The concept of “compensation” makes sense of several autism puzzles

On British television last night, naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham described how he hid his autistic traits for most of his life By Alex Fradera A process involved in neurodevelopmental disorders that we are only just beginning to understand is “compensation” – the way that a deficit can be partially or wholly masked by automatic mental processes and/or deliberate behavioural strategies. For instance, a person with dyslexia may achieve typical levels of reading ability after an earlier diagnosis, not because the disorder has gone away (subtle tests might show continuing problems in phonological processing, for example) but through the use of behavioural strategies, such as reverse-engineering a tricky word from the meaning of words around it. In a new review in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Lucy Anne Livingston and Francesca Happé, at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, take us through what compensation might mean for autism. Compensation in autism could make sense of several puzzles. One is how high-risk individuals – with an autistic sibling, and showing markers for the disorder at the age of one – sometimes beat the odds and go on to seemingly normal development. Similarly, some individuals are diagnosed with autism, but in adulthood achieve what is termed a “good outcome”: functional social relationships, work life, and general independence. These cases could be explained by compensation mechanisms kicking in at different times. M...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Autism Brain Cognition Source Type: blogs