Autism and the Predictive Mind: Absolute Thinking in a Relative World: Practical Implications for Treatment and Intervention by Dr Peter Vermeulen

Live Webinar with Dr Peter Vermeulen, PhD

About The Event

Many ideas about the autistic brain are based on conceptions about the human brain that are outdated.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. In order to make these smart guesses, the brain has developed a unique characteristic: contextual sensitivity. The brain uses context to predict the world. This is known as the predictive coding account of human information processing. But what if your brain is not so talented in using context? What if your brain does think in absolutes? This is the case in autism. Difficulty seeing and understanding context can explain why people with an autism have difficulties with communication, social interaction, sensory stimuli, and flexible thinking and behaviour in daily living. We will explain the concept of absolute thinking (reduced contextual sensitivity in predicting the world). The predictive coding perspective offers some thought provoking new ideas, such as why traditional emotion recognition programs and traditional social skills training are not a good idea for children with autism and why autism friendliness is not the same as eliminating or reducing stimuli. But, above all: that we should address well-being in the first place, because autistic brains are characterized by extreme uncertainty about an unpredictable world, being hypervigilant all the time. Interoception is an important sensory system that helps us to feel internal body signals like a full bladder, empty stomach, tense muscles or racing heart. Research indicates that our ability to clearly notice and interpret these internal body signals enables us to identify and manage how we feel: Are we Anxious? Getting Frustrated? Hungry? Full? In pain? Needing the bathroom? Interoceptive differences are very common in a variety of children and adults including those with autism, anxiety, depression, sensory processing disorder and “behavioral challenges”. Additionally, trauma has been found to significantly impact the interoceptive experience, making this topic a very important consideration as we collectively move forward from the COVID-19 pandemic. This course will provide an overview of what the latest research tells us about interoception as well as how this sense influences areas such as self-regulation, emotion, behavior and mental wellness. Several evidence-based strategies for assessing and supporting interoception will be shared.

Date and Time

Date: 9th March 2023 (Thursday)

Time: 7.00pm - 9.45pm (MYT, UTC +8)

Learning Outcomes:

**4 myCPD Points accorded by Ministry of Health, Malaysia’s Allied Science Division  

FEE STRUCTURE:

About the Speaker

Peter Vermeulen, PhD in Psychology and Clinical Educational Sciences, has more than 35 years of experience in the field of autism. He is the founder and director of “Autism in Context”, where autism is understood in context. He is also a Chief Editor of "Sterk! In autisme" (Strong in autism), bi-monthly magazine. Peter is an internationally respected lecturer/trainer and he presents all over the world. Dr. Peter wrote over 150 articles on autism and is author of more than 15 books with translations into more than 10 languages, a.o. "This is the title: on autistic thinking” (2001), “I am Special: handbook for psycho-education” (2000, revised edition 2013), and “Autism as context blindness” (2012), a book than won several awards in the USA. He received in 2019 the Passwerk Life Time Achievement Award for his more than 30 years contribution to the autism community in Belgium. From 1987 till 1998 working for the Flemish Autism Association, first as home trainer for families with a child with autism, later as director of the home training centre and finally as trainer / lecturer. From 1998 till 2018 working as senior autism consultant / lecturer /trainer at Autisme Centraal.

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