autism Month

April is Autism Acceptance Month.  

On April 30th there is a flood of emails and social media posts -  all pointing to the fact that its the last day of autism acceptance month. 

Does this mean that autism acceptance is not important for the remaining 11 months? 😔

An endless cycle of labels in autism

 Targeted interventions for autism don't need creation of more new labels.

The issues that need help, were present there before the label creation and still exist years after the label.

In another 5-10 years, another new catchy trademarked label will appear

What missing is action towards actual solutions in the last 30 years.

Last Class at Berkeley

This day 2 years ago.  

OMG. My very last undergrad class at Berkeley. 

Berkeley Haas Scholars at work. 

Overwhelmed

 

https://www.dailycal.org/2018/03/15/first-transitions

Shoutout from FCAI on my NSF Award

We are thrilled to announce that Hari Srinivasan, one of our Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering Fellows at the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, has been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for his work in Neuroscience.

The NSF GRFP is a tremendous achievement and a testament to Hari's hard work, dedication, and innovative research approach. As a neurodivergent individual, Hari brings a unique perspective to the field of Neuroscience, and his work, with its potential to make a significant impact on the lives of the community, is truly inspiring.

At the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, we are committed to promoting neurodiversity and providing opportunities for individuals like Hari to flourish in science and engineering. We believe that neurodiversity is a strength, and we are proud to support Hari and other neurodivergent researchers in their quest to make a difference in the world.

On behalf of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Hari on this well-deserved honor. We are not just proud, but deeply appreciative of all that he has accomplished and look forward to seeing all the amazing things that he will achieve in the years to come. Hari is an inspiration to us all, and we are grateful to have him as a part of our community.

hashtag#Neurodiversity hashtag#Neurodivergence hashtag#ASD hashtag#Autism hashtag#Strength hashtag#SocialModel hashtag#NSF hashtag#GraduateStudent hashtag#Fellowship hashtag#NationalScienceFoundation hashtag#GraduateFellowship hashtag#Congratulations hashtag#Awards
 

A kinder ABA is a therapist driving you to the point of frustration, then offering to hold your hand

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40617-023-00833-w 

Good grief is all I can say. 

Adding the prefix of "Kind" to something does not automatically make anything automatically Kinder. As is peppering a paper with the word "Kind" to sublimely influence you that it must be kind. 

And a sample size of 4 autistics in the study makes this a valid method, how?

And what did this  "kind" translate to exactly. when a therapist drives you to the point of a tantrum in the first place, then offers to hold your hand, and saying "I can see you are frustrated."

Is this a new marketing strategy by the (massive-profits with no accountability) ABA industry to make even more profits of desperate families. 

Please don't joke around with studies trying to whitewash stuff. This is not helping.  

Disability puts a whole new light on access

https://www.dailycal.org/2018/04/05/access-ramp-volunteering

 

Role of Media in fostering inclusivity

Thoughts on the role of editors, journalists, publishers on fostering broader societal inclusivity

1. Irresponsible reporting: I absolutely am irritated by articles that to try to stir up old  controversies or conspiracy theories trying to malign/discredit the most marginalized autistics, while pretending to be their champion. Its hypocritical and magazines should not be printing this stuff. In what way is this helping us. It's such a total waste of airtime, because the eye on the ball should move forward, towards progress and solutions so the marginalized can move forward. 

2. Understanding 'Evidence-Based' in the context of Autism Heterogeneity: Blindly reporting that something is evidence based for autism is not helpful because practitioners and educators literally take that at face value, and do a blanket application for ALL of autism. In reality evidence based only applies to a small profile (discussed in my recent Time magazine article), which means Evidence Based Interventions have to be taken with spoonfuls of salt for the rest of autism. 

Ergo, if "evidence based" does not work for an autistic, it's not the fault of the autistic for not progressing, it's a failure of research that has not found solutions for them. 

Because the consequence for the autistic who does not improve with this evidence based stuff is extreme. They are basically written off and kept in special programs and group homes. And then we complain that this group is eating up resources and asking for attention.

3. Media needs to call out the Utter Lack of Action:  An example is that GI issues were being discussed when I was diagnosed two and half decades ago. Earlier this year, there was an article which made it seem linking GI and autism was a brand new discovery. The sad part is that because there has been no movement in finding explanations and solutions on this front for two and half decades, it looks like it's a brand new issue when it's not.

4. Including a call to action. One magazine told me that I should not be including a call to action. Which kind of seemed counterintuitive because then these disability stories primarily become objects of pity and sympathy or inspiration porn. While this may increase readership, they don’t do anything to help us. We want the story to generate action because action is the actual impact.

A tangled bundle of trauma

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/giving-voice/202402/the-spectrum-of-loss-grief-through-the-autistic-lens

Autism and the Cocktail Party Effect

Concepts in Multisensory Integration


The "cocktail party effect" refers to the brain's ability to focus one's auditory attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli, as when a person can focus on a single conversation in a noisy environment. This ability involves the auditory cortex and other brain regions that manage attention. The term was coined by cognitive scientist Colin Cherry in the 1950s.

For example, at a busy party with multiple conversations happening simultaneously, you are able to listen and respond to one person speaking to you without being distracted by the surrounding noise. This phenomenon highlights our ability to selectively attend to particular sounds in a complex auditory landscape. It's often studied in contexts involving hearing, neuroscience, and psychology, particularly in understanding how attention and the sensory system interact.

In autistics, the cocktail party effect may manifest differently due to variations in auditory processing and attentional focus. Autistics often experience atypical auditory processing, which can mean that separating speech from background noise is more challenging. This difficulty is sometimes referred to as auditory filtering problems with "auditory scene analysis." Research suggests  autistic children show diminished performance in tasks requiring them to attend to speech in noisy environments compared to their neurotypical peers (Alcántara et al., 2004). This can contribute to the sensory overload many autistic individuals report in noisy or crowded settings.

The brain regions involved in auditory processing might function differently in autism, affecting how sounds are perceived and processed (O'Connor, 2012) . The auditory cortex may not effectively differentiate between foreground and background noises, leading to a potential overwhelming influx of auditory information. Consequently, this can make social interactions and communication more strenuous in environments that NTs might find manageable.

These auditory processing differences are an essential consideration in understanding the sensory experiences of autistic individuals and underscore the need for tailored strategies in educational, social, and occupational settings to accommodate their unique sensory profiles.

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Autism Space seen as profit making space by Private Equity

 Autism Space seen as profit making space by Private Equity

This is a continuing and troubling trend in autism. 

'...private equity investments per year tripled or quadrupled from 2018 to 2021 compared to 2015.

 ...expected investment to continue at breakneck speed

“...They needed to start showing profits and revenue that match their valuation. … So at some point, [investors] need to start seeing a return on their investment,”

 ...autism therapy space could be at the point of the investment life cycle where investors are pressuring operators to shift from scale to efficiency and profitability.

...opening clinics that reach targeted patients while being “financially healthy,” Marsh said. 

https://bhbusiness.com/2022/07/22/why-the-massive-investment-in-autism-companies-created-a-ticking-timebomb/