Queensland researchers have found a link between features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that were previously thought to be unrelated.

“Autism is a multi-faceted disorder characterised by distinct clusters of features,” said University of Queensland psychology researcher Dr Daniel Skorich.

“One of these clusters relates to the ability to share attention with others, and to focus attention on the objects or events on which someone else is focused. People with ASD show a decreased tendency to do this.

“A second cluster is related to information processing, where people with ASD process information in a less integrated manner, referred to as 'weak central coherence'.

“Our research suggests that weak central coherence actually causes the shared attention difficulties,” he said.

The team found that the information processing needed for self-categorisation - the process of coming to see oneself as interchangeable with other members of groups to which we belong - is weaker the more autism-like traits a person possesses, with a decreased tendency to share attention.

“So it seems that the decreased tendency to see oneself as part of a group is at the heart of the differences people with ASD show in their social interactions with others,” Dr Skorich said.

The research could have intriguing implications for intervention.

“By linking ASD with self-categorisation, our research suggests that a social cure perspective on health and well-being... could be adapted to treat the much higher rates of anxiety and depression seen in people with ASD,” he said.

The research is published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.