VISUAL PROCESSING AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERSA PRESENTATION FOR TEACHERS AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS WHO WORK WITH CHILDREN IN THE AUTISM COMMUNITY

CONFIGURATIONAL SYSTEM PROCESSINGBELIEVED TO BE SPECIALIZED SYSTEM FOR THE BRAIN IN RECOGNIZING LARGER CONFIGURATIONS AND FACES (STERNBERG & STERNBERG, 2012).• NOT FOR ANALYZING INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS• ENCOMPASSES FACIAL RECOGNITION• FACIAL RECOGNITION FOR THE MOST PART OCCURS IN THE FUSIFORM GYRUS

FEATURE ANALYSIS SYSTEMBELIEVED TO BE HOW THE BRAIN RECOGNIZES SEPARATE PARTS AND ASSEMBLES THEM INTO WHOLE OBJECTS (STERNBERG & STERNBERG, 2012). THIS SYSTEM ALSO ALLOWS THE DISTINGUISHING OF A TARGET ELEMENT FROM DISTRACTORS, (TREISMAN, A. & GORMICAN, S., 1988).• EXAMINES DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THE WHOLE• SOMEWHAT USEFUL IN FACIAL RECOGNITION• DISTINGUISHES TARGET ELEMENTS-VISUAL SEARCH

THE OCCIPITAL LOBE. (IMAGE RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WWW.CHP.EDU/OUR-SERVICES/BRAIN/NEUROLOGY/EPILEPSY/TYPES/SYNDROMES/BENIGN-OCCIPITAL-EPILEPSY)

THE FUSIFORM GYRUS (IMAGE RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WHITE.STANFORD.EDU/TEACH/INDEX.PHP/NEUROPHYSIOLOGY_OF_FACE_PERCEPTION_AND_SOCIAL_INFORMATION_PROCESSING)

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? (IMAGE RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://FEWPICT.COM/CAT/16/QUESTION-MARK-02.HTML)

CONFIGURATIONAL SYSTEM PROCESSING-AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS• WAS BELIEVED THAT PEOPLE WITH AUTISM HAD A SOCIAL FUNCTIONING IMPAIRMENT WHICH

LED TO DIFFICULTY RECOGNIZING FACES (BEHRMANN, THOMAS, & HUMPHREYS, 2006)• NEW THEORY EMERGED SUGGESTING THE IMPAIRMENT WAS IN VISUAL-PERCEPTUAL

PROCESSING (BEHRMANN, THOMAS, & HUMPHREYS, 2006)• FMRI FOUND EVIDENCE SHOWING FACIAL PROCESSING OCCURS OUTSIDE THE FUSIFORM

GYRUS (PIERCE, MUELLER, AMBROSE, ALLEN & COURCHESNE, 2001)

IMAGES SHOWING THE DIFFERENCE FACIAL PROCESSING SITES IN A “NORMAL” BRAIN AND THAT OF SOMEONE WITH AUTISM (IMAGE RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://NEWS.HOFSTRA.EDU/2015/03/18/EMOTIONAL-FACE-PROCESSING-IN-AUTISM-ASSOCIATED-WITH-BRAIN-FUNCTION-DIFFERENCES/)

FEATURE ANALYSIS SYSTEM-AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERO’RIORDAN, PLAISTED, DRIVER AND BARON-COHEN (2001), REPORT CHILDREN WITH AUTISM HAVE SUPERIOR VISUAL SEARCH SKILLS.• CHILDREN WITH AUTISM PERFORMED BETTER THAN NORMALLY DEVELOPING CHILDREN ON

DIFFICULT VISUAL SEARCH• ENHANCED UNIQUE ITEM DETECTION IN AUTISM

BENEFITS OF VIDEO GAMES FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISMSEVERAL BENEFITS WERE FOUND IN UTILIZING VIDEO GAMES AS EDUCATIONAL AIDS FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM (DURKIN, K, 2010).• STRONG ENTHUSIASM FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM FOR PLAYING• STRONG ATTRACTION FOR SCREEN-BASED ENTERTAINMENT• HELPS THEM TO RELATE TO WORLD AND OTHERS• VIDEO GAMES CALL FOR HIGH ATTENTION AND VISUAL SEARCH SKILLS, CHILDREN WITH AUTISM EXCEL AT VISUAL

SEARCH• SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY EMOTIONS PRESENTED BY AVATARS, SOMETHING CHILDREN

WITH AUTISM STRUGGLE WITH• LEARNED MORE WORDS FROM COMPUTERIZED DELIVERY SYSTEM

THE END. (IMAGE RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://CLIVEPRICE.ME/RESEARCH-ON-VIDEO-GAMES-AND-CHILDREN/)

REFERENCES

BEHRMANN, M., THOMAS, C., & HUMPHREYS, K. (2006). SEEING IT DIFFERENTLY: VISUAL PROCESSING IN AUTISM. TRENDS IN COGNITIVE SCIENCES, 10(6), 258-264. ABSTRACT RETRIEVED FROM:HTTP://WWW.SCIENCEDIRECT.COM/SCIENCE/ARTICLE/PII/S1364661306001070

DE JONG, M.V., KEMNER, C., DE HAAN, E.H., COOPENS, J.E., VAN DEN BERG, T.J.T.P., & VAN ENGELAND, H. (2007). VISUAL INFORMATION PROCESSING IN HIGH-FUNCTIONING INDIVIDUALS WITHAUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS AND THEIR PARENTS. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, 21(1), 65-73.DOI: . HTTP://DX.DOI.ORG/10.1037/0894-4105.21.1.65

DURKIN, K. (2010). VIDEO GAMES AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS. REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY, 14(2), 122-140.DOI: HTTP://DX.DOI.ORG/10.1037/A0019438

O’RIORDAN, M.A., PLAISTED, K.C., DRIVER, J., & BARON-COHEN, S. (2001). SUPERIOR VISUAL SEARCHINGIN AUTISM. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: HUMAN PERCEPTION AND PERFORMANCE, 27(3), 719-730. DOI: HTTP://DX.DOI.ORG/10.1037/0096-1523.27.3.719

PIERCE, K., MUELLER, R.A., AMBROSE, J., ALLEN, G., & COURCHESNE, E. (2001). FACE PROCESSINGOCCURS OUTSIDE THE FUSIFORM ‘FACE AREA’ IN AUTISM: EVIDENCE FROM FUNCTIONAL MRI. BRAINA JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, 2059-2073.DOI:  HTTP://DX.DOI.ORG/10.1093/BRAIN/124.10.2059

STERNBERG, R.J. & STERNBERG, K. (2012). COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY (6TH ED.). BELMONT, CA:WADSWORTH.

TREISMAN, A., & GORMICAN, S. (1988). FEATURE ANALYSIS IN EARLY VISION: EVIDENCE FROM SEARCHASYMMETRIES. PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW, 95(1), 15-48.DOI: . HTTP://DX.DOI.ORG/10.1037/0033-295X.95.1.15