14 DAY TRIAL // In some instances, social interactions can prove to be very difficult for those suffering from autism, and a new study from the Durham University, in the United Kingdom, shows that this may be attributed to their poor ability to observe and process the body language of those in front of them. This leads patients to be inaccurate in their assessments of how the persons they are talking to are feeling, which can lead to embarrassing situations, and less interactions with others overall.
In the experiments, experts from the university asked a number of individuals suffering from the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to identify what emotions were being conveyed from a series of short clips. The movies did not have sounds, nor did they show the face of the person in question. For the most part, the participants proved unable to accurately determine how the people in the movies were feeling, despite the fact that only simple emotions such as fear, happiness, anger, disgust and sadness were expressed.
Durham University Psychology Department Dr. Anthony Atkinson believes that people with autism have trouble reading body movements because they process some basic visual information differently from healthy individuals. The expert, who has also been the leader of the new study, says that the data obtained from the new tests could eventually be used to determine the exact obstacles that prevent autism patients from interacting with other people at a deeper level.
“The way people move their bodies tells us a lot about their feelings or intentions, and we use this information on a daily basis to communicate with each other. We use others’ body movements and postures, as well as people’s faces and voices, to gauge their feelings. People with autism are less able to use these cues to make accurate judgments about how others are feeling. Our research attempts to find out why. Our findings point to a difficulty in perceiving or attending to motion as a contributor to the problem of gauging people’s emotions. We now need to look further to see how exactly this happens and how this may combine with potential difficulties in attention,” he adds.
“This is an interesting study which supports the suggestion that people with autism may well process visual information differently to their peers. We warmly welcome all research which helps us further our understanding of autism, and how best to help and support those with the condition. Autism is a complex and lifelong disability, affecting an estimated half a million people in the UK, and the right support at the right time can make a huge difference to people's lives,” National Autistic Society Action Research Leader Dr. Gina Gómez De La Cuesta shares.
Some facts and figures (source: The National Autistic Society)
1. Autism is thought to affect around half a million people today – that means one out of every 100 people has autism. 2. Autism is a lifelong-developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them. It is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all persons with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them in different ways. 3. Boys are four times more likely to develop autism than girls. 4. People with autism often want to make friends, but, due to their disability, find it difficult. 5. 40% of all children with autism wait more than three years for a clear diagnosis.
Adapted from materials provided by the Durham University.