“Development of Autobiographical Memory in Autism Spectrum Disorders”, 2018-05-15 ():
This chapter reviews the current status of knowledge on autobiographical memory in children with autism. It begins by reflecting on the concept of autobiographical memory and reviews theoretical perspectives on its emergence in typical development to provide a setting for considering how autism may affect this process.
The chapter then discusses the findings arising from autism developmental research, focusing on autobiographical memory access, accuracy, content, and detail. Autobiographical memories are accompanied by key phenomenological characteristics that distinguish them from non-personal episodic memories. They are frequently vivid, emotional, contain references to internal states, and embody self-reflection and personal temporality.
Finally, the chapter reviews some of the mechanisms that underlie impairments in autobiographical memory and considers the research implications for best practice in eliciting the memory reports from children with autism.
Few studies have considered autobiographical memory deficits in the context of general memory abilities.