Attentional atypicalities in autism spectrum disorder and the broader autism phenotype

Abstract

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.
Keywords
Autism Spectrum Disorder. Attention. Perception. Broader Autism Phenotype.
Intervention.