Cognitive style or Learning difference
There has been increasing discussion of autism as being less a disability than a ‘cognitive style’ or ‘learning difference’. Simon Baron-Cohen (2000) cited 12 differences in children with autism to support his argument that “behavior in Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism is not better or worse than that seen in typical development” (p.490); it is simply different.The list includes:
• the child spends more time involved with objects and physical systems than with people
• the child communicates less than other children do
• the child tends to follow his own desires and beliefs rather than paying attention to or being easily influenced by others’ desires and beliefs Read the rest of this entry »