The Creative and Generative Capacity of Savant Artists with Autism

The aim of this thesis was to investigate the creative and generative capacities of a group of savant artists. As savant talent has a higher prevalence in autism, a disorder associated with deficits in imagination and creativity, it is surprising that one should find savant ability in areas such as music and art. Despite the interesting paradox this creates there has yet to be a thorough, empirical investigation into this area of savant performance in artists. The measurement of the concepts of creativity and generativity is alone a contentious area in psychology; however, from the outset they were clearly defined for the purpose of this thesis. Creativity is defined as the capacity to produce novel and meaningful responses, whereas generativity refers to the amount, or quantity, of ideas produced, irrespective of their originality. As the creative and generative capacity of savant artists is a hitherto neglected area of research, this investigation began by measuring this capacity in the domain of ability, using a standardised test where the response was drawn. A second test looked at creative and generative performance on a construction task with no drawn element. Subsequent investigations focused on the processes thought to underlie performance on the initial two tasks, particularly relating to the assets and deficits in the performance of the savant group, which may have occurred as a result of their autism. The results showed that a general autism-specific deficit was evident on tasks that required generativity outside of the direct domain of drawing. On the other hand, in relation to creativity, there were indications that such qualities were spared in the savants on tasks not directly involved with drawing, although still in the visual domain. These contrasting results are discussed in terms of a segmented visual processing style in the savant artists and an autism-specific deficit with regard to the generation of appropriate action plans

Flexible and Mindful Self-Tracking: Design Implications from Paper Bullet Journals

Digital self-tracking technologies offer many potential benefits over self-tracking with paper notebooks. However, they are often too rigid to support people’s practical and emotional needs in everyday settings. To inform the design of more flexible self-tracking tools, we examine bullet journaling: an analogue and customisable approach for logging and reflecting on everyday life. Analysing a corpus of paper bullet journal photos and related conversations on Instagram, we found that individuals extended and adapted bullet journaling systems to their changing practical and emotional needs through: (1) creating and combining personally meaningful visualisations of different types of trackers, such as habit, mood, and symptom trackers; (2) engaging in mindful reflective thinking through design practices and self-reflective strategies; and (3) posting photos of paper journals online to become part of a selftracking culture of sharing and learning. We outline two interrelated design directions for flexible and mindful selftracking: digitally extending analogue self-tracking and supporting digital self-tracking as a mindful design practice

The Issue of Gender Bias Represented in Authorship in the Fields of Exercise and Rehabilitation: A 5-Year Research in Indexed Journals

Despite progress made in recent decades, gender bias is still present in scientific publication authorship. The underrepresentation of women and overrepresentation of men has already been reported in the medical fields but little is known in the fields of exercise sciences and rehabilitation. This study examines trends in authorship by gender in this field in the last 5 years. All randomized controlled trials published in indexed journals from April 2017 to March 2022 through the widely inclusive Medline dataset using the MeSH term “exercise therapy” were collected, and the gender of the first and last authors was identified through names, pronouns and photographs. Year of publication, country of affiliation of the first author, and ranking of the journal were also collected. A chi-squared test for trends and logistic regression models were performed to analyze the odds of a woman being a first or last author. The analysis was performed on a total of 5259 articles. Overall, 47% had a woman as the first author and 33% had a woman as the last author, with a similar trend over five years. The trend in women’s authorship varied by geographical area, with the higher representation of women authors in Oceania (first: 53.1%; last: 38.8%), North-Central America (first: 45.3%; last: 37.2%), and Europe (first: 47.2%; last: 33.3%). The logistic regression models (p < 0.001) indicated that women have lower odds of being authors in prominent authorship positions in higher-ranked journals. In conclusion, over the last five years, in the field of exercise and rehabilitation research, women and men are almost equally represented as first authors, in contrast with other medical areas. However, gender bias, unfavoring women, still exists, especially in the last authorship position, regardless of geographical area and journal ranking

Local and global processing in savant artists with autism

Abstract. We explored the hypothesis that an enhanced local processing style is characteristic of both art and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by examining local and global processing in savant artists with ASD. Specifically, savant artists were compared against non-talented individuals with ASD or mild/moderate learning difficulties (MLD), as well as artistically talented or non- talented students, on the block-design task and meaningful and abstract versions of the embedded figures test (EFT). Results demonstrated that there were no significant differences between the meaningful and abstract versions of the EFT, in any of the groups. This suggests that the primary process governing performance on this task was perceptual (local), rather than conceptual (global). More interestingly, the savant artists performed above the level of the ASD and MLD groups on the block-design test, but not the EFT. Despite both the block-design task and the EFT measuring local processing abilities, we suggest that this result is due to the block-design task being an active construction task (requiring the conversion of a visual input into a motor output), whereas the EFT is a passive recognition task. Therefore, although an enhanced local processing style is an important aspect of savant artistic talent, motor control also appears to be a necessary skill

The support needs of people bereaved by suicide in later life : a comparative thematic analysis of older adults and professionals' perspectives

Aim and objectives of the study: Suicide is often a traumatic death that can significantly impact on the mental health and wellbeing of those bereaved. Effective and timely support following a bereavement by suicide can help facilitate coping and adjustment. However, little research has explored the support needs of older people who have been bereaved by suicide in later life. This study aimed to explore and compare the perspectives of older adults and health and social care professionals' (HSCPs) in understanding the support needs of those bereaved by suicide in later life. Method: Participatory methods were adopted and semi-structured interviews were conducted with older adults (n = 24) and HSCPs (n = 14) working in a range of bereavement support and suicide prevention services. Qualitative data was analysed using a reflexive thematic approach to compare older adults and professionals' perspectives. Ethical approval was sought and granted from the University Ethics Committee. Findings: The themes developed were: (1) Acknowledging and validating the traumatic impact of bereavement by suicide, (2) Navigating and struggling through the grief (the importance of support networks), (3) 'It’s not your fault': addressing self-blame, guilt and the need for a compassionate dialogue, (4) A 'it's a hot potato': others perceived as better equipped in meeting older adults' support needs (undervaluing and stereotyping older adults), (5) The need to recognise diverse older adults' experiences of bereavement by suicide (gaps in service provision). Conclusion and impact: Findings highlighted common challenges and support needs with other age groups as well as specific issues in relation to later life, such as feeling less valued compared to younger people, or having fewer opportunities to talk about grief experiences; impacted by factors such as stigma, ageist stereotyping, self-blame, shame and dealing with the taboo of suicide. The need to promote open, honest and compassionate communication about bereavement by suicide in later life is emphasised. Clearer pathways of support need to be established among health and social care organisations to ensure timely psychosocial care and support for those most vulnerable

"It’s like an oak tree growing slowly across a barbed wire fence" : learning from traumatic experience of bereavement by suicide in later life

Bereavement by suicide is a traumatic and life changing experience but we know little about the lived experiences of people bereaved by suicide themselves and their voices are notably absent from current suicide prevention and intervention strategies. Understanding these different individual experiences and pathways arising within suicide research points have potential for developing more service user led social and therapeutic interventions. This qualitative study explored the critical themes and features evident in the meaning making, coping and adaptation needs of people in later life who were bereaved by suicide through the lens of transformational learning. In-depth interviews with 24 people aged 66-92 generated two themes on the centrality of experience, critical reflection and meaning making in later life following suicide trauma; and the journey of discovery and how this interacted with social and political rights in later life. Findings suggest that further research is necessary to generate practice-based evidence which identifies the impact of bereavement by suicide on people in later life; how their needs for support are currently assessed and identified; and how to respond more holistically to people with psycho-social problems which stem from these learning experiences and to build on the knowledge of people with lived experiences

"It's a living experience" : bereavement by suicide in later life

Bereavement by suicide for people in later life is significantly under-researched. Research on ageing and suicide has yet to address the experiences of those bereaved by suicide and how such a devastating loss affects the ageing experience. Objectives: We explored the substantive issues involved in bereavement by suicide and its impact on later life. Methods: This was a co-produced qualitative study. Peer researchers with lived experience conducted in-depth interviews with twenty-four people aged 60-92 years. A phenomenological approach informed data analysis. Main findings: Themes described; 1) moral injury, 2) the rippling effect on wider family and networks, 3) transitions and adaptations of bereaved people and how their ‘living experience’ impacted on ageing. Conclusions: It is important to understand how individual experiences of suicide intersects with ageing and the significance of targeted assessment and intervention for those bereaved by suicide in ageing policies and support

Bereavement by Suicide in Later Life : Project Report

Losing a significant person because of suicide will have a major impact on those left behind. The experiences of people in later life who have been bereaved by suicide is an under-researched area. Given that later life can also be a time of major transition, opportunities and challenges, this study explored: 1. What can we learn about the experiences of being bereaved by suicide from those in later life who have lived experiences? 2. How does the experience of being bereaved by suicide impact on the individual in later life? 3. How do these experiences influence specific support needs and help-seeking in later life? The study was conducted between November 2020 and June 2021. This coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and this short summative report contains the key messages from the overall research findings and based on these, its ten recommendations