The results show different consistency across studies between the three types of timing ability .
The highest consistency of results showing atypical time perception abilities is found in high-level time perception studies .
It remains unclear if autism is characterized by a fundamental time perception impairment .
Overall , there are a number of studies that show differences between autistic and non-autistic individuals , but some studies do not find such differences .
Group differences are more consistent across studies using complex tasks rather than simpler more fundamental timing tasks .
Problems with timing and time perception have been suggested as key characteristics of autism spectrum condition ( ASC ) .
Studies and personal accounts from clinicians , parents , caregivers , and self-reports from autistic people themselves often refer to problems with time .
Although a number of empirical studies have examined aspects relating to time in autistic individuals , there remains no clear consensus on whether or how timing mechanisms may be affected in autism .
The discrimination of and orienting to speech and non-speech sounds in children with autism
The present study aim ed to find out how different stages of cortical auditory processing ( sound encoding , discrimination , and orienting ) are affected in children with autism . To this end ,  auditory event-related potentials ( ERP ) were studied in 15 children with autism and their controls . Their responses were recorded for pitch , duration , and vowel changes in speech stimuli , and for corresponding changes in the non-speech counterparts of the stimuli , while the children watched silent videos and ignored the stimuli . The responses to sound repetition were diminished in amplitude in the children with autism , reflecting impaired sound encoding . The mismatch negativity ( MMN ) , an ERP indexing sound discrimination , was enhanced in the children with autism as far as pitch changes were concerned . This is consistent with earlier studies reporting auditory hypersensitivity and good pitch-processing abilities , as well as with theories proposing enhanced perception of local stimulus features in individuals with autism . The discrimination of duration changes was impaired in these children , however . Finally , involuntary orienting to sound changes , as reflected by the P3a ERP , was more impaired for speech than non-speech sounds in the children with autism , suggesting deficits particularly in social orienting . This has been proposed to be one of the earliest symptoms to emerge , with pervasive effects on later development
The results show different consistency across studies between the three types of timing ability .
The highest consistency of results showing atypical time perception abilities is found in high-level time perception studies .
It remains unclear if autism is characterized by a fundamental time perception impairment .
Overall , there are a number of studies that show differences between autistic and non-autistic individuals , but some studies do not find such differences .
Group differences are more consistent across studies using complex tasks rather than simpler more fundamental timing tasks .
Problems with timing and time perception have been suggested as key characteristics of autism spectrum condition ( ASC ) .
Studies and personal accounts from clinicians , parents , caregivers , and self-reports from autistic people themselves often refer to problems with time .
Although a number of empirical studies have examined aspects relating to time in autistic individuals , there remains no clear consensus on whether or how timing mechanisms may be affected in autism .