Locating events in space and time: Experiments with autistic, blind, and deaf children

Abstract

Autistic, blind, deaf (10 in each handicapped group) and 20 normal children are compared in two experiments focused on responses to stimuli in situations allowing for alternative strategies and coding processes. The autistic (ranging in age from 6 to 14 years) and control groups were matched for levels of cognitive development or for task performance relevant to the functions tested. Like the normal and unlike the blind or blindfolded, autistic children used visual rather than tactile cues to locate stimuli. On the other hand, like the deaf, but unlike the hearing, they organized visually presented verbal items in a spatial rather than temporal ordered sequence. It is suggested that autistic children do not necessarily process visual stimuli inadquately. Rather, processing capacity seems to depend on the availability of codes for organization, which may be relatively independent of the modality in which stimuli are presented.