The Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Categorisation of External Representations

Beate Grawemeyer; Hilary Johnson; Mark Brosnan; Emma Ashwin; Laura Benton

The Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Categorisation of External Representations

Beate Grawemeyer, Hilary Johnson, Mark Brosnan, Emma Ashwin, Laura Benton

University of Bath

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference proceeding › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

The knowledge structures and reasoning processes that underlie the use of external representations (ERs) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not well understood. This paper compares the organisation of knowledge of ERs in young people with a diagnosis of ASD and an age-matched typically developing control group. ASD and non-ASD participants (twenty-eight in each group) were given an untimed ER card-sorting task. The ERs were based on representations used in educational software, for example graphs, charts, and text. Cluster analysis of the card sort task revealed similar clusters for both groups: maps, drawings, text, graphs and charts, and network and tree diagrams. However, comparison of the card sorts of the two different groups showed a difference in ‘basic level’ categories. While in the non-ASD group, maps and non-maps were the most distinctive category, analysis of the ASD cluster revealed, in addition, another ‘basic level’ category of textual representations. These results are discussed in relation to theories of information processing in autism. Our ultimate research aim is to develop educational software tailored to the specific needs of users with ASD. We wish to use our research results to inform requirements for the development of such educational software, in which ERs are able to support differences in information processing for individuals with ASD.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science
Subtitle of host publication	Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011
Editors	Laura Carlson, Christoph Hoelscher, Thomas F. Shipley
Publisher	The Cognitive Science Society
Pages	2202-2207
Number of pages	6
ISBN (Electronic)	9780976831877
Publication status	Published - 2011
Externally published	Yes
Event	33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society: Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science - Boston, United States Duration: 20 Jul 2011 → 23 Jul 2011 Conference number: 33

Publication series

Name	Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011

Conference

Conference	33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society
Abbreviated title	CogSci 2011
Country/Territory	United States
City	Boston
Period	20/07/11 → 23/07/11

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are especially grateful to the study participants who willingly gave their time, and to their parents who gave consent for their children to take part in this study. The authors gratefully acknowledge Ashgrove School in Penarth, Brislington Enterprise College (BEC) in Bristol (especially the ASD unit), and Ralph-Allen School in Bath who enabled us to conduct the card sort study at their schools. Special thanks to Richard Cox for the original card sort, which was modified for our study. The support of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, EP/G031975/1) is also gratefully acknowledged.

Publisher Copyright:
© CogSci 2011.

Keywords

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
categorisation
external representations
organisation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Artificial Intelligence
Computer Science Applications
Human-Computer Interaction
Cognitive Neuroscience

Cite this

Grawemeyer, B., Johnson, H., Brosnan, M., Ashwin, E., & Benton, L. (2011). The Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Categorisation of External Representations. In L. Carlson, C. Hoelscher, & T. F. Shipley (Eds.), Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science : Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011 (pp. 2202-2207). (Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011). The Cognitive Science Society.

The Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Categorisation of External Representations. / Grawemeyer, Beate; Johnson, Hilary; Brosnan, Mark et al.
Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science : Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011. ed. / Laura Carlson; Christoph Hoelscher; Thomas F. Shipley. The Cognitive Science Society, 2011. p. 2202-2207 (Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference proceeding › peer-review

Grawemeyer, B, Johnson, H, Brosnan, M, Ashwin, E & Benton, L 2011, The Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Categorisation of External Representations. in L Carlson, C Hoelscher & TF Shipley (eds), Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science : Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011. Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011, The Cognitive Science Society, pp. 2202-2207, 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 20/07/11.

Grawemeyer B, Johnson H, Brosnan M, Ashwin E, Benton L. The Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Categorisation of External Representations. In Carlson L, Hoelscher C, Shipley TF, editors, Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science : Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011. The Cognitive Science Society. 2011. p. 2202-2207. (Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011).

Grawemeyer, Beate ; Johnson, Hilary ; Brosnan, Mark et al. / The Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Categorisation of External Representations. Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science : Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011. editor / Laura Carlson ; Christoph Hoelscher ; Thomas F. Shipley. The Cognitive Science Society, 2011. pp. 2202-2207 (Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011).

@inproceedings{971ae4de305e4836b06e5659a04a36c2,

title = "The Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Categorisation of External Representations",

abstract = "The knowledge structures and reasoning processes that underlie the use of external representations (ERs) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not well understood. This paper compares the organisation of knowledge of ERs in young people with a diagnosis of ASD and an age-matched typically developing control group. ASD and non-ASD participants (twenty-eight in each group) were given an untimed ER card-sorting task. The ERs were based on representations used in educational software, for example graphs, charts, and text. Cluster analysis of the card sort task revealed similar clusters for both groups: maps, drawings, text, graphs and charts, and network and tree diagrams. However, comparison of the card sorts of the two different groups showed a difference in {\textquoteleft}basic level{\textquoteright} categories. While in the non-ASD group, maps and non-maps were the most distinctive category, analysis of the ASD cluster revealed, in addition, another {\textquoteleft}basic level{\textquoteright} category of textual representations. These results are discussed in relation to theories of information processing in autism. Our ultimate research aim is to develop educational software tailored to the specific needs of users with ASD. We wish to use our research results to inform requirements for the development of such educational software, in which ERs are able to support differences in information processing for individuals with ASD.",

keywords = "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), categorisation, external representations, organisation",

author = "Beate Grawemeyer and Hilary Johnson and Mark Brosnan and Emma Ashwin and Laura Benton",

note = "Funding Information: We are especially grateful to the study participants who willingly gave their time, and to their parents who gave consent for their children to take part in this study. The authors gratefully acknowledge Ashgrove School in Penarth, Brislington Enterprise College (BEC) in Bristol (especially the ASD unit), and Ralph-Allen School in Bath who enabled us to conduct the card sort study at their schools. Special thanks to Richard Cox for the original card sort, which was modified for our study. The support of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, EP/G031975/1) is also gratefully acknowledged. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} CogSci 2011.; 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society : Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science, CogSci 2011 ; Conference date: 20-07-2011 Through 23-07-2011",

year = "2011",

language = "English",

series = "Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011",

publisher = "The Cognitive Science Society",

pages = "2202--2207",

editor = "Laura Carlson and Christoph Hoelscher and Shipley, {Thomas F.}",

booktitle = "Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science",

address = "United States",

}

TY - GEN

T1 - The Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Categorisation of External Representations

AU - Grawemeyer, Beate

AU - Johnson, Hilary

AU - Brosnan, Mark

AU - Ashwin, Emma

AU - Benton, Laura

N1 - Conference code: 33

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - The knowledge structures and reasoning processes that underlie the use of external representations (ERs) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not well understood. This paper compares the organisation of knowledge of ERs in young people with a diagnosis of ASD and an age-matched typically developing control group. ASD and non-ASD participants (twenty-eight in each group) were given an untimed ER card-sorting task. The ERs were based on representations used in educational software, for example graphs, charts, and text. Cluster analysis of the card sort task revealed similar clusters for both groups: maps, drawings, text, graphs and charts, and network and tree diagrams. However, comparison of the card sorts of the two different groups showed a difference in ‘basic level’ categories. While in the non-ASD group, maps and non-maps were the most distinctive category, analysis of the ASD cluster revealed, in addition, another ‘basic level’ category of textual representations. These results are discussed in relation to theories of information processing in autism. Our ultimate research aim is to develop educational software tailored to the specific needs of users with ASD. We wish to use our research results to inform requirements for the development of such educational software, in which ERs are able to support differences in information processing for individuals with ASD.

AB - The knowledge structures and reasoning processes that underlie the use of external representations (ERs) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not well understood. This paper compares the organisation of knowledge of ERs in young people with a diagnosis of ASD and an age-matched typically developing control group. ASD and non-ASD participants (twenty-eight in each group) were given an untimed ER card-sorting task. The ERs were based on representations used in educational software, for example graphs, charts, and text. Cluster analysis of the card sort task revealed similar clusters for both groups: maps, drawings, text, graphs and charts, and network and tree diagrams. However, comparison of the card sorts of the two different groups showed a difference in ‘basic level’ categories. While in the non-ASD group, maps and non-maps were the most distinctive category, analysis of the ASD cluster revealed, in addition, another ‘basic level’ category of textual representations. These results are discussed in relation to theories of information processing in autism. Our ultimate research aim is to develop educational software tailored to the specific needs of users with ASD. We wish to use our research results to inform requirements for the development of such educational software, in which ERs are able to support differences in information processing for individuals with ASD.

KW - Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

KW - categorisation

KW - external representations

KW - organisation

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84949026671&partnerID=8YFLogxK

M3 - Conference proceeding

AN - SCOPUS:84949026671

T3 - Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011

SP - 2202

EP - 2207

BT - Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science

A2 - Carlson, Laura

A2 - Hoelscher, Christoph

A2 - Shipley, Thomas F.

PB - The Cognitive Science Society

T2 - 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Y2 - 20 July 2011 through 23 July 2011

ER -

The Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Categorisation of External Representations

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this