title: Brief report: driving hazard perception in autism.
abstract: This study investigated whether individuals with ASD (autistic spectrum disorders) are able to identify driving hazards, given their difficulties processing social information, Klin et al. (Archives of General Psychiatry 59: 809-816, 2002). Twenty-three adult males with ASD and 21 comparison participants viewed 10 video clips containing driving hazards. In half of the clips the source of the hazard was a visible person (social); in the other half the source was a car (non-social). Participants with ASD identified fewer social hazards than the comparison participants (U = 163.00, N = 44, p < .05) but not non-social. Participants with ASD were also slower to respond than comparison participants, F(1,40) = 4.93, p < .05. This suggests that, although people with ASD can perceive driving hazards they may have specific difficulty identifying them if they involve a person.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK. elizabeth.sheppard@nottingham.edu.my
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sheppard
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ropar
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Underwood
authors.forename: Editha
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Loon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time; D012938:Social Perception; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult