Spatial Transformations of Bodies and Objects in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Pearson, A., Marsh, L., Hamilton, A. F. d. C., & Ropar, D. (2014). Spatial Transformations of Bodies and Objects in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(9), 2277-2289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2098-6

Publication date: 21 Mar 2014 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
4
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 4 (25.0%)
  1. Amy Pearson *
  2. Lauren Marsh
  3. Antonia F. de C. Hamilton
  4. Danielle Ropar

Abstract

Previous research into autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has shown people with autism to be impaired at visual perspective taking. However it is still unclear to what extent the spatial mechanisms underlying this ability contribute to these difficulties. In the current experiment we examine spatial transformations in adults with ASD and typical adults. Participants performed egocentric transformations and mental rotation of bodies and cars. Results indicated that participants with ASD had general perceptual differences impacting on response times across tasks. However, they also showed more specific differences in the egocentric task suggesting particular difficulty with using the self as a reference frame. These findings suggest that impaired perspective taking could be grounded in difficulty with the spatial transformation used to imagine the self in someone else’s place.

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These indicators describe the cited bibliography imported for this publication. Cited-reference metrics use the cited-reference total as denominator. Cited-author metrics state whether they use all cited-author occurrences or only occurrences linked to authors already integrated in the AutiHub database. They use cached links between cited authors and authors integrated in the AutiHub database. Last computed: 16 Aug 2026 11:31.

Cited references
48
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
1 / 48 (2.1%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
1 / 159 (0.6%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 1 / 23 (4.3%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 1 / 136 (0.7%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
23 / 159 (14.5%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 18 / 136 (13.2%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
22 / 23 (95.7%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 22 / 159 (13.8%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 17 / 18 (94.4%).
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