title: Cognition in autism: one deficit or many?
abstract: The aim of this paper is to provoke discussion concerning the nature of the cognitive impairments that characterize autism. Autism spectrum disorders appear to be heterogeneous at the biological and behavioural levels, but it is currently unclear whether one or more cognitive abnormalities may be universal to people with autism. In addition, it is unknown whether one cognitive deficit is primary and causal, or whether several complimentary accounts are needed to explain the full range of behavioural features. From research to date, it seems that the psychological abnormalities that characterize autism may be dissociable, and it is uncertain whether the degree of social and non-social impairments is related. Possible reasons for the co-occurrence of social and non-social cognitive abnormalities in autism are discussed. One implication is that searching for the biological bases of specific social and non-social deficits may be more profitable than searching for the aetiology of autism per se.
authors.affiliation: Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Happé
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior