Heather Nuske, PhD candidate, Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University.

There is widespread belief that individuals with autism are ‘emotionally detached’ from others. However, clinical and experimental findings show that they are sensitive to familiarity; for example, they show normal attachment to their parents, and normal brain activity in response to familiar faces. To date, no study has measured the reactions of people with autism to the emotions of familiar vs. unfamiliar people. In this presentation I discuss our study which address this research gap, and some of the findings from our recent review on emotions in people with autism (“Are emotion impairments unique to, universal, or specific in autism spectrum disorder? A comprehensive review“, by Nuske, Vivanti and Dissanayake, 2013).

Recorded at the 2013 OTARC Research Forum.

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