Resumo

SPANIOL, Mayra Muller. Attentional atypicalities in autism spectrum disorder and the broader autism phenotype. Cad. Pós-Grad. Distúrb. Desenvolv. [online]. 2018, vol.18, n.1, pp. 117-147. ISSN 1519-0307.  http://dx.doi.org/10.5935/cadernosdisturbios.v18n1p117-147.

Although attentional differences are not core symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), attentional atypicalities are often found amongst children and adults with ASD, and even linked to the development of ASD symptoms. In this theoretical paper, early attentional differences seen in ASD such as attention disengagement will be discussed. Further perceptual differences are also revised, concerning atypical attention allocation and perception of faces and social stimuli, and the processing of global and local features. The theory of executive function in ASD is briefly revised, contrasting to evidence of enhanced performance in visuospatial tasks, bringing a new theoretical framework (Dual Mechanism of Control theory) to explain discrepancies in performance in ASD and the Broader Autism Phenotype. Finally, the concept of attentional training in ASD is also suggested as a viable intervention to bring generalized improvements to children with ASD.

Palavras-chave : Autism Spectrum Disorder; Attention; Perception; Broader Autism Phenotype; Intervention.

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