Investigation of the role of timing processes in Autism

Our sense of time and duration are essential in interacting with, and relating to, the world around us. For example, when we press a button at a pedestrian crossing we know about how long we will have to wait for the green man to appear and we can link our pressing action to seeing the man appear. Problems with timing and time perception have been suggested as key characteristics of autism. These could contribute to some of the symptoms of autism, such as difficulties coordinating hand movements or coping with too much sensory stimulation. There are, however, a very wide range of timing behaviours that are known about in psychology. At a basic level, we can examine how sensitive people are to time using the different senses; vision, hearing, touch. At an intermediate level, we can ask how well people can perceive duration, that is how long an event lasts for or how long they will have to wait. Finally, we can examine how people think and reason about time; that is knowing where you are in time, understanding the past and planning for the future. At the moment, how people with autism perform on different types of timing is poorly understood.

Very few studies have examined basic timing deficits in the senses. Some studies suggest that people with autism may find it difficult to judge which of two events occurred first, but the findings are sometimes contradictory, and difficult to compare to each other as they use different age groups or tasks. Studies examining the perception of duration (how long an event lasts for) suggest differences in people with autism, but it is unclear which processes in the timing system are affected. In contrast there are good quality studies examining higher-level temporal processing indicating difficulties in planning (understanding where you are in the hour/day/week/month/year and planning for events in the future) and diachronic thinking (understanding how object and events in the world change with time and at what rate). It is, however, not know how these relate to the more basic timing processes.

Therefore, we will ask the same group of adults with autism and neurotypical controls to carry out a wide range of timing tasks, from basic timing tasks (vision, hearing, touch), up to higher order thinking about time, change and orientation in time. We will be able to find out which (if any) timing abilities are affected in people with autism. We will also be able to find out whether these timing abilities relate to symptoms of autism, such as difficulties with overstimulation of the senses. We will also be able to find out if different timing abilities relate to one another, for example, if you have difficulty judging the length of a sound, does this relate to problems with planning? Lastly we will investigate just how wide-spread problems with timing are in the autistic population and what form these problems take. This will involve a questionnaire survey of parents of children with autism.

Our project will help determine whether and how timing and time perception are affected in autism, and how these relate to everyday symptoms. This will not only lead to a better understanding of fundamental difficulties in autism, but also suggest avenues for intervention. For example, teachers and parents could focus on training children with autism to better understand changes over time. Furthermore, by exploring in depth how the different timing abilities relate to one another in the typical population, our findings will inform our general understanding of how we process and conceptualise time.

The ability to orientate oneself in time, anticipate the duration and occurrence of events, and to plan for the future and reflect on the past, are crucial for functional human behaviour and social interaction. There are strong anecdotal reports of problems with time and timing in autism. Currently we know very little about what types of timing are affected in autism and how timing is related to everyday autistic symptoms such as motor ability, anxiety, sensory problems and planning. Finding the answers to these questions will benefit several groups of people. First, the results of the project will benefit autistic people and those who support them (e.g. family, friends, carers, educators). The dissemination of our work will help them to understand the cognitive underpinnings of the problems with timing and time that they experience in everyday life, and to have an appreciation of how prevalent these problems are in the autistic population. In the medium term, as the project will raise awareness of timing problems and inform therapies and strategies (see below) they will benefit from increased availability of a wider range of support options.

Secondly, dissemination of the findings to clinicians and practitioners (e.g. Occupational therapists, educational psychologists, teachers) will also benefit their practice. Increased awareness of the prevalence and type of timing difficulties in autism will highlight the need to focus on evaluating timing and using existing and novel strategies. For example, If the findings of the project reveal that the only differences between the autistic group and the controls is in higher order concepts about time, and not fundamental timing then this suggests that changes in education and training about time related concepts would be a fruitful line of endeavour. For example, teachers could concentrate on concepts relating to how people, places and events change over time. This would also be true if it turns out that there are differences in fundamental timing processes, but these show no relation to proficiency in higher order timing. In that case, focussing on concepts of duration would be more fruitful, such as training in what 10 minutes 'feels like', or how long common events last for. A deficit in fundamental timing that is linked to problems in higher timing concepts seem less likely as an outcome, but if so would reveal an underlying deep problem with timing at all levels in autism. This would have consequences in terms of time and timing problems being a key marker of autism.

Thirdly, findings could lead to changes in practice via charities and organisations such as NICE by placing greater emphasis on the assessment and treatment of timing. Currently timing is not routinely (if at all) assessed. Again the results of our study would highlight what type of timing should be assessed and how. This could increase the effectiveness and availability of services for people with autism.