What You See is What You Get. Autism spectrum disorder: Outcome in adolescence and perception of & responses to social stimuli

Abstract

The present thesis aims to contribute to the autism literature by examining the behavioural outcome and underlying mechanisms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The results of two lines of investigation are described. The first line of investigation (part 1) was performed with the aim to provide information about the outcome in adolescence of clinically referred individuals with symptoms of ASD in childhood using a seven-year follow up study. The second line of investigation (part 2) was performed with the aim to get a better understanding of the mechanisms that may underlie problems in social functioning in individuals with ASD, by evaluating perception of and responses to social stimuli in individuals with ASD and typically developing controls during a lab session. In this introduction, firstly, background information will be provided on the conceptualisation of autism and ASD, the outcome in adolescence of children with ASD, and the perception of and responses to social stimuli in individuals with ASD. Based on this background information, the research questions of the current thesis will be provided. Lastly, the samples included in the studies in the current thesis will be described, and the outline of this thesis will be given.