Not All Autistic People Are Good At Math And Science
ASPartOfMe
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Despite the Stereotypes
Author: James McGrath, Senior Lecturer in Literature and Cultural Studies, Leeds Beckett University
Being autistic, for example, doesn’t automatically make you a “human calculator” or a “living Google” – despite what some people may think. And it also doesn’t mean you can’t grasp fiction or have a love of novels.
I’m an autistic lecturer in English and creative writing. Literature is my way into the world. It helps me to better understand people –- including myself. Plus, in novels and poems, words are freed from the weight of body language.
But according to stereotypes (and worse, expectations) around autism, I should not be able to grasp fiction – let alone lecture or publish papers on it. Autistic people are supposedly good at STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, maths), not the arts.
For more than 20 years, the University of Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre has proclaimed that autism is linked with “minds wired for science” – which can be taken to mean minds not “wired” for creative or critical thinking. The association of STEM subjects with autism has been widely popularised by the centre’s director, Simon Baron-Cohen.
But my new book Naming Adult Autism uncovers various scientific oversights which may have misguided Baron-Cohen’s research findings from the outset. And it seems flaws in a major questionnaire used to determine autistic traits could mean that many autistic adults remain undiagnosed – simply because they enjoy reading novels.
The Adult Autism Quotient test counts autistic “traits” relating to routine, communication and socialising and is used to help diagnose people with autism. It was designed by Baron-Cohen and academic Sally Wheelwright, plus three undergraduates. It launched in 2001 and continues to be reproduced across websites, books and magazines worldwide. It is also the basis of ongoing national surveys of autistic traits.
The introduction of the questionnaire aimed to create a new means to help GPs decide whether to refer patients for further autism assessment. But a second purpose seems scientifically questionable in its support of Baron-Cohen’s then new, headline-friendly theory that mathematicians and scientists typically show higher numbers of autistic traits than the general population.
This “minds wired for science” idea about autistic people also creeps into literature itself – and assumptions that autistic people don’t “get” fiction are widespread in novels.
From romantic comedy – Graeme Simsion’s Rosie Project – to literary fiction – Margaret Atwood’s Maddaddam trilogy – adult autism is often reduced to caricatures. This is nearly always of a white, able-bodied male who excels at science or maths. Commendably, Simsion’s recent book The Rosie Result adopts a far more critical approach to autism. Even so, the cultural stereotype of the autistic scientist is still hard to shake off.
These stereotypes matter because they are misrepresenting what people with autism are actually like. They often present autistics to be “a certain way”, a loner or socially awkward – when in fact this varies person to person (autistic or not).
This is particularly important given that “prevention” of autism via prenatal screening may soon become available. Baron-Cohen’s commentary on autism, ethics and science states his opposition to “preventing” or “curing” autism. But alongside surveys of autistic traits and STEM talent, Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre is also leading research into autism and foetal hormones
A publication involving scientists across Europe – including some of those working at Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre – acknowledged in 2015 that prenatal tests for “autism risk” are not yet possible, but suggest their findings could be used for such research in future. This could inevitably shape some decisions about abortion
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DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
I'm bad at it because I'm dyspraxic and a lot of our maths and science lessons at school were geared around practicals which were hard for dyspraxic people. I got a D in maths and a D and C in science. I was a clever kid with A* in some other subjects.
I lost interest in it because of that.
I'm trying to regain interest in the theory aspects as an adult but school put me off a fair bit.
I too was not great at math as a kid. My grades were:
Geometry D
Algebra II C
Trigonometry C-
Here's the kicker though, as soon as I got into higher Maths in college I was okay:
Calculus I A+
Calculus II A
Biostatistics A
I think part of it is that I take longer than other people to get some things that are considered basic in math (memorizing rules or proofs or equations), but if I work at it long enough I can eventually get it. By contrast, the kind of things I'm good at (recognizing patterns quickly) most other people are bad at, so I ride the curve in classes focusing on that. I have to wonder if there are more people out there who, like me, got discouraged after struggling with basic math courses, but might be really good at more advanced types. I think schools need to be careful about this kind of thing. It should be acknowledged that you can't know if some people are "bad at math" by performance in the typical K-12 curriculum. It would be a shame for us as society to lose so many great minds.
I am a scientist by profession now.
Disclaimer: I understand that not everyone is like me, and I am not saying everyone must love math and science. I am just saying that the way we judge aptitude is flawed.
Great article!
I've been saying this for years. Not all autistics are "wired" for numbers. I'm a dedicated "word nerd."
Totally getting his book.
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No they aren't, but it does seem employers only want to hire autistics for math/science jobs.
I'm actually pretty good at math when it's expressed in terms of money, but I can't do geometry or advanced algebra (though I did manage to pass College Algebra).
I'm OK at physical sciences, but can't do life sciences. They go over my head.
lostonearth35
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Location: Lost on Earth, waddya think?
I used to think I'd never be able to do my own shopping when I became an adult because I have basically had no idea how to add up the prices of all the items, and then add all the taxes which aren't shown and drive me foolish, and manage to keep it under budget. But when I do my weekly grocery shopping I usually do pretty well, even though I don't even have a calculator with me to keep track. Intuition, maybe?
I never would have gone into science had not my father pushed it so. I ended up a professional scientist but unable to get employed. OTOH, I excelled in literature and arts that we had to take for a liberal arts degree. I could not do algebra to save my soul, but could do calculus and geometry no problem.
Had I been allowed to follow a different path, literature and music would have been more to my aptitude than science. I did not get physics nor chemistry.
I agree completely with that article. There is wide variation in aspies' aptitude and the stereotype hurts us all.
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And sky is the refrain - Gordon Lightfoot
Temple Grandin theorized 3 types of autistic thinkers. Try as I might I cannot find any evidence in support or against her theory. Looking this up is how I originally found wrong planet, but I don't know where the original thread is anymore.
Visual Thinkers: Great at visuals, variable ability with language, terrible at math (Temple Grandin herself)
Logic Thinkers: Great at math, variable ability at visuals, terrible with language (She calls these the NASA guys)
Verbal Thinkers: Great with language, variable ability with math, terrible at visuals (I'd say this somewhat accurately describes me)
I think what is safe to say is that autistics tend towards extremes and that those extremes are not always math and science. Now despite having what I would call more of a verbal affinity I went into a technical field for a variety of reasons.
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Last edited by Antrax on 07 Apr 2019, 3:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
graceksjp
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Visual Thinkers: Great at visuals, variable ability with language, terrible at language (Temple Grandin herself)
Logic Thinkers: Great at math, variable ability at visuals, terrible with language (She calls these the NASA guys)
Verbal Thinkers: Great with language, variable ability with math, terrible at visuals (I'd say this somewhat accurately describes me)
I think what is safe to say is that autistics tend towards extremes and that those extremes are not always math and science. Now despite having what I would call more of a verbal affinity I went into a technical field for a variety of reasons.
Well now Im lost lol
I learn visually (cant learn at all from listening to someone explain it). But Im great at language. I love to read and write, English was one of my best subjects in school (finished all my college credits by junior year) and I pick up new languages quite quickly. Plus Im a trained and competitive public speaker who was known at my school for being the "best at bs".
However, Im also pretty good at math. It was always my best subject (right above English Lit and Foreign Language) and its always come really easily to me. I get numbers. And I truly enjoy subjects like algebra. (maybe thats the asian in me lol)
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dragonsanddemons
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I'm another one who disproves this stereotype - terrible at math, probably dyscalculic, zero interest in technology or coding and don't really know how to do much with technology besides browse the Internet and play The Sims, and I've always loved to read fiction, and despite being non-stereotypical in many ways, I think I am pretty obviously autistic. I also fit into the category of verbal thinkers.
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