Autism: Seeking predictability in an uncertain world

This talk will characterise the way autistic adults often think as slow and deliberative, rather than rapid and intuitive, typical of non-autistic adults. Deliberative thinking can have many advantages in predictable environments (such as when logically reasoning), but may also lead to difficulties in uncertain environments (such as social situations). The processing of predictable and uncertain information is also important for regulating sensory and motor behaviours. The talk will explore the neuropsychological differences that are shown by autistic people in these areas, before addressing how research could be used to boost independence and wellbeing within the autistic community.

Prof Mark Brosnan, Director of the Centre for Applied Autism Research (CAAR), Department of Psychology, University of Bath

Dr Tom Arthur, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Exeterand Honorary Researcher at the Centre for Applied Autism Research (CAAR)