Facial expression decoding in autistic and Asperger children

It has been consistently reported that individuals with autism spectrum disorders show a specific deficit in decoding facial expression of emotions. In this chapter we will discuss empirical evidence as well as theoretical hypotheses which addressed the processing of faces in autistic and Asperger children. Although research data are not always consistent in showing behavioral deficits in facial expressions decoding, neuroimaging evidences indicated that autistic and Asperger children do activate different neural patterns, confirming autistic individuals rely on different strategies to process information of faces. Finally, it is argued that deficits in facial expression recognition could be due to the interaction of neural, cognitive, and social factors