Scientists must stop emphasizing autistics shortcoming
November 02, 2011
We must stop considering the different brain structure of autistic individuals to be a deficiency, as research reveals that many autistics – not just “savants” – have qualities and abilities that may exceed those of people who do not have the condition, according to a provocative article published today in Nature by Dr. Laurent Mottron at the University of Montreal's Centre for Excellence in Pervasive Development Disorders. “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 said.
Mottron's research team has strongly established and replicated the abilities and sometimes superiorities of autistics in multiple cognitive operations such as perception and reasoning, as have others. His group includes several autistics, and one of them, Michelle Dawson, is a particular success. Dawson makes major contributions to our understanding of the condition through her work and her judgment. “Michelle challenged my scientific perception of autism,” Mottron explained. Dawson's insight is the interpretation of autistic strengths as the manifestation of authentic intelligence rather than a kind of trick of the brain that allows them to mindlessly perform intelligent tasks. “It's amazing to me that for decades scientists have estimated the magnitude of mental retardation based on the administration of inappropriate tests, and on the misinterpretation of autistic strengths,” Mottron added.
Read the press release
About Dr. Laurent Mottron
Dr. Laurent Mottron, MD, PhD, is a professor at the University of Montreal's Department of Psychiatry and the director of the autism program at Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies (Montréal.) He also initiated the university's Centre for Excellence in Pervasive Development Disorders (CETEDUM.) The University of Montreal is known officially as Université de Montréal.
CETEDUM is based at the Université de Montréal's affiliated Rivière-des-Prairies Hospital and is part of the Fernand-Seguin Research Centre. Its full name in French is Centre d'Excellence en Troubles Envahissants du Développement de l'Université de Montréal.
Media contact:
William Raillant-Clark
International Press Attaché
University of Montreal (officially Université de Montréal)
Tel: 514-343-7593
w.raillant-clark@umontreal.ca
@uMontreal_News
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