Superior perceptual capacity in autism:
investigating universality, specificity and practical applications for learning
Our previous research has found that autistic people can take in more information at any given moment, e.g., are better at detecting a target sound hidden among other sounds, compared to non-autistic people. This could be useful in some situations, but problematic in others. In the ESRC-funded SUPER project, we took a participatory approach (autistic and non-autistic researchers working together) to understand more about these differences in autistic attention, and whether they are unique to being autistic. We also developed new, accessible tasks to allow people with learning disabilities to take part in this research.
By doing this, we hope to provide better support for those who struggle with sensory sensitivities and develop the best possible learning conditions for all. Adjusting tasks, expectations, and environments to suit individual needs can help create optimal conditions for learning and development.
Key Project Findings
Is increased perceptual capacity universal in autism?
When identifying key cognitive factors that underpin autism, it is important to consider autistic individuals with varying ability levels: i.e. both those who are cognitively and verbally able, and those who have co-occurring intellectual and language impairments. Findings from this grant have begun to indicate that increased perceptual capacity is experienced by autistic adults with a learning disability. This adds to our previous work demonstrating increased perceptual capacity for autistic people without a learning disability, and suggests that increased perceptual capacity is experienced by autistic people irrespective of cognitive ability.
Is increased perceptual capacity specific to autism?
To further evaluate superior perceptual capacity as a marker of autism, it is crucial to understand whether this is a feature that pertains specifically to autism, or is a more general consequence of having a developmental condition (e.g. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Williams Syndrome). Currently, the majority of autism research is carried out with neurotypical individuals as the comparison group, yet this cannot assess the uniqueness of a particular trait. Findings from the SUPER project suggest that autistic people – but not those with other neurodevelopmental conditions – have experiences of distraction and focus that are consistent with increased capacity. These include qualitative studies of those with and without learning disabilities, and quantitative behavioural and electrophysiological studies (currently under review for publication).
Development of Accessible Tasks for participants with learning disabilities.
Most autism research studies exclude participants with co-occurring learning disabilities due to methodological barriers. Within this grant, we have developed an accessible protocol that allows the involvement of people with learning disabilities (i.e. autistic participants and those with Williams Syndrome). This protocol has been made available via open science repositories for use by other research teams. This protocol extends to EEG studies, an approach that has traditionally been inaccessible to those with learning disabilities (findings currently under review for publication).
Practical applications for learning.
Our findings suggest that increased perceptual capacity is experienced by autistic people with or without a learning disability, and is not experienced by those with other neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g. ADHD, Williams Syndrome). This has implications for how we might optimise the classroom environment for learning. Our lab-based work suggests that increasing information in a task might help harness perceptual capacity for topic-learning, rather than for distraction. In the SUPER project, we have gone into schools to test out these predictions in real-life classrooms. Preliminary findings indicate that increasing task-relevant information does indeed promote learning. Full analyses are expected to be complete in April 2026.
Do join us to find out more at our upcoming event.
26th Feb 2026 – Understanding neurodivergent attention profiles to harness learning
We are also launching an exciting Citizen Science project to further explore how modifying learning tasks can help harness individual differences in capacity! If you are an educator, and would be interested in hearing more, let us know.
Paper summaries
SUPER Team:
Principal Investigator: Anna Remington
Co-Investigators: Emily Farran (University of Surrey), Gaia Scerif (University of Oxford), Elizabeth Milne (University of Sheffield)
Project Team: Jana Brinkert, Brian Irvine, Charlie Hamilton, Freya Elise, Jade Davies
Collaborators: Daniel Poole (University of Sheffield)
We are grateful to the ESRC for funding this project
[Research Grant: ES/T005785/1]
