Inside the Mind of the Autistic Person: A documentary presented by Uta Frith

Do autistic individuals really have a mind that is different from the rest of us? The autism spectrum is very wide and there are many different forms of autism. I will illustrate this by presenting a number of different cases in a film which aims to get a view from the inside of the autistic individual. Some of the most puzzling features of autism are the inability to engage in reciprocal social interaction and the frequent association with special talents. Two psychological theories attempt to explain these features. First, the lack of an innate intuitive ability to understand mental states such as desires, intentions and beliefs, explains the difficulties in reciprocal social interaction. Second, the tendency to process information in detail-focused fashion may explain the development of special talents. After the film there will be time for an in depth discussion.

Uta Frith was born and educated in Germany. She trained in clinical psychology at the University of London's Institute of Psychiatry and completed her Ph.D. on autism in 1968. She counts herself fortunate to have been able to work as an independent research scientist for all of her career. Her main research interest have been the neuro-developmental disorders, in particular the cognitive causes underlying autism and dyslexia. She is now Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development at University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Visiting Professor at the University of Aarhus. She has received honorary degrees from a number of Universities, is a fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Society. She is also a member of the Leopoldina, Germany’s National Academy of Science and a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences. In 2012 she was appointed DBE (Honorary Dame Commander of the British Empire).