Contextual effects on visual short-term memory in high-functioning autism spectrum disorders

Our results challenge a strict interpretation of the context blindness hypothesis by demonstrating that individuals with ASD are as sensitive as TD individuals to contextual information. Individuals with ASD, however, appear to use contextual information differently than TD individuals, as they seem to rely more on consolidated contextual expectations than the TD group. These findings could drive the development of novel expectancy-based teaching strategies.