Understanding autistic individuals: cognitive diversity not theoretical deficit

This paper challenges the prevalent Mindreading picture of social cognition that promotes the view that the social cognitive profiles of autistic individuals are due to an underlying condition that is best explained in terms of theory-related deficiencies. Section 1 provides background of the current state of thinking that motivates acceptance of mentalising proposals about how to understand and best explain autistic social cognition. Section 2 focuses on old school Mental Module TT proposals, noting their theoretical and explanatory limitations. Section 3 examines new school Bayesian Brain TT proposals, highlighting what has made them theoretically and explanatorily appealing to many researchers. Section 4 concludes by providing a diagnosis of why we should reject any kind of mentalising proposal about what best explains social cognition and the patterns it takes for autistic individuals. The paper closes by encouraging the adoption of alternative, non-Mindreading ways of understanding the social cognitive styles of the general population and autistic individuals.