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Abstract

According to the clinical literature many of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) seem to be obsessed with mechanical tools, machines, and physical systems and experimental studies imply that they have accelerated or superior development in this domain. The purpose of this study is to observe and analyze the contents of drawings of high-functioning children with ASD who are obsessed with technology/physics-related tools and objects to see the effects of this physics fascination on the contents and patterns of their drawings. In this multiple case report children with ASD who were referred to occupational therapy clinics by child psychiatrists are studied. The drawings used were obtained during occupational therapy sessions. We discuss each patient�s particular case and the content of his drawings. Each child has at least one particular technology/physicsrelated feature as the dominant subject of his drawings. The feature is also the object of the child�s daily obsessive preoccupation. While most of these children have lower than normal drawing skills, they usually are well capable of drawing the object of obsession skillfully and with details. It seems that this physics-related fascination not only conveys these children�s higher levels of understanding of physical representations as already shown in the literature, but they also enhance the child�s drawing skills in that particular area.

Biography

Sara Nakhai has completed her Ph.D. from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Neuroscience.