Peter Vermeulen:The predictive mind and autism as context blindness

Dato: 22-05-2018

Tid: 8.30-15.00

Sted: Lindberg Fenger Kursus- og Videnscenter, Ryttergrøftvejen 48, 7000 Fredericia

Kurset henvender sig til fagfolk inden for autismeområdet, forældre, pårørende og personer med ASF.
Oplægget vil være på et let forståeligt engelsk, der er max 60 pladser så hurtig tilmelding anbefales.

Pris: 950kr incl. Kaffe-Te, frokost og kage

Tilmelding: På mail, der kan betales med EAN, bankoverførelse eller på MobilePay


Short summary of the presentation

Anyone wanting to support people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) needs to understand how people on the spectrum perceive and understand the world. Anyone who wants to empathize with people with autism, should learn to see the world ‘through autistic glasses’. In this presentation, we will present a framework that helps us to gain a deeper understanding of the typical information processing style in ASD, which we have named context blindness.

Many ideas about the autistic brain are based on conceptions about the human brain that are outdated. The computer as a metaphor for the brain, with its input, processing and output, has been very useful in the past, but seems to be incorrect in the light of recent discoveries in brain science. The brain is not a computer: the brain is guessing more than it is computing. The brain does not just receive information from the senses, it is actually using the senses to check its own guesses. And in order to make ‘smart’ guesses, the brain has developed a unique characteristic: contextual sensitivity. The brain uses context to predict the world.

But what if your brain is not so talented in using context? This is the case in autism. An autistic brain is context blind. And therefore the world is for people with autism more confusing, more threatening and more difficult to predict.

The concept of context blindness unifies the existing cognitive models in autism (theory of mind/extreme male brain, executive functioning, and central coherence) and offers a unique and practical understanding of autism. Difficulty seeing and understanding context can explain why people with an autism have difficulties with communication, social interaction, and flexible thinking and behavior in daily living.

We will explain the concept of context blindness in interaction with the audience and with concrete examples and anecdotes. And we will explain how a good understanding of the autistic mind is the cornerstone of autism friendliness and the first step in striving for Quality of Life and happiness for people with autism.

Based on the concept of context blindness, we will describe some practical strategies to make the world (and the people in it) more predictable and less confusing for people with autism. We will especially demonstrate how to ‘push the context button’ for people with autism.


08.30-09.00 Registering og kaffe

09.00-10.30 Session 1: Why autism is like an iceberg and why a rabbit can also be a duck
The role of contextual sensitivity in the human brain: why context is pivotal in understanding the world around us. What is context, why do we need it and how do we use it? Experience your own contextual sensitivity!

10.30-10.45 Pause

10.45-12.00 Session 2: Why we don’t need faces to recognize emotions and why some people put a parrot on their head
What if you miss the context? Autism spectrum disorders as Context Blindness.
Consequences of context blindness on sense making and giving meaning to the world around us.
Consequences of context blindness on social cognition (e.g. understanding emotions) and social interaction

12.00-12.40 Frokost pause

12.40-13.45 Session 3: Why people never say what they mean, why you never know when later is and why even pictures can be confusing
Consequences of context blindness on communication, both verbal and non-verbal.
Context blindness as an explanation for the routines and rituals in ASD.

13.45-14.00 Pause

14.00-15.00 Session 4: Why pushing the context button is the cornerstone of autism friendliness
Context Blindness: lessons for education and approaches in autism. How can we deal with context blindness? Autism friendly teaching style and communication: pushing the context button!