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A Fresh Look at Categorization Abilities in Persons with Autism

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Learning and Cognition in Autism

Part of the book series: Current Issues in Autism ((CIAM))

Abstract

The significance of what people said to me, when it sank in as more than just words, was always taken to apply only to that particular moment or situation. Thus, when I once received a serious lecture about writing graffiti on Parliament House during a class trip, I agreed that I’d never do this again and then, ten minutes later, was caught outside writing different graffiti on the school wall. To me, I was not ignoring what I had been told, nor was I trying to be funny; I had not done exactly the same thing as I had done before. My behavior puzzled others, but theirs puzzled me too. It was not so much that I had no regard for their rules as that I couldn’t keep up with the many rules for each specific situation, (written by Donna Williams, an autistic adult, 1992, p. 69)

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Klinger, L.G., Dawson, G. (1995). A Fresh Look at Categorization Abilities in Persons with Autism. In: Schopler, E., Mesibov, G.B. (eds) Learning and Cognition in Autism. Current Issues in Autism. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1286-2_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1286-2_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

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