Visual perspective-taking is the ability to perceive the world from another person's perspective, and research on visual perspective-taking ability in children with autism spectrum conditions yielded inconsistent results. To solve a visual perspective-taking task, people can mentally rotate themselves to another person's location (embodied…

Mind wandering constitutes a major part of everyday experience and is inherently related to how we feel and identify ourselves. Thus, probing the character and content of thoughts and feelings experienced during mind-wandering episodes could lead to a better understanding of the human mind in health and disease. How mind wandering and spontaneous…

Substantial research indicates that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulties with Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities, but rarely have studies used a comprehensive battery to measure both the cognitive and affective aspects of ToM. The present study tested this ability in 24 Greek-speaking children with ASD (ages 7-14), and…

Autistic children have difficulties in adapting their language for particular listeners and contexts. We asked whether these difficulties are more prominent when children are required to be cognitively flexible, when changing how they have previously referred to a particular object. We compared autistic (N = 30) with neuro-typical 5- to…

Some people with autism spectrum disorders have been observed to experience difficulties with making correct inferences in conversations in social situations. However, the nature and origin of their problem is rarely investigated. This study used manipulations of video stimuli to investigate two questions. The first question was whether it is the…

Autistic people experience social communication difficulties alongside specific memory difficulties than impact their ability to recall episodic events. Police interviewing techniques do not take account of these differences, and so are often ineffective. Here we introduce a novel Witness-Aimed First Account interview technique, designed to better…

Autistic young people experience high levels of co-occurring mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression and behavioural difficulties, across their lifespan. Understanding the neuropsychological mechanisms which underlie these difficulties is vital in developing personalised supports and interventions. Cognitive inflexibility is one…

Object personification is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human agents. In online forums, autistic individuals commonly report experiencing this phenomenon. Given that approximately half of all autistic individuals experience difficulties identifying their own emotions, the suggestion that object personification may be a feature of…

The cognition processes of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in solving mathematical problems is still rarely studied in depth, although the prevalence of the students is increasing. The purpose of this research was to describe the cognition processes of students with ASD in solving mathematical problems. The subjects in this research…

Previous research suggests that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) might be associated with impairments on implicit but not explicit mentalizing tasks. However, such comparisons are made difficult by the heterogeneity of stimuli and the techniques used to measure mentalizing capabilities. We tested the abilities of 34 individuals (17 with ASD) to…

Objectives: The aim of the study is to distinguish between perceptuomotor and cognitive inflexibility as the source of set-switching difficulties in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: Seventeen adolescents with ASD and 17 neurotypical controls were presented with a computerized sequencing game using colored shapes. The sequence…

This study examines the discourse basis for referent accessibility and its relation to the choice of referring expressions by children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and typically developing children. The aim is to delineate how the linguistic and extra-linguistic context affects referent accessibility to the speaker. The study also examines…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" framework outlines scientific and engineering practices as a key element of student development. Educators are just beginning to discover effective and meaningful ways to teach science content to students with intellectual disability; however, the literature on teaching science practices is still…

ASD is associated with mentalizing deficits that may correspond with atypical mirror system (MS) activation. We investigated MS activity in adults with and without ASD when inferring others' intentions using TMS-induced motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and mu suppression measured by EEG. Autistic traits were measured for all participants. Our EEG…

Many young people with autism spectrum disorder display 'challenging behaviours', characterised by externalising behaviour and self-injurious behaviours. These behaviours can have a negative impact on a young person's well-being, family environment and educational achievement. However, the development of effective interventions requires greater…