Autistic cognitive lenses

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Referring to the autistic spectrum as a set of lenses that differ in significantly from the typical/standard lens in terms of focal length and filters is possibly a good way of avoiding the misconceptions that may be evoked by using the terms disorder or difference.

Each autist:

1. Has a unique lens, with unique focal length [range] and filters, offering a unique perspective. No two autists perceive and behave exactly the same way.
2. Has unique capabilities and strengths that relate to a specific domain of applicability. These capabilities complement the capabilities of the typical/standard cognitive lens, and represent a rich source of creativity and innovation.
3. Has limitations in contexts that differ from the domain of applicability of her specific cognitive lens. As a result, an autist may require assistance to operate in a context that is unfamiliar or overwhelming, exactly in the same way that a typical person will require assistance in contexts that lie far outside her comfort zone.
4. May be hypersensitive or hyposensitive to specific inputs, and will cease to function when overwhelmed with input. The only constructive way to assist in such a situation is to dampen or remove the offending input, or to move away from the input.
5. Lacks some of the typical social filters, leading to an untypical perception of social situations. As a result, autistic behaviours may be at odds with culturally expected norms, and may come across as rude or arrogant.

I think the lens metaphor is helpful because it:

1. Provides typical people with a basic understanding in very few words, in contrast to the word difference, which provides no clue wih respect to the kinds of differences that involved.
2. Emphasises that autists are not inferior to typical people, and it steers away from the disease model of autism. Autistic cognitive lenses are not broken or disordered, even the so-called low functioning ones, they simply serve different purposes.
3. Conveys very clearly the concept of unique individual strengths and limitations, and it even explains why two autists won’t necessarily understand each other if their individual lenses differ.
4. Helps to explain the potential impact of hypersensitivity in an easily accessible way.

Does the above make sense?

Can the lens methaphor be used to explain further features of the autistic spectrum?

Hi jbw,

Yes, this makes sense to me.

Years ago, my dad explained that in optics, there are different lenses for different functions, so there are necessarily trade-offs. In order to get the best of one kind of strength, you give up something else, because no one lens can do everything. That doesn't mean one type of lens is better than another ... it just means knowing how to get the most out of what you have.

We all have something to contribute.

...

I actually like this model of autism.

What it does is...
-Provide a very easy way of describing what it's like to be an autistic person, very accurately
-Dismiss any notions of "inferiority", and in a lot of cases, disability; this is a major problem with the disease/disability model of autism, in that it implies inferiority as well as some autistic people really don't feel that way
-Give a glimpse to what autism is for those that have it

The lens metaphor/analogy is nice. But what if the person is blind. As in the retina/CCD sensor is fried. then all the optics and lenses will do no good. What I'm getting at is the fact that trying to explain what autism is to an NT is a lot like trying to explain what light and color is to a blind person. Just like we can't comprehend what it's like to be NT. NT's can't comprehend what it's like to be autistic.

Thanks for your responses and input.

Most NTs are not blind, and should be able to relate to the metaphor. This does not mean that they can experience autistic lenses first hand, but that they should conceptually be able to understand the root causes of misunderstandings and autistic challenges in a neurotypical society. Blind people may still relate to the metaphor when it is applied to lenses and filters relating to sound waves rather than light waves.

The lens metaphor can possibly also be used to shed light on differences in the planning horizon when making decisions. Similar to the way powerful telescopes process information that is thousands or even billions of years old, and provide astronomers with a view into the distant history of the universe, autistic cognitive lenses may provide a different perspective on time as I outline in this thread. It can be argued that autistic brains are biased towards long term planning (days, months, years, decades), and are compromised when it comes to time scales of minutes, seconds, and sub-seconds.

I have always liked the lens metaphor.

I would expand it to also include issues of perspective in a broader sense: "what you see depends on where you stand".

I was surprised to notice that Google yields no result for "autistic cognitive lens" apart from the two threads here on WP.

Yes, the notions viewpoint and perspective are also easily illustrated with the lens metaphor.

A viewpoint is a particular position, and a perspective is a particular direction of view from a given position. Every autist has a unique viewpoint and perceives the world through a stream of unique perspectives that are defined by changes in the focus of attention.

Doesn't everybody have a unique 'cognitive lens' though?

For example:

. A person with a history in war
. A person with a history in multiple wars
. A person with schizophrenia

Each experience has an effect on perspective. What can't be viewed through this idea?

Yes and no.

On the one hand, people experience the same thing in different ways - this is because of individual differences and differences in individual experiences. There are big "conceptual lenses" and these are probably quite different frameworks generally for NT and autist popululations. You could say that these are the frames of the "eyeglasses" seen through. You could carry the metaphor further to say that the personal factors are like the special adaptations/coatings et al applied to the lenses fitted into the framework of the glasses.

So the individual thing and the conceptual thing can be reconciled, I think..

Yes, I think so too.

What is really neat is that the lens systems in photo and video cameras consist of a set of multiple lenses and potential filters. A multi-lens system can serve as a crude metaphor to illustrate the multiple levels of cognitive processing that take place in the brain and also in the artificial neural networks used in machine learning.

The metaphor is not intended as a scientific explanation of AS, only as an explanatory tool.

The lens metaphor can be used to point out specific characteristics of an individual cognitive lens, without submitting to the neurodevelopmental disorder model of autism, and without overwhelming people with the DSM definition of AS or with a Wikipedia entry such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum.

Yes I think everyone is different, as in we all start out with different lenses, roughly translated to neurological wiring,
BUT we do not all make good copying machines of each other.
What I'm saying is basically that NTs are such because they are great copying machines of each other, and the massive amount of schemas ( hive software ) that they "adopt" and integrate into their minds quickly overshadows any small differences in the neurology ( lens ).

In contrast, the ASD individual is a terrible copying machine for hive software, and so over time the differences in perception are not overshadowed, and often become more pronounced.

A lens is a physical layout of material, or basically an atomic lattice that directs energy flow in a certain fashion between the atoms. The different neurological wiring, and ultimately the different genetic code performs a similar function and directs energy flow ( our thoughts ). The physical layout is the precursor to the cognitive lens.

Recently I have pretty much concluded that the mechanism of this brain connectivity vs cognitive lens relationship is primarily determined by how our brains store and retrieve memory/information.
I think this function of memory S&R is itself based on the formation of physical lenses in the brain.
The differences in the lenses is ultimately based on different genetics.

I recognize filters as being both cognitive/conscious and/or subconscious in nature.
That is filters exist and operate in each area of the brain.

It is generally accepted that if some pattern of logic, movement, or a general schema is applied consciously many times, then it can eventually "sink" down into the subconscious to become second nature or intuitive, and thus operate outside of our awareness or view. It's simple conditioning.

It is also generally accepted that patterns/information can be applied subliminally, outside of our conscious awareness, and go directly into our subconscious, thus affecting our behaviors via intuition.

I believe one significant difference between ASD and NT individuals is in how and where the "filters" exist and are applied.

I think that the NT easily absorbs certain filters subliminally so that the filters exist and operate within their subconscious thoughts.

I think that the ASD individual lacking most of this ability, must then cognitively construct their own filters within their conscious thought, where they are also applied.

Since we are talking about a quickly acting intuition versus a slower process of conscious reason, the nature of the results are going to be different, and not only by the obvious difference of speed.
I believe that the intuitive process produces information of a more immediate nature, and that the slower cognitive process results often in what we would call a "systems thinker".
That is a situation is consciously thought through as a system which produces trends or long-term results.

A systems thinker would be less impulsive in most instances.
While this type of cognitive lens can have great value, I think it can also come at a cost.
I can see it contributing greatly to conditions like depression and anxiety.