#Autism #AutismSpectrumDisorders #AutismConference
Speaker: Dr. Wenn Lawson
Topic: The Passionate Mind: How People with Autism Learn
When one considers the learning profiles of most neurologically typical people (NT’s) it becomes apparent that they learn by noting and then modelling ‘others’. This kind of learning requires an ability to shift attention and marry/align one’s interests with that of the community one is part of (e.g. family, class, team, colleagues etc). This kind of learning style is referred to as ‘polytropic’. It enables individuals to: easily shift attention and accommodate varying information from multi-sense, easily accommodate differing interests and move between them, marry interests to match the interest of others (even when one is not interested). If you are on the autism spectrum (AS), however, it will be more likely that you fail to notice the appropriate ’interest’ of another and thus will fail to model that behaviour. This gives rise to an individual image that appears self-serving or ego-centric. Hence the term ‘autistic’ or ‘inward looking’. This will be the result of a mono- (single) tropic disposition, rather than a poly (multi) tropic one. In AS we tend to: use one sense at any one time and find it difficult to shift attention, have a deep, intense attention, allowing focussed/obsessive interest, have a dominant interest that might not match the interest expressed by others. In this seminar Wenn describes the learning style in autism. The workshop also highlights the differences between the two populations (NT & AS) and suggests ways to bridge the gaps between us. Although the seminar is research based, it is ‘hands on’, practical and ‘down to earth’. It aims to make available a number of strategies that the attendee can take away and implement in their own daily encounters with AS.