This study represents the first qualitative investigation of the phenomenology of unusual sensory-perceptual experience in autism drawn from a body of exclusively first-hand accounts of individuals with autism. A primary aim was that of discovery: an attempt to explore and articulate the nature and impact of unusual sensory-perceptual experience in individuals with autism as represented, in the main, by individuals with autism themselves.
A general review of the relevant autism literature sets the context for this
investigation (Chapter l). The first stage involved a pilot study in which published first-hand accounts by people with autism were analysed thematically (Chapter 2). This analysis confirmed unusual sensory-perceptual experiences as a salient theme and supported the case for more research into these phenomena. Chapter 3 describes the general methodology (Grounded Theory) that was used in the next three studies (Studies 2, 3, and 4) to investigate sensory-perceptual phenomena.
Chapter Four then presents the main study (Study 2) of the thesis. This study
involved a series of interviews with individuals with autism, and the development of a theoretical integration derived from these accounts. The study generated a model for understanding the phenomenology of these sensory-perceptual experiences that centred on the concept of an inefficient and disordered attention system. This model is based on four key constructs: Disordered Attention Beam; Perseverative Bias; Sensory Based World, and Hypersensitivity. Variation in sensory-perceptual experience between participants was understood in terms of unique dimensional combinations of each of these elements.
Chapter Five presents the third study that involved interviews with parents of
individuals with autism. These parental accounts were interrogated with a view to further theoretical development, and in particular to check if these would confirm, deny or further develop the essential elements of the model generated in Study 2. A similar process was undertaken in Chapter Six (Study 4) using the published first hand account literature as a data source and in Chapter Seven (Study 5) using the analysis of feedback gathered from a wider group of individuals with autism in a validation study. Chapter Eight presents the integration of the findings from these different data sources. The model developed in Study 2 was modified in the light of this integration. The limitations
of the study and the clinical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
Overall the investigation provides evidence that sensory-perceptual phenomena
are significant in the life-experience of people with autism, and that an understanding of these phenomena is important in achieving a full understanding of the behaviour, psychological states and social functioning of individuals with this condition.