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There have been many areas of autism research done and none has been able to give a complete explanation for all the aspects of autism. There are some though, that do have an explanation with three given theories.
The Three Major Theories Are:
1) Theory of Mind (TOM) – this explains socialization and communication impairment
2) Central Coherence (CC) – this explains the focus on detailed objects
3) Executive Function (EF) – this explains their need for repetitive behavior, resistance to change and difficulty with organization
These theories compliment the explanations of autistic behavior but do not cover them. Autism research has been able to come up with three different impairments that can be explained by the first theory.
These three theories are complementary but do not cover the explanation of all aspects of autism behavior. Autism research has accomplished the explanation of all three impairments: social interaction, communication and imagination.
These impairments can all be explained by the first theory.
- Mind Theory – this is the capacity the mind has to understand things such as: beliefs, feelings, hope and desires, and intentions. This gives us the ability to imagine what others are thinking or feeling. We are able to create a mental pictures of our emotions and the feelings of others. Without this ability, is what those diagnosed with Asperger syndrome displays. They can't use these important skills in their socialization, their imagination and their communication.
- Central Coherence – This ability is needed to process information from our surroundings. We are able to take in bits and pieces of details and make the big picture with them. Autism research has shown that children with autism spectrum disorders will have difficulties processing life this way. They are not able to take in all the details to put the picture together. But yet, on the other hand, they may pick up details that a normal person would never be aware of. But this does limit their ability to integrate the smaller pieces into a whole picture. They are thought to live in a 'fragmented world'. Can you imagine how difficult it must be for them to bring sense to situations or to act normally in a social setting when they are unable to see things the way you do?
- Executive Function – This term describes the mental processing, giving us conscious control of what we think and do. We use this skill to plan and organize our day, controlling our behavior. This allows us to make decisions and carry them out, to resolve a problem. This is a higher level of thinking, they may have normal to high intelligence, but are not able to finish work, make a solid plan, organize things and stay focused on their given task until completed. They may be impulsive and may not consider any consequences.
Autism research is still going on every day, finding answers for us that we so desperately want and need.
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