As above.
As above.
I have heard about theory of mind some time ago. I find it interesting though what is written about religion. It is thought and information is out there that some autistics will struggle with religion/faith because of theory of mind. It has been written in the past that they may struggle with having a faith because of a need for evidence and therefore not being able to believe in anything without seeing. I find it interesting that work arounds shall we say exist for this to. Some new articles touch on this how autistics may be more graced with other gifts to circumvent this weakness.
"Religiosity is possibly expressed differently in ASD with unique spiritual experiences and beliefs (“gifted, visionary, and truth-seeker”). In some circumstances, .
I have heard about theory of mind some time ago. I find it interesting though what is written about religion. It is thought and information is out there that some autistics will struggle with religion/faith because of theory of mind. It has been written in the past that they may struggle with having a faith because of a need for evidence and therefore not being able to believe in anything without seeing. I find it interesting that work arounds shall we say exist for this to. Some new articles touch on this how autistics may be more graced with other gifts to circumvent this weakness.
"Religiosity is possibly expressed differently in ASD with unique spiritual experiences and beliefs (“gifted, visionary, and truth-seeker”). In some circumstances, .
I don't have a problem with faith, I think it's personal, different aspects of faith appeal to different people, some people need the sort of certainty that some faiths provide, others will want to see overwhelming evidence before the believe anything, some of us love the liminal and the fact that for many it's an intensely personal journey and interaction between oneslf and the divine.
Hi RachelO Thanks for your post and the links - The open access document on religion and autism had a nice summary of research et al on the topic of theory of mind.
A couple of bits that jumped out to me being:
1 Patients close to neurotypical individuals on the ToM continuum are aware of higher-order mental states at the metacognitive level (thoughts about thoughts).
and
2 According to this model, ASD is characterized by a deficit of mental conflict monitoring instead of a missing mental representation ability (“mindblindness”)
for
1 links with the neurology in as much as "defecits" in emotional awareness may plausibly be overcome by cognitive processing - religious practices that encourage meditation or contemplation are by their nature encouraging metacognition perhaps... this also fits with my personal experience of being able to "think" my way thro; some of the problems that are inherent with having a "defect" in one' theory of mind
2 religious teachings are often pretty strong on the "right" versus "wrong". I concur with the analysis of difficulty in monitoring mental conflict. In so far as having a set of rules which one follows and importantly a society that also follows them there is present I suspect increased potential for a more comfortable existence for an autistic person.
In the Youtube videos I picked up on " Connection with the deeper self and the divine".
I am drawn to conjecture that "the deeper self" may well be a description of getting in contact with one's own theory of mind - this being a necessary precursor for the metacognitive benefits previously mentioned.
I am happy that you find support from faith :-)
One wonders also how many seers and prophets have come from a sense of otherness...
For myself I've been travelling a journey that traditionally goes: warrior, healer, priest. For myself the deeper sense of moral and ethical behaviour that is encompassed in "true" faith and the sense of purpose that makes sense of our existence is strong. Apart from certain parts of the physical existence that I would find impossible to pass up the monastic life style has much appeal to the autistic me - order, routine, purpose, community, good food (and beer :-) ) Hehe maybe in the next life... All the best :-)
This is interesting for me. I've not read the article, but when I was first diagnosed and had not met any fellow autistics online or offline, I just assumed that like me, none would be religious.
I was surprised to see here and in real life, that there seemed to be an even higher amount of religiosity than the general population. (I accept that anecdotes are not data.) I think that I hadn't realised that religion can reach the same levels on intensity as a 'special interest'
This is just my personal account of my expectations - I'm not knocking anyone's beliefs.
